PhD / Research on a hospitality agreement
Even though research ideas are vast, research funds within medical departments are often limited. Therefore, (medical) students are sometimes offered to pursue research in their own time with self-collected or without substantial funding. This offer might be extended to a PhD-trajectory by your department. Even though this can be regarded as honorable and a token of appreciation of your hard work, dedication, and research skills, students should be aware of the consequences of conducting research without an official paid employee contract at Erasmus University / Medical Center.
Doing research or even a full PhD-trajectory on external funds (buitenpromovendus) or without reimbursement on a hospitality agreement (gastvrijheidsovereenkomst) will not only deprive you of a steady income but can also cause problems for your studies and other support in unforeseen circumstances. We elaborate on some of the consequences below. When in doubt of accepting a position or when in need for further information, you should always contact the Graduate School or another external experienced party first.
Studies
- Temporary pausing your studies will prohibit lending money from the government, use your student transport card, and health insurance subsidy. Another option is to continue paying college tuition, which means you will pay money to lend money.
- In theory, the government (DUO) only allows a maximum of ten years to study You will have to apply for an exception via your promotor and dean.
- Make sure to check for how many years the results of your passed bachelor and/or master courses are valid.
Rights
- Read the CAO UMCthoroughly to know the rights of officially contracted PhD students and/or to negotiate about your working conditions. A PhD-candidate contract protects from certain risks and granted certain rights, including sick-leave, maternal/partner leave, end of year bonus, holiday allowance, vacation days and retirement agreements. Also some resources and events are only available for employees, such as the Christmas gift, Picknick in the park, PhD-psychologist, support during conflicts.
- A PhD-student income is steady and significant. It is not just an extension of your university degree, but a full-time job. You can read in the UMC CAO how much this actually is.
- Make clear agreements on reimbursement of costs for conferences, courses, submission fees for paper publications, travel, etcetera. As an employee of the Erasmus MC, these costs are almost always covered by the department. As a researcher on a hospitality agreement, you have to negotiate this for yourself. Realize that on a hospitality agreement, the department has no obligation to cover any costs for you, but that in order to complete your PhD you must have completed several obligatory courses.
Lastly, it should be stated that a PhD-trajectory is rarely easy. It comes with obstacles, set-backs and requires a lot of dedication and support. Often research periods stretch longer than expected, which is important to realize when committing to a certain research project without funds and/or combination with university degree (or coschappen). Realize that a standard PhD contract in the Netherlands is 4 years fulltime, but on average a PhD takes 5+ years to complete. During this time, sometimes unforeseen things can happen to your health, family, and financial situation. As a PhD candidate employed by the hospital, you are much better protected financially, legally and practically when things do not go as initially planned.
Do you want to read more about the PhD-trajectory on external or without funds? Read the articles below or reach out to one of the following instances:
Articles (Dutch):