Exceptional Equipment – Technology Platforms

All UMONS platforms are subject to a unique governance plan validated by the Vice-Rector for Research, which makes their management much more systematized, professional and efficient.

Research Council (Conseil de Recherche – CRECH)

The Research Council (CRECH) is chaired by the Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, Prof Ruddy Wattiez. It is the competent body for research-related matters under the direct supervision of the University Board of Directors (conseil d’administration). Its responsibilities regarding the institutional platforms are to :

• Approve the creation of new platforms based on proposals from the strategic committee
• Decide on actions to be taken concerning platforms, particularly regarding their funding

Strategic Commitee

 Composition:

• President: elected by a simple majority by the Strategic Committee. The term lasts for a maximum of 4 years, and the President may only serve one term. The President must be an academic or scientist at UMONS with a permanent position
• Members: the coordinator of the Management Committee for each platform, the Presidents of the research institutes, 3 external members including 1 representative from “UMONS Innovation Centers,” 1 AVRE representative, and the Vice-Rector for Research
• Secretary: appointed during the election of the President

 Missions:

• Develop a strategic vision for the medium- and long-term evolution and sustainability of the platforms, based particularly on the annual activity reports of the platforms, and provide recommendations to the authorities through the CRECH
• Suggest the creation of new platforms
• Suggest and initiate strategic partnerships at the national and international levels
• Monitor strategic funding opportunities for the platforms
• Implement a global communication policy related to the platforms to optimize their visibility, including internationally
• Propose the acquisition of new equipment at the steering committee level to stay at the forefront of technology and meet the needs of researchers in both the academic and industrial sectors.

Steering Committee (1/platform)

Missions:

• Promote collaboration, sharing of experiences, and best practices among platform
• Prepare an annual report presenting the platform activities, needs in terms of training, human resources, maintenance, repair, upgrades, and new acquisitions in the short and medium term, as well as the platform’s strengths and weaknesses
• Initiate new collaborative projects among platform members and with external partners, and seek external funding
• Be attentive to users’ needs in order to relay them to the equipment manager and, if necessary, to the strategic committee
• Establish a general access policy
• Define and implement the partnership policy with different types of users
• Provide content to feed the platform webpage
• Implement the communication and promotion policy for the platform expertise and services externally

Equipment manager (1/equipment)

 Missions :

• Point of contact for internal and external requests related to the equipment under their responsibility, whether for service-based analyses or collaborations
• Supervise the use of instruments, coordinate reservations, and ensure the availability of resources
• Plan and perform maintenance on the equipment
• Establish the access policy for the instrument in accordance with the platform general access policy
• Develop a service offering and pricing structure that takes into account the origin of the request (UMONS, external academic, or company) as well as the requirements and constraints of the funding sources
• Organize necessary training sessions for the use of the equipment and provide technical support
• Submit project proposals with the appropriate Steering Committee member in the context of new acquisitions or necessary upgrades

• Prof. Ruddy Wattiez
• Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• ruddy.wattiez@umons.ac.be