Universiteit Gent / Ghent University
Today, Ghent University attracts about 50,000 students, with a foreign student population of about 6000. In 2020, the university generated over 420 million euros in research expenditure and employed around 8400 research staff (including doctoral researchers). Ghent University is ranked 71th in the Shanghai and 96th in the Times ranking.
The university is one of the fastest-growing European universities in terms of research capacity and productivity, with a high commitment to European research excellence. In Horizon Europe, about 210 projects have started at Ghent University.
The university provides excellent training opportunities to both young and experienced researchers, for which it has been rewarded the HR Excellence in Research label by the European Commission. Ghent University awarded 691 PhD degrees in 2020, of which over 30% went to international young researchers and counts 25 highly cited authors (Clarivate) among its academic staff.
Ghent University endorsed the Charter for Researchers & Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers in 2006, upholds the ALLEA code and is a signatory of DORA.
Role within SOB4ES
Researchers at the Department of Public Governance and Management at Ghent University are responsible for and will contribute to several tasks in the SOB4ES project, with Prof. Claire Dupont as team leader. The team will take the lead on implementing the tasks on citizen engagement by setting up citizen participation processes. They will also ensure enhanced protection and sustainable management of soil ecosystems through EU policies, including a policy mapping process. The team will contribute to various other tasks of the project, including the development of a framework to assess the contribution of soil biodiversity to ecosystem services; applying knowledge to practical applications for promoting soil biodiversity; and supporting the development and use of the soil biodiversity booster tool by stakeholders and citizens.
