Apart from the regulatory framework, approved by the VUB Board, the DSh adheres to the following principles.
- A focus on PhD students: the Doctoral School for Human Sciences is, above all, at the service of VUB's PhD students or the doctoral community. All DSh activities start at this principle, taken into account as much as possible the interests of the community of VUB PhD students.
Guarding the quality of the doctoral Training Programme and of the PhD's as such is an integral part of the focus on PhD students.
- A decentralized and demand-oriented functioning: based upon the diversity and expertise of its members the DSh will stimulate the PhD students to organise certain formation activities themselves.
The DSh shall offer structure, support and financing through a system of "calls" for specific types of activities. These "calls" are one of the basic instruments of the DSh.
- Subsidiarity: The DSh will uphold a close cooperation with the Central PhD Office. The Central PhD Office shall organise activities relevant for the entire PhD Community while the DSh shall organise more specific activities focused on the PhD student in the Human Science field.
- Transparency: the DSh shall communicate its policy and activities as clear and open as possible, through its website a.o.
The activities organised by the DSh shall be made available as much as possible for the PhD students of the VUB, the privileged partners of the VUB (UGent and ULB) and for external parties.
To the DSh transparency means that the wishes and opinions of the PhD students are heard and appreciated.
- Good governance: The DSh shall apply its resources effectively in order to achieve its general and operational goals. In this process the DSh commits itself to ensure the equal and fair treatment of all PhD students. This implies that DSh activities shall be based on fairness and equality, avoiding to privilege individual PhD students.
