Erasmus MC responds to Science in Transition

At March 19 the Erasmus MC organized a symposium about the Science in Transition debate. Two scientists addressed the issues raised by Science in Transition from the perspective of the Erasmus MC.

Johan Mackenbach, Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC held a presentation titled ‘Perverse publication practices – in context’. He stated: “Reducing publication bias is important. Erasmus MC can contribute by raising research standards and avoiding perverse incentives. There should be less emphasis on publication and citation counts. Erasmus MC scientists should be judged by a wider range of science evaluation criteria.” View his presentation.

Ivo Touw, chair PhD committee Erasmus MC, gave the presentation ‘Junior Scientists as Stakeholders at risk’. He asked: “What are the criteria for excellence? Can science at Erasmus MC move away from “impactomania”? And is Erasmus MC providing a fertile ground for top talent?” View his presentation.

Frank Miedema from Science in Transition and UMC Utrecht recapitulated the points of Science in Transition. View his presentation.
– Stop ‘bean counting’ and start reading again, especially with grant applications and talent selection. Judge research by its merit, not by bibliometric impact.
– Publish less, but more high quality papers. Define quality also in terms of possible societal/clinical impact.
– Break free from short-term risk-averse research, try and solve complex societal problems.
– Involve societal stakeholders in defining research priorities Re-value education in academia, don’t just take research output into account

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