Recognition & Rewards Festival

12-nov-2026 | Leerhotel het Klooster

Room for everyone's talent: Taking the stage

It is time to take the stage.

Six years ago, a motivated coalition of knowledge institutions and research funders embarked on an ambitious movement to fundamentally renew the system for recognising and rewarding academics. With one clear ambition: talent in academia is diverse and deserves broader recognition. An ambition that still leaves room for groundbreaking, high-quality research. An ambition in which we shift the focus from a one-sided emphasis on quantitative research performance towards a richer recognition of the qualities of science, from individual achievements to team collaboration, personal development and societal impact.

This ambition has led to visible changes in policy, frameworks and instruments. At the same time, we know that real change only becomes meaningful when academics experience it in their daily practice: in their career paths, in the opportunities for development, and in how quality and quantity are balanced. The translation from system to workplace is in full motion and requires time, a learning mindset and shared ownership.

This Recognition & Rewards Festival is therefore more than a milestone marking six years of the programme. It is a moment to take the stage together. To show what has changed. To make experiences from practice visible. To learn from one another. We celebrate the successes achieved and look ahead without concealing that there is still work to be done.

Recognition & Rewards is not a completed programme, but a learning movement that continues to evolve in thinking, practice and leadership.

By taking the stage together, we enter a new phase in which new policies and instruments are becoming increasingly visible in academic practice, and everyone is given the space to further develop their talent.

Programme

The programme features:

  • inspiring examples of Recognition & Rewards in practice;

  • an international keynote on culture change in academia;

  • interactive discussions on current challenges and dilemmas;

  • showcases from universities and research organisations;

  • thematic sessions, networking opportunities and much more.

We are excited to welcome Minister of Education, Culture and Science Rianne Letschert to the festival, where she will share her perspective on the past and future of Recognition & Rewards movement.

Other speakers will be announced soon. We are currently inviting them.

Who should attend?

Whether you are actively involved in Recognition & Rewards or simply curious about how academic culture is evolving, we hope you will join us for a day of inspiration, dialogue and connection.

Know a colleague who would enjoy this conversation? Feel free to share this festival. We particularly encourage you to invite academics who are experiencing Recognition & Rewards in their daily practice. The movement only grows stronger when we broaden the conversation.

Location

Leerhotel het Klooster

Daam Fockemalaan 10

3818 KG

Amersfoort