help_and_support - neuralinterfacinglab/LabManual GitHub Wiki

Help and Support

The university provides resources to support you in many different areas.

First of all, you may approach your daily supervisor in case you are not feeling well (mentally or physically) or have some other sort of concern related to the supervision or the university. They are there for you, not only in your scientific career. We are all human after all. Opening up and talking about it may give some relief and if that is not enough, your supervisor may be able to help you find appropriate resources.

In case you are unhappy with your supervisor, you may opt to talk to him/her about this, although this may be difficult. Remember that supervisors are also just people, and no person is perfect. They make mistakes and won't be able to improve unless we give them feedback as well. Of course, this may not be an option for you if it is of bigger concern. Please see the following section on whom to contact with confidentiality.

If you have a complaint, see misconduct or (socially) unwanted behavior that needs to remain confidential, you can contact the following teams:

If you are struggling mentally:

  • We all struggle with life at times, and studying or doing a PhD can be very stressful, together with other stuff it may just feel like 'too much' right now. Know that you are not alone.
  • People in academia are quite prone to perfectionism, a fear of failure or a burnout can affect you without even knowing it. Here's a short article on an event that was organised on the fear of failure, where Maxime and two other students openly shared their experiences with it.
  • Please check out the UM Wellbeing Movement, they offer all sorts of trainings to promote mental and physical wellbeing for everyone
  • If your symptoms are relatively mild, the university offers other courses that may help you build skills to overcome such difficulties, they can be found on the Staff Career Centre for employees (including PhD's) or the UM Career Services for other students
  • The university has UM psychologists that are there for (only bachelor and master) students
  • Please contact your own general practitioner in case you need more support
  • If you need time off, please consult with your supervisor and/or your study coordinator (student) or HR (employee)

If you are struggling physically:

If you are struggling academically:

There is an overview page for support and resources for other matters (like financials) as well for students, employees are advised to contact HR (Elisabeth for example).