Human Resources

The ICN2 Human Resources Department focuses on the people of the ICN2, providing effective talent attraction, selection, development, and assessment processes, as well as a set of user-friendly guidelines and tools. Its mission is to support growth and career development through the nurturing of an appealing institutional environment.

The department’s policies contribute to making the ICN2 a workplace where people can thrive, share their experiences, and exchange new ideas. In 2021, the institute renewed the European Commission’s HR Excellence in Research logo (HRS4R) in recognition of its commitment to career development, equal opportunities, transparency, and favourable working conditions.

2022 marked the return to normality after a strange period due to the COVID pandemic. The teleworking policy was approved as an alternative way to work. Additionally, 2022 was synonymous with reporting. Several reports were prepared for the Severo Ochoa review and the CERCA evaluation, among others. In response to the increased demand for information in recent years, work began with a supplier to improve the process of obtaining data from our current systems. The writing and legal requirements follow-up of the new Equal Opportunities and Diversity Plan was an important project in which HR was involved and focused during the last months of 2022.

Under the Severo Ochoa and HRS4R umbrellas, the first year of the BIST Mentoring Programme concluded with excellent feedback from the involved mentors and mentees, allowing the second edition to proceed. Furthermore, the initial trainings of the Postdoc Programme path were scheduled, and we continued with the established activities within the ICN2 PhD Programme.

In 2022, we worked on developing a Training tool software that will enable us to monitor the PhD students included in the ICN2 PhD programme and launch training activities and registration for the entire community. The most recent monitoring was conducted using the tool, and the goal is to launch the training section in 2023. The preparation of a psychological support programme with external professionals for our community was also initiated in 2022. Several seminars and workshops were conducted to help promote the mental health of our ICN2 member.

Human resources strategy for researchers action plan

Head of Human Resources

Julio César Gómez Navarro