Information for Supervisors (PI's)

This section is intended for supervisors of postdoctoral researchers. You will find information about:  

Procedures to hire a new postdoctoral researcher 

Are you planning on hiring a new postdoctoral researcher? There are four types of procedures for appointment, about which you can find more information below. These are listed from most frequent procedures to less frequent procedures. Make sure to also watch the Recruitment & Selection Webinar. 

Do you want to recruit an international postdoctoral researcher as a supervisor? When a new BAP  or AAP staff member with non-EU nationality is recruited a number of immigration formalities must be followed before the start of employment. More information per type of appointment can be found on the Pintra page of the International Staff Office (after login). 

Contractual postdoctoral researcher (BAP) with external funding or the university’s own resources

Postdoctoral researchers (BAP) are usually funded on the basis of: 

  • a personal postdoctoral fellowship funded by the university’s own resources or external (Flemish, European, international) funding; 

  • an appointment to a research project that was awarded to a supervisor/principal investigator professor at UAntwerp) and funded by UAntwerp or external resources 

More details can be found on the pages of the HR department (after login, for supervisors)

​Contact: HR@uantwerpen.be​

Postdoctoral scholarship at UAntwerp

A postdoctoral scholarship holder (‘postdoctoraal bursaal’, or former ‘postdoc navorser met subsidie’ in Dutch) is an incoming researcher who is appointed by means of a tax-exemption according to Belgian fiscal law, on research funding available to an academic supervisor (professor) at UAntwerp. The tax-exempt character of the scholarship makes it a cost-efficient way for the university of hiring international research staff on a project.  

This type of appointment is characterised by (i.a.): 

  • The prior international mobility of the postdoctoral researcher 

  • The maximum duration of 36 months in total of the scholarship 

  • The specific types of research funding on which this tax-exemption is allowed (see internal regulation Art. III.2.1, §2) 

  • The specific application procedure, only open to academic supervisors at UAntwerp 

More details can be found in the internal regulation of UAntwerp on postdoctoral scholarship holders and on the pages of the HR department (after login, for supervisors).

​Contact: HR@uantwerpen.be

Postdoctoral researcher with operational resources (doctor-assistant AAP)

Temporary statutory appointment of AAP employees such as principal research fellows are only possible on the basis of the university’s own operational resources and within the available allocation model funds. The human resources department publishes the vacancy and keeps track of applications. Apply for postdoctoral positions on the UAntwerp job application website for academic staff. 

More details can be found on the Pintra pages of the HR department (after login, for supervisors). 

​Contact: HR@uantwerpen.be

Unremunerated staff

Staff members who will conduct research or teach, but will not receive a salary or grant from the University of Antwerp, but by their home institution, will be registered as unremunerated staff member. After going through the appointment procedure as described on the Pintra page (after login) of the HR Department, the immigration procedures for the new staff member can be started. 

Contact: HR@uantwerpen.be  

Welcoming a new postdoctoral researcher 

Once you have a new postdoctoral researcher on board, welcoming new staff members to the workplace is an important part of the integration process. The welcoming new staff members guide provides a target-group oriented checklist with the most important steps for giving new staff members a proper welcome. 

  • For new AAP staff members, you can find a welcoming checklist on pages 7 to 8 

  • For new BAP staff members, you can find a welcoming checklist on pages 11 to 12 

Safety and prevention information relevant to new staff members can be found on the Health and Safety at work page (Pintra login).  

Contact: HR@uantwerpen.be​
Contact: preventiedienst@uantwerpen.be  

Training opportunities  

Training opportunities for supervisors  

The HR department regularly organises training courses for ZAP members. The training programme includes topics such as leadership and coaching skills, connecting communication, change management etc. You can find an overview of all the training possibilities in the training menu on Peoplesoft (after login). 

Giving postdoctoral researchers approval for attending courses 

A full-time employed BAP member is entitled to 5 training days per calendar year to attend professional training. The training days are taken at the discretion of the BAP member but according to the needs of the department and always in consultation with the superior. For some training opportunities (e.g. the courses from the Talent Center), postdoctoral researchers need approval from their supervisor. The supervisor can refuse to take one or more training days if the training evidently does not contribute to the professional formation of the BAP member. 

Contact: HR@uantwerpen.be​