ET Research Support Services

prof.dr.ir. H.L. Offerhaus (Herman)

Chair / Professor

+31534891097 h.l.offerhaus@utwente.nl Building: Carré C4441

dr.ir. J. Rouwkema (Jeroen)

Vice Chair / Associate professor

+31534896497 j.rouwkema@utwente.nl Building: Horst Complex W106

dr. J. van Dijk (Jelle)

Member / Assistant professor

+31534894596 jelle.vandijk@utwente.nl Building: Horst Complex W239

N. Gertz (Nolen)

Member / Assistant professor

+31534894239 n.gertz@utwente.nl Building: Ravelijn 4276

dr. L.S. Moreira Teixeira Leijten (Liliana)

Member / Assistant professor

+31534896385 l.s.moreirateixeira@utwente.nl Building: Horst - Zuidhorst 136 Building: Horst Complex ZH234

dr. F.R. Halfwerk (Frank)

Member / Assistant professor

+31534896482 f.r.halfwerk@utwente.nl Building: Horst Complex W115

A.M. Klijnstra (Anne-Marie)

Secretary

+31534895607 a.m.klijnstra@utwente.nl Building: Horst Complex T413

dr. A.R. Rao (Ashit)

Secretary

+31534891718 a.r.rao@utwente.nl

https://www.utwente.nl/en/service-portal/organisation-regulations-and-codes-of-conduct/integrity/scientific-integrity#ethical-review

ADVISORS OF THE ETHICS COMMITTEE

C.D. Lammertink (Cindy)

Clinical research coordinator / lecturer

+31534895350 c.d.lammertink@utwente.nl Building: Technohal 2106

ir. I. Sitters (Ilja)

Occupational Hygienist

+31534896942 i.sitters@utwente.nl Building: Spiegel Vloer 5

J. Mulder PhD (Joyce)

Biological safety officer

+31534897849 joyce.mulder@utwente.nl Building: Horst - Zuidhorst Building: Spiegel Vloer 5

The NES Ethics Committee advises on ethical issues related to research projects involving human beings, human or animal materials including cells and cell lines, genetically modified organisms, or so called 'dual use' research where the product of the research could be utilized for harmful purposes, such as military use. 

If you plan to do research involving any of the above-mentioned materials or subjects that has not been previously approved by the Biological Safety Officer (Ir. Ilja Sitters), and/or use potentially sensitive data about individuals, groups or organizations, you have to submit your proposal for ethical assessment by the EC.

An increasing number of journals and funding organizations require an ethical review. Therefore it is important that the EC assesses whether the research proposed conforms to ethical standards. This applies to all research that falls within the domain of Natural Sciences and Engineering Sciences and that is conducted by staff, PhD students, postdocs and students (BA-/MA-thesis), regardless of where it is conducted. If research is conducted by students or trainees, the supervising staff member bears the ultimate responsibility.

In case of a research subject to WMO/non-WMO (Wet medisch-wetenschappelijk onderzoek met mensen) read further under 'Requirement of medical-ethical reviews'.

DO YOU NEED TO SUBMIT YOUR RESEARCH FOR ETHICAL REVIEW?

Does your research:

• involve human subjects (and is not previously approved by the Biological safety Officer Ir. Ilja Sitters), OR
• include the use of data (either new or existing), the collection and analysis of which might conflict with the interests of the individuals, groups or organizations to which these data pertain, OR
• include the use of human or animal material (including cells and cell lines) that have not been previously approved by the Biological safety Officer, OR
• include the use of genetically-modified cells or organisms that have not been previously approved by the Biological safety Officer, OR
• can your research be classified as ‘dual use’ research, with potential applications in for instance military or police technology.

If you answered YES to any of the above questions, then you DO need to submit your research for ethical review.

Examples of research projects that usually do NOT pose ethical problems include the following: literature research, document analysis of publicly available reports design/construction/testing of new technology outside the mentioned areas of application.  

The researcher is responsible for the full and correct description of the research in the checklist and application, and positive advice is based only on the material that has been submitted.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

1. Go to the UT ethics site and check out the four different domain specific committees, to determine where to submit your request for ethics approval.
2. Go to the ethics review application and fill out the form. There is a user manual available for help. 
3. Prepare the necessary documents and upload in the webform. Mandatory if applicable are an Informed consent form and an Information brochure for participants, which should be written in easlily understandable language, without difficult technical terms (examples available below). Other documents such as research plans or protocols could also be uploaded. Please limit the reading time of committee members by only uploading documents with information that is vital for the ethics assessment.  
4. If you need assistance or would like to consult your supervisor, collegues or the secretary of the committee you can save a draft of your application as a PDF and email it to them, before submitting.
5. Submit your request.

Next steps:

1. If you are a Ph.D., EngD or Ba/Ma student, the request will be sent automatically to your supervisor for their consent. 
2. If you are a student and your research is part of a course in your study your teacher should take care of ethics assessment. For Ba and Ma theses the information under 1. applies.
3. After submission (and after consent from the supervisor in the case of a (PhD-/EngD/Ba/Ma student), the request will be referred to a committee member for review.
4. The EC reviewer will assess whether the submitted research satisfies the characteristics and conditions for ethically responsible research. He or she may ask some further questions for clarification or suggest some improvements, to which the applicant/researcher is expected to respond.
5. After that the reviewer will give a positive advice if he or she does not see any objections to the research going forward or a negative advice is this is not the case.

The old questionnaire is still available but only for reference below. Please use the tool to put in your reqest.

For questions please contact the Secretaries of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Sciences Ethics Committee (email: ethicscommittee-nes@utwente.nl). 

Should you require a formal letter of approval/no objection for a research project that has been approved by the Ethics committee e.g. for publication purposes, please let us know.

The intention of the Ethics comittee is to complete the ethical review within 2 working weeks after the initial submission of the request to the committee (If applicable this is after supervisor approval). This will not alway be feasible. Please note that during summer and winter recess fewer reviewers are available and ethics reviews may take longer than usual.

Informed consent; The informed consent form is only required if that is relevant.

CHANGES TO YOUR RESEARCH AFTER THE ETHICAL REVIEW IS COMPLETED?

If any substantive changes (amendments) are made to the research proposal (eg., methods or design) after the ethics review has been completed, these changes must be submitted to the Ethics committee. Send your changes to the Secretary of the Ethics Committee, and include your original application number. The changes will be presented to the involved EC-member to decide whether they can be approved or that the changes are so substantial that a new research request should be submitted. 

In the Netherlands, medical research involving human subjects is regulated by law: the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (WMO). Research is subject to the WMO if:

1. It concerns medical-scientific research, and
2. Participants are subject to procedures or are required to follow rules of behavior. 
   Read more information to decide if your research falls under the WMO. (also in Dutch)

If your research satisfies these two criteria, you have to undergo a review by an accredited MREC or the CCMO, instead of a review by our Natural Sciences and Engineering Sciences Ethics Committee. In practice, there will always be cases in which it is not clear immediately if a study is or is not subject to the WMO: the so-called grey area. When in doubt it is best you contact the MREC or CCMO.

COOPERATION BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY OF TWENTE AND CMO ARNHEM-NIJMEGEN

The University of Twente and Rehabilitation Centre Het Roessingh cooperate with the accredited MREC 'Research Ethics Committee in the region Arnhem-Nijmegen (CMO A/N)' and stimulate research to submit there. You can submit your research dossier to the CMO A/N through their online portal. There is an instruction manual available for submission to CMO A/N. This procedure can also be used for advice on WMO applicability (non-WMO statement).

TECHMED SUPPORTS

TechMed supports UT researchers with this type of research. Get in contact. 

NON-WMO RESEARCH

If your research does not fall under the scope of the WMO then it does not have to be reviewed by an accredited MREC or the CCMO. However, please note you may need a non-WMO declaration in case you carry out your research in a hospital or another medical institution. Both METCs can provide this statement: CMO A/N or MEC-U. 
Also, identify whether the organization with which you will be working has its own requirements and policy for the ethical review of research. If it does, submit your proposal to this organization, and provide us with a copy of your application and the resulting decision. 

WHY CARE ABOUT INFORMED PARTICIPATION PROCEDURES IN RESEARCH?

Informed participation is an ethical and legal requirement for research involving human Participants. It is the process in which a participant is informed beforehand about all aspects of your research to enable the participant to make an informed decision on their willingness to participate in your research. 
Informed participation is an essential requirement prior to every research involving people as subjects for research. It involves informing the subject about his or her rights, the purpose of the research, procedures to be undertaken, potential risks and benefits of participation, expected duration of the research, the extent of confidentiality of personal identification and demographic data, so that the participation of subjects in your research is entirely voluntary.  
Informed consent - when a person actively provides consent to participate in your research - is also increasingly important for use of data after your research, as failure to properly address issues of consent may restrict the opportunities for initial use of data, the publishing of your results and the sharing of the data.

NOTE: you always have to inform people who participate in your research about your research. Obtaining explicit consent (e.g. signing a form or tick a box) is not always required; if research data is gathered completely anonymously you do not need to register the participants' consent

WHO IS CAPABLE TO GIVE CONSENT? 

Participants, or their legal representatives, must be given ample opportunity to understand the nature, purpose and anticipated consequences of research participation, so they are able to give informed consent to the extent to which they are capable of doing so. Please note that not all human beings are capable of consent. Individuals with the capacity or competence to consent:

• are 16 years or older (adult);
• have the capacity to make choices about a proposed course of action;
• know about the risks, benefits, and alternatives;
• understand that consent is ‘voluntary and continuing permission’;
• understand that consent ‘can be withdrawn at any time’.

More info on individuals competence to consent on CCMO website (English/ Dutch).

CONSENT UNDER THE GDPR (EU PRIVACY LAW)

Consent is one of the six legal grounds for lawful processing of personal data, often consent is the most appropriate legal basis in research. If personally identifiable information of individuals will be processed in your research, active consent is required, according to EU General Data Protection Regulation GDPR. Consent under the GDPR is: valid, freely given, unambiguous, specific, informed and explicit actively given consent. The 'consent' requires action: it needs to be given by a written (signed)/oral statement or by clear affirmative action. Silent consent, inactivity or pre-ticked boxes are not valid. 

If you intend to process sensitive personal data, then explicit consent is required for collecting those data. For an explanation on personally identifiable information check the UT Personal Data website on privacy rules and definitions.

WHAT DOES 'INFORMED CONSENT PROCEDURE' ENTAIL?

The informed consent procedure consists of an information sheet AND an informed consent form 

Specifically, the information provided in advance addresses (where applicable):

• the voluntariness of participation;
• the nature and purpose of the investigation, including if the data collection is meant only for training purposes
• any reasonably foreseeable factors regarding the nature, purpose, and duration of the research that may influence participants’ willingness to participate (such as the extent of strain, potential risks, and discomfort)
• the right to decline to participate and withdraw from the research at any time, without any negative consequences, and without providing any reasons;
• any recording of voices and images (where applicable);
• confidentiality protection and the limitations thereof;
• procedures for incidental findings (where applicable);
• additional insurance guarantees (where applicable);
• period of time to which the consent applies;
• time and nature of data storage
• re-use of specified data in the current, future or other research;
• incentives for participation;
• names and details of the responsible researcher and contact person(s) for questions about the research and rights of research participants;

INFORMED CONSENT FORMS

Here you can find several informed consent forms. They are examples, which can be used as a template for your own, customized version. Before signing the informed consent form, participants need to be provided with sufficiently detailed information on the study so that they can make an informed, voluntary and rational decision to participate. 

Interviews and experiments
See the download below for a template for an Informed Consent you may use for interviews and experiments. 

Here you can find contact persons in the financial staff of ET

On this page you will find the support offered by the financial department of the Faculty of Engineering Technology per project fase (start, during, end). If you need support that is not mentioned here, please contact Roy Nordkamp, project controller financial department ET. 

On this page you could find the guideline regarding the process for the 2nd and 3rd money stream projects of the Faculty of Engineering Technology. 

An estimated budget plan is a required part of a grant proposal. This means that the funder often requests not only a description of the research planned, but also an estimation of what implementing the project will cost. It is very important to reach out to the financial department as soon as you decide to work on a project proposal. The financials controllers can think along with you on what your project will require and they will be able to keep in check the specific budget calculations conditions of the call. Importantly, the financial controllers will have the full picture of your research group/department's situation and will be able to advise you beyond the proposal you are working on. 

On this page you could find the information about the procedure tuition fee PhD-candidates (Guest employees) of the Faculty of Engineering Technology. 

ET faculty and the University of Twente host several internal grant for its research employees to perform out-of-the-box crazy research or collaborate with industry, the University of Münster (WWU) or hospitals in the East-Netherlands region.

To prepare you for writing a grant proposal, the SBD-Grants Office provides in-depth information on grants, European and Dutch grant landscapes and tailor-made support through information sessions, webinars and personal support. 

Are you planning to coordinate a large research consortium? ET faculty is supporting you! Each year ET faculty provides limited funds to involve an external consultant to assist you in writing the research proposal for a large consortium grant. See below for more information and how to apply for this fund.

An estimated budget plan is a required part of a grant proposal. This means that the funder often requests not only a description of the research planned, but also an estimation of what implementing the project will cost. It is very important to reach out to the financial department as soon as you decide to work on a project proposal. The financials controllers can think along with you on what your project will require and they will be able to keep in check the specific budget calculations conditions of the call. Importantly, the financial controllers will have the full picture of your research group/department's situation and will be able to advise you beyond the proposal you are working on. 

For advice on increasing your visibility & impact as a researcher, consult this page.

ir. L. van Ewijk (Luuk)

Information Specialist

+31534897517 l.vanewijk@utwente.nl Building: Horst Complex T415

The faculty ET offers both PhD tracks and EngD programmes for graduated Masters. Although the PhD is well-known university wide, the EngD needs some more explanation.

An EngD is a two-year post-master technological designer programme. In these two years, an EngD-trainee spends 50% of his time in broadening and deepening his knowledge and the other 50% the EngD-trainee carries out an in-company design assignment to demonstrate how the knowledge gained is converted into innovative business solutions. It offers companies the possibility to hire a technological designer, a professional who can design and develop complex new products and processes and offer innovative solutions to their technological design issues.

In short the EngD is a practical oriented professional doctorate in engineering which is better suited to the direct needs of industry, whereas a PhD track focuses on scientific research. The three most noticeable differences between a PhD and EngD programme are:

• A PhD programme has a duration of 4 years whereas a EngD programme takes 2 years to complete
• A PhD candidate focuses on research at the University, whereas an EngD-trainee focuses on technological designs in industry
• A PhD can be done in any research area represented by a full professor at the University and leads to the title “Doctor” (Dr., equivalent to PhD). AnEngD leads to an “Engineering Doctorate” (EngD)

The faculty ET is the organisor and coordinator of the EngD programmes in Civil Engineering, Energy & Process Technology, Maintenance and Robotics. You can find all support and contact persons at the section EngD contacts ET.

At the EngD intranet you can find all programme related documents such as the charter, studyguides, qualifier forms and templates. For any questions about or support for EngD proposals, contact the programme director of the best fitting programme.

The support for PhD’s is centrally organised at the Twente Graduate School (TGS). For any general questions and support you can take a look at their website or send an email to tgs@utwente.nl. For any questions and support relating Hora Finita for PhD’s check the website or contact the Hora Finita support office at horafinita@utwente.nl.

All data registrations of personal information must be recorded across the University of Twente (see FAQ). These registrations (systems, forms) are referred to as ‘processing’. The responsible owner of the registration must report the processing to the DPO team. Processing in the course of scientific research also falls under this obligation. In that case, the research scientist is the processing owner.

The Privacy Contact Person (PCP) of the faculty ET can assist with processing registration. A registration tool is available to make it easier for the custodian to comply with the statutory requirements set for this purpose. 

For more information check the GDPR registration tool.

The Privacy Contact Person (PCP) for the faculty of ET is, Anne-Marie Klijnstra. The UT Data Protection Officer (DPO) can also be contacted.  

Do you engage a (new) party that processes personal data for you, you may need a processor agreement in case the research data is identifiable to individual persons. Please contact the PCP (Privacy Contact Person) of ET to sort out if a processor agreement is necessary: Anne-Marie Klijnstra. 

If you bring in someone who will be processing personal data for you, this person is not allowed to use this information for his or her own purposes. You need to formalize this in a data processor agreement. This agreement establishes that the new person may not use the personal data for his or her own purposes and that this person must immediately report any data breach.

The UT has already established a data processor agreement for standard applications that process personal data. If you are bringing in a new person, or if you’re not sure if someone has already signed a data processing agreement, contact the Privacy Contact Person of ET or the Data Protection Officers team.

WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN A DATA PROCESSOR AGREEMENT?

At the UT we use a standard template by SURF for the data processor agreement, which you can request from your Privacy Contact Person. You should include the following items in this agreement:

• The topic and the duration of the data processing.
• The nature and the objective of the data processing.
• The type of personal data.
• The categories of those involved.
• The rights and obligations of the person responsible for processing the data.

 PROCEDURE PROCESSOR AGREEMENT FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

1. Please contact the PCP of ET if a processor agreement is necessary
2. The PCP will send the template by SURF to the researcher
3. The researcher fills out the form and returns it to the PCP
4. The researcher receives a copy of the signed processor agreement from the PCP

For advice on copyright related to research publications, consult this page. For advice on using copyrighted material for education, consult this page.

ir. L. van Ewijk (Luuk)

Information Specialist

+31534897517 l.vanewijk@utwente.nl Building: Horst Complex T415

For very fundamental advice on how to avoid plagiarism, and the tools available to check your own, or student’s work on plagiarism, please consult this page.

ir. L. van Ewijk (Luuk)

Information Specialist

+31534897517 l.vanewijk@utwente.nl Building: Horst Complex T415

For advice on finding & accessing literature, consult this page. Regarding acquiring new literature for individual use or for education,  make sure you consult this page.  

ir. L. van Ewijk (Luuk)

Information Specialist

+31534897517 l.vanewijk@utwente.nl Building: Horst Complex T415

To showcase their research, increase visibility, access, and impact researchers can upload their research output, profiles, and activities in PURE RESEARCH INFORMATION. After registration in Pure (the back-end system) the uploaded information is published on the public portal.

For more information on how to register your research information and on helpful features in PURE that will allow you not only to share your research information with the world but also  save time e.g by incorporating your publications in your CV, visit the UT Research Information System webpage. There you will find a manual, Quick reference cards on special subjects and a FAQ section, that will answer most of your questions. 

A.M. Klijnstra (Anne-Marie)

Research Support Officer Faculty of Engineering Technology

+31534895607 a.m.klijnstra@utwente.nl Building: Horst Complex T413

NWO and other funders require researchers to complete an RDM section in their grant proposal to show how they’re planning to reuse existing datasets, and to show that they have a solid plan about where to store, share, publish and preserve their research data. Please use the link below for guidance and/or contact the data steward for assistance.

NWO/funder requirements

Each individual researcher or research leader is responsible to write a research data management plan. The researcher should do this at the start of the research project. The UT has developed a tool for writing your data management plan (DMP) and the notification of processing of personal data in research in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR registration). 

NWO, ZonMw and EU approved the UT DMP template. This means that you can complete the UT DMP template and upload this template in finalizing your grant procedures. Please check the general UT website on Data Management (and the RDM courses), the UT and ET data policies and Guidelines on personal information. The Canvas course is available to everyone. The Bootcamp course is mandatory for PhD's (including Canvas courses, interactive session and DMP review). All practical and general information about RDM, can be found at www.utwente.nl/researchsupport

Find the best way to store, share or transfer your research data by using this decision tree. 

To make your research data FAIR by preserving it at the UT in Areda and/or to make it publicly available in a public repository like 4TU.ResearchData see this link.

If you have any questions regarding Research Data Management or specifically about the tool, please contact:

V.R.J.R. Wanningen MSc (Victor)

Research Data Steward

+31534899321 v.r.j.r.wanningen@utwente.nl Building: Horst Complex T415

dr.ir. M. van Bentum (Maarten)

Data librarian

+31534894474 m.vanbentum@utwente.nl Building: Carré C1339

ing. P. Lasker (Peter)

ICT Account manager for ET

+31534891093 peter.lasker@utwente.nl Building: Horst Complex T409

•  Research Support
•  Digital Competence Center (DCC)
•  Open Science Community Twente (OSCT) 
•  4TU.ResearchData Community

Research Support

Digital Competence Centre

IT Costs