New Scientific Director for VLAG: “We are here for PhD candidates, postdocs and their supervisors.”
- prof.dr.ir. LCPM (Louis) de Smet
- Professor
Today, Professor Louis de Smet starts as Scientific Director of the VLAG Graduate School. In this role, he will oversee the school’s day-to-day management as well as its academic and educational quality over the next four years. De Smet is looking forward to getting to know the community and strengthening it. “My aim is to listen first, then act.”
VLAG provides training and supervision for over five hundred PhD candidates working in nutrition, health, chemistry and life sciences. It connects researchers of 22 chair groups and two research institutes at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). As Scientific Director, De Smet takes on a broad role. He will oversee PhD education and training, foster a stimulating academic environment and safeguard the quality of PhD programmes. He will work closely with a team of seven colleagues, the VLAG Board and other Wageningen graduate schools.
Duration of PhD trajectories
De Smet intends to use his first few months as director primarily to listen and assess the current situation. He plans to visit chair groups, speak with PhD students and supervisors, and review existing evaluations such as the PhD student monitor. “I see identifying current issues and what is going on as my main task in the early stages,” he says. “What are the current concerns? What are people struggling with? Only then can you take targeted action.” At the same time, he stresses that much is already going well. “I am joining a well-oiled machine. For instance, PhD candidates generally value the courses highly, and I want to maintain that.”
Several themes within VLAG are widely recognised across WUR, including social safety, workload and the quality of supervision, as well as the responsible use of AI in research. In addition, De Smet wants to focus on the duration of PhD trajectories. Although a PhD programme formally takes four years, many of them run longer in practice. “That creates additional pressure, especially when funding ends before the thesis is finished,” he says. De Smet therefore aims to explore ways to shorten the time between starting and completing a PhD. One VLAG-affiliated chair group plans to pilot an approach in which PhD candidates complete a draft thesis after three years and eight months. An interesting development, according to De Smet. “I am keen to see how this works in practice and what people’s experiences are. I will follow these developments closely, and VLAG is happy to contribute ideas on how to implement them.”
Broadening his role
For De Smet, the new position also broadens his own work. He will remain active as a researcher in Organic Chemistry but will organise his time differently. “I will be teaching less and focus my research more,” he says. Last year, he completed a leadership development programme, which aligns well with his new role. “This position at VLAG combines managerial responsibility with continued involvement in research. That suits me perfectly.”
About VLAG
VLAG is the graduate school of Wageningen University & Research in the fields of biobased, biomolecular, chemical, food and nutrition sciences. The school provides PhD training, offers courses and workshops, and promotes collaboration across disciplines. In doing so, VLAG strengthens the professional skills and competencies of PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers and their supervisors. The school also offers research grants.
Within the VLAG Office, PhD candidates, postdocs and supervisors can share experiences and raise concerns, both positive and negative. Through these conversations, VLAG helps to identify issues at an early stage and works with those involved to find appropriate solutions. At an individual level or, where needed, more broadly within the organisation.
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