ADS Newsletter September 2026

Your monthly update from the Antwerp Doctoral School on events, workshops and valuable resources to support your doctoral journey.

ADS Doctoral Day

Join us for the next edition of the ADS Doctoral Day at Hof van Liere (Stadscampus) on 19 or 20 October. The event is primarily aimed at starting PhD researchers, but there are interesting sessions for PhD researchers at all stages in their trajectory. The programme is the same on both days, so choose the date that suits you best. Can't make it in person? No worries – an online option is available on 19 October.

ADS courses: opening registrations

Registrations for ADS courses (1st semester) will open in SisA on Thursday

3 September 2026 at 9 a.m.

You can find the step-by-step instructions for registration on our website. Until registrations open, the courses are indicated as 'full' in SisA.

The full course descriptions and schedule for this autumn are also available online. Remember: registration is only possible if you are (re-)enrolled for academic year 2026-2027 and after confirming your privacy settings in SisA (see the 'To Do' tile)!

Deadline educational credit 2025-2026

The academic year is coming to an end, so make sure to submit your educational credit reimbursement requests on time. The deadline for activities in academic year 2025-2026 is Friday 30 October 2026. After this date, new submissions will no longer be processed. Make sure to check the requirements and include all required documents. Submitting a complete application will help ensure faster processing of your reimbursement. Read more about the procedure here.

Keep your FWO E-loket profile up to date

For all FWO funding applications, the E-loket profiles of all involved researchers (applicant and supervisor(s)) must be complete and up to date, including the “Personalia” section and publication list. As profile completeness is an eligibility criterion, incomplete profiles result in an application being declared ineligible.

Please check and update your profile before submission. Questions? Contact greet.hellenbosch@uantwerpen.be.

'Interdisciplinary Thinking' course

Would you like to strengthen your interdisciplinary research skills and broaden your research perspective? Join this practical workshop programme for early-career researchers and learn how to work effectively across disciplines while connecting with peers from diverse research fields.

The course consists of three parts, with the first session taking place on 30 November. Places are limited, so register soon (from 3 September 9 a.m.)!

LinkedIn workshop and competition #ScienceStories

The five Flemish universities are jointly organising the #ScienceStories competition, inviting PhD and postdoctoral researchers to share their research through an engaging LinkedIn post. Submit one post between 5 October and 5 November using #ScienceStories. Register here.

Not sure how to get started? Join the online workshop on 5 October, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. to learn how to create an effective LinkedIn post. Register by 28 September.

Job shadowing – Last call!📣

Prepare your next career step by shadowing a professional.

You can still apply for a job shadowing position until 11 September 2026 (11 p.m.). The actual job shadowing will take place between 19 and 30 October 2026.

Interested to explore a career field and experience a typical day (or more) on the job? Want to check if you fit in a particular position or organisation? Job shadowing provides a better (and nuanced) understanding of the skills and competencies needed to succeed and thrive in a particular job.

Kick-off

Nucleate is coming to Belgium! This global, trainee-led non–profit helps researchers turn their science into companies—free of charge and without giving up equity. Its kick-off features panels on ecosystem building, intellectual property and venture capital, a keynote and networking with investors, patent attorneys and founders. The kick-off is free to attend, but registration is required.

📅29 October 2026

⏰️3–8 p.m.

📍Provinciehuis Leuven

Workshop Combining Infectious Disease Modelling and AI

The workshop "Combining Infectious Disease Modelling and AI: Methods and Communication", organised by UHasselt, VUB, and UAntwerp, explores the integration of infectious disease modelling, AI, and science communication. The programme includes a poster session for research on infectious disease modelling, AI, and public health. Registration and abstract submission are now open.

📅 14 September 2026
📍VUB campus Etterbeek, Brussels

Ig Nobel

Official Watch Party

Come to the awards ceremony Watch Party on 3 September and watch the Ig Nobel Prizes live from Zurich—the parody of the Nobel Prizes, awarded in Europe for the first time. Everyone with a passion for science is welcome. The first 200 attendees to register will receive a free T-shirt.

One Brand Day:

One story, more impact

Your research deserves to be seen, both within and outside the university. Join the Communications Department on 27 October for the One Brand Day (event in Dutch) to discover how to work together to increase the visibility of your research and make a greater impact. Be inspired by experts, real-world examples, and insights from across the university.

Nature Masterclasses

In the webinar Community Insights: Analysing and Interpreting Your Research Data with AI, experts will explore how AI can support different stages of the research process, share practical guidance and highlight where human judgement and subject expertise remain essential. Sessions take place on 15 or 17 September.

Upcoming StatUa courses

05-08.10.2026: Basic principles of statistics
19-21.10.2026: Introduction to R
09-10-12.11.2026: Power analysis and sample size calculation

StatUa Consultancy

The statistical core facility StatUa provides statistical advice to PhD researchers.

The first five hours are free of charge for PhD researchers. Reach out to statua@uantwerpen.be if we can help you!

Learn a language with a discount

Did you know that UAntwerp PhD researchers can take a language course at Linguapolis at a discount? Choose Dutch or 13 other languages starting in September, October or November.

Prefer learning online at your own pace? Altissia offers 23 languages, with licences available from 1 October.

Become an online tutor in your field of expertise📖

Belgian online tutoring platform iTutorOnline is looking for PhD researchers to provide paid university-level tutoring. You set your own hourly rate and availability, and tutoring takes place fully online.

Depending on your status and doctoral scholarship, additional conditions may apply to paid activities, so please discuss any secondary employment with your supervisor beforehand. To avoid conflicts of interest, tutors are matched with students from another university whenever possible.

For more information and registration, check iTutorOnline.

Questions? Contact louisvanhove@itutoronline.com.