UnliMited-PhD
UnliMited-PhD is the branch of the UnliMited Network dedicated to all PhD candidates at Maastricht University who are living with a disability, chronic illness or neurodivergence. These can be visible or invisible, disclosed or not, diagnosed or self-identified.
A university that welcomes and supports staff and students with disabilities is one that becomes more inclusive for everyone, staff and students alike, in all their diversity.
You Do Not Have To Explain This To Us
PhD candidates occupy a unique position at UM: navigating supervision, research training and career development all at once, often for the first time and often on temporary contracts. UnliMited-PhD exists to make sure that experience is understood on its own terms, and that PhD candidates have a community where they don't have to explain themselves.
#YouDoNotHaveToExplainThisToUs
Why UnliMited-PhD
Grounded in the principle 'Nothing about us, without us', UnliMited-PhD ensures that the lived experiences of PhD candidates with disabilities directly inform how UM's doctoral policies and support structures are developed - distinct from staff policy and student policy, reflecting the specific, in-between reality of doing a PhD.
Within UnliMited-PhD, we aim to cover various topics such as:
- peer bonding through fun activities
- accessibility of research facilities, labs and PhD training/courses
- reasonable accommodations in supervision and the doctoral trajectory
- disclosure - if, when and how to raise a condition with supervisors or a doctoral committee
- mental health and wellbeing during the PhD, including isolation and pressure specific to research work
- equal access to funding, conference travel and career development opportunities
- representation of PhD candidates with disabilities in PhD councils, graduate school bodies and university advisory structures
How to get involved
We meet three to four times a year as a group and also host events that are open to the broader UM community to raise awareness and foster dialogue on inclusion.
Would you like to help us set up a group or join an existing group, join our meetings or stay up to date on our work?
Email us at Unlimited-staff@maastrichtuniversity.nl and we will add you to our mailing list. Our Signal group is also accessible by contacting us. You can find the QR code for this group via UM employee UnliMited group page.
You don't have to share anything personal to join. Share only what you're comfortable with.
Read more about the UnliMited Network, including UnliMited-Staff and UnliMited-Students.