The CORe values of our university, Curious, Open, Respectful, and Responsible, or CORe for short, were established at the end of 2024. But how do we work, study, and live together at our university? Our values have now been translated into a new Code of Conduct for the entire TU/e community, clarifying how we want to behave toward one another, with an emphasis on positive, desirable behavior.
Following the establishment of the CORe values, it was time to revise TU/e's Code of Conduct based on these values. "We started from the perspective of desirable and positive behavior, rather than a list of what is not allowed," says Ingrid Heynderickx, ambassador for integrity and social safety and one of the authors of the new Code of Conduct .
The new Code of Conduct applies to everyone in the TU/e community, including students, staff, board members, and visitors. "We assume that everyone knows how to behave. The code helps clarify what that means in day-to-day practice," adds Corlien van Dam, policy advisor at HRM.
A team from across service departments has worked intensively on the new code of conduct over the past few months. In addition to Heynderickx and Van Dam, Inge Adriaans, policy advisor on social safety for students at ESA, and Henny van Alphen, coordinator of the Integrity & Social Safety Desk, were also involved in its development.
TAILORED BY ROLE
The Code of Conduct outlines desirable behavior and the responsibilities that come with it from different perspectives. For example: how colleagues are expected to relate to one another, how researchers are expected to behave, and what responsibilities come with the roles of teachers, supervisors, managers, and board members. It also addresses how we want students to behave toward each other and toward teachers and staff.
"By tailoring this to specific roles, it becomes clear to everyone what behavior we expect from them," says Van Dam. "That helps bring it to life." "It also makes it easier to address each other about it," Van Alphen adds. "The code of conduct provides a general guideline, and we invite everyone to translate it into behavior in their own day-to-day practice."
ONE FOUNDATION FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY
Alongside the revision of the Code of Conduct, two related regulations have also been developed: a reporting procedure for undesirable behavior and a sanctions policy. "These three documents belong together. Together, they show what we expect from each other, where you can go if something goes wrong, and how we handle those reports," Heynderickx explains. The Code of Conduct was adopted this week; the other two documents will follow later this year.
With these new policies, the university aims to establish one clear foundation for the entire community. "Social safety and integrity concern everyone," says Inge Adriaans of ESA. "Student board members of study, student, and sports associations affiliated with TU/e can refer to the general TU/e Code of Conduct in their own internal rules and guidelines. Or, if they have one, their own code of conduct," Adriaans adds. She is regularly approached by student associations that want to develop their own code of conduct. "The TU/e Code of Conduct is leading. It serves as the umbrella they can build on."
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
In addition to the new regulations, TU/e is also working on training sessions and workshops on integrity and social safety. One example is the active bystander program , which teaches students and staff how to intervene when they witness undesirable behavior. "We are currently running a pilot in which we train our own students to deliver active bystander training sessions to fellow students," says Adriaans.
Bachelor's student Petar Kalinov is among the students who recently trained to become facilitators of so-called active bystander trainings. In these sessions, he teaches fellow students what undesirable behavior looks like,how to recognize it, and what they can do as bystanders.
During these sessions, he uses the university's CORe values , Curious, Open, Respectful, Responsible, to show what positive behavior looks like. "We often go through daily life without immediately recognizing undesirable behavior. Think of situations where someone makes a hurtful joke, or when someone is treated differently because of their gender. Most of the time, those moments are brushed off, and no one speaks up," Kalinov explains.
But it can also involve more obvious boundary-crossing behavior, he says. "For example, when someone stands too close to you at a party or keeps bothering you. In the training, we look at anything someone says or does that makes another person feel uncomfortable. And most importantly, what you as a bystander can do to help."
According to Kalinov, the biggest value of the training is raising awareness. "We want people to feel connected to one another. This training helps you put yourself in someone else's shoes. That also makes working together in groups easier."
At times, the training is intentionally a bit confronting. "We show a video about undesirable behavior toward women and then ask participants how it makes them feel. That can be uncomfortable, but that's where the learning happens." He sees something meaningful emerge. "You notice that people care about each other, despite their differences."
Participants are also introduced to the 5D method: direct, delay, distract, delegate, and document. "These are five ways you can respond as a bystander. You choose what fits the situation."
"In the end, it's something we do together," he says. "Even small actions can make a difference. That's how we create a safe and welcoming environment at our university."
Students can sign up for an active bystander training individually or as a group. Each session lasts two hours. The ideal group size is between 10 and 25 participants, and smaller groups may be combined. New training dates for both students and staff will be scheduled in the coming months.
Photo: Bart van Overbeeke
Petar Kalinov facilitates active bystander training for students
WHERE TO TURN FOR HELP AND ADVICE
Everyone in our community can turn to the Integrity & Social Safety Desk for questions or advice. One of the confidential advisors will talk things through with you and help you determine the most appropriate next step. Sometimes that conversation is enough; you may decide to take action yourself, or a formal report may be the next step.
If someone files a formal report of inappropriate or non-integer behavior, an integrity case manager from the desk steps in to guide the process. The confidential advisor can continue to support the person reporting throughout the entire process, if desired. "The way confidential advisors work is not new, but we have now clearly set it out in the reporting procedure," says Heynderickx.
PROVIDING CLARITY
Van Alphen: "To build trust in the system, there first needs to be clarity about what to do if you experience something unpleasant on campus, or if you witness inappropriate behavior: what do you do, where can you report it, and what happens next? In the reporting procedure, we describe step by step what happens when someone files a report about social safety or integrity."
This was not done lightly. "We organized workshops with people from across the university's support network, guided by the external agency Governance and Integrity International," Van Alphen explains. "Ombuds officers, study advisors, the PhD-EngD counselor, confidential advisors, HR advisors, policy staff, and members of the University Council all contributed to shaping the reporting procedure."
WORKING TOWARD A SOLUTION TOGETHER
The approach to handling reports is always to find a way forward together, Van Alphen says. "The most important thing is that people come to the desk, so confidential advisors can work with you to find a solution. The earlier you reach out, the easier it is to get things back on track together."
SANCTIONS POLICY
If a situation leads to a formal report or complaint, a sanction may be imposed. At that point, the sanctions procedure comes into play. "The sanctions themselves are not new," says Van Dam. "They are already set out, for example, in the collective labor agreement or in the Dutch Civil Code. But they were scattered. We have now brought them together and, more importantly, made the process around them clearer."
The goal is also to achieve greater consistency. "If sanctions are needed, you want similar situations to be handled in a similar way," says Van Alphen. "For that, it is important to have insight into what is happening across the entire campus."
What matters most is that people speak up, so we can find a solution together.
Henny van Alphen, coordinator Social Safety & Integrity desk
The document does not explicitly specify which sanctions correspond to which types of undesirable behavior. It does, however, provide suggestions for possible sanctions for students and staff, such as a warning, temporary exclusion from educational activities, or suspension.
"A sanction is always tailored to the situation and must be proportionate to what happened," says Van Alphen. She emphasizes that imposing a sanction is a last resort. "Such a process is already very impactful for everyone involved. That's why you first want to explore whether other solutions are possible."
INCREASINGLY VISIBLE
Alongside the new arrangements, the Integrity & Social Safety Desk has also been further developed. It now has a diverse team of 10 confidential advisors, up from 4 previously.
"That makes a big difference," says Van Alphen. "In addition to holding conversations, they now have the space to offer advice - both when asked and proactively - and to be more visible on campus, so our community can easily find them if something arises or if they need a listening ear."
A POSITIVE WORK AND STUDY CULTURE
The goal of all these initiatives is the same, says Heynderickx: "To ensure we create a positive work and study culture and prevent undesirable situations from arising. We hope that, thanks to these arrangements, people know what to expect from one another and where to turn if something happens."
Van Alphen concludes: "I find that people usually have good intentions. We all make mistakes sometimes. The best part is seeing what happens when people quickly talk things through and resolve them together."
