FAQ

A safe and pleasant working and study environment is an important prerequisite for effective learning, working and cooperation. This requires all of us to respect laws and regulations and to consider how our behaviour comes across to others.

If you suspect a violation of integrity or experience unacceptable behaviour from a student or staff member, it is important not just to live with it. It is often a good idea to talk to those involved or to a supervisor, although this can be difficult. Therefore, all TU Delft students can turn to an approachable facility for help and advice: the team of confidential advisors.

Confidential advisors are available to listen to your story and support you in taking steps to improve the situation. You can also contact a confidential advisor if you have witnessed an unpleasant incident. 
 

The team of confidential advisors is available to anyone associated with TU Delft, in other words: all students, grant students, guests, employees (permanent or temporary) and other staff. 

The confidential advisor stands beside you. He or she lends a sympathetic ear, provides information if you have questions and helps you figure out how to improve the situation. You’re in charge and your contact is strictly confidential. This means that you make your own choices and the confidential advisor does not do anything without your consent. If necessary, the confidential advisor can refer you to a counsellor or other expert within or outside TU Delft. 

Together, the members of the team of confidential advisors have expertise in three areas:

1. Undesirable conduct and unacceptable behaviour. Examples include bullying, discrimination, aggression, violence, (sexual) harassment and stalking.
2. Issues related to organisational integrity, such as conflicts of interest or abuse of power.
3. Issues related to academic integrity, such as plagiarism or fraud.

If you think a particular situation violates the TU Delft code of conduct, our values or the law, it may be difficult to discuss this with those directly involved or a supervisor. Are you unsure about the best approach to take? Do you need someone to talk to or more information? Are you considering making a formal report? If you contact a confidential advisor, they will help you find a solution.

The team consists of seven internal confidential advisors and one external confidential advisor. Internal confidential advisors are employed at a faculty or university services department; their work as confidential advisor is a university wide role in which they have been appointed by the Executive Board. The external confidential advisor is not employed at TU Delft.

All confidential advisors can provide advice to anyone at the TU Delft. This means that it is up to you to choose to whom you want to turn, depending on your question and preferences. This can be an internal confidential advisor or the external confidential advisor. If necessary, the confidential advisor that you approach can refer you, after consultation, to a colleague within the team of confidential advisors with specific knowledge and expertise.

The whole team introduces itself here.

You can choose which confidential advisor to contact. It is helpful to look at the expertise ​​​​​of the different team members in advance. When you call or mail them, you can make an appointment for a meeting. The confidential adviser you contact might suggest that you be referred to a fellow confidential adviser, for example, because they have more space in their schedule or specialise in an area that ties in better with your question.

The confidential advisor listens to your story. Together you analyse the situation. Usually you will first look for informal solutions. If you wish, you can also explore other options. You remain in charge and all contact remains confidential. Good to know: because confidential advisors are partial (they are always on the side of the person reporting the issue), they cannot investigate or act as mediators themselves. Accompanying you to a difficult conversation, to provide support, is often a possibility.

A problem or situation may affect several people. In that case, of course, all of you are welcome to contact the team of confidential advisors. However, each individual should contact the team themselves. This is because a confidential advisor only accepts reports from individuals, and not from groups. 

Anything you tell or write to the confidential advisors will remain strictly confidential. The confidential advisor will never share information that can be traced to you with others, including other confidential advisors, unless you consent to this. 

Exceptions are situations involving very serious misconduct, a serious crime or a threat to the safety of individuals or TU Delft. In such a special case, the confidential advisor may need to raise the alarm internally. This will usually first be discussed with you, the person reporting the issue. If necessary, the confidential advisor will make every effort to keep you out of the picture and prevent any information from being traced back to you. Situations like this are very rare in practice.

In addition to their core activities – providing support and guidance to students and staff – confidential advisors have two other tasks. On request, they may provide information on the work of the team of confidential advisors, integrity and social safety (for example, to student associations, student and employee representative bodies, teams or managers). In addition, they advise TU Delft on the trends and developments they observe, for example through their annual report.

TU Delft’s confidential advisors hold independent positions. Managers, administrators or supervisors cannot hold them accountable for how they implement their roles. They do not receive instructions from anyone.

The team of confidential advisors draws up a public annual report each spring. The information in the annual report cannot be traced to individuals in any way whatsoever. In addition to figures on numbers and types of reports, the annual report contains recommendations to the Executive Board and the rest of the organisation. Annual reports can be found on the TU Delft website.

Yes, there are clear limits to the work of a confidential advisor. A confidential advisor:

• ensures good availability during business hours, but is not an emergency desk.
• does not take over conversations or problems from you (you always stay in charge yourself);
• cannot act as an independent intermediary between you and another party;
• does not investigate the facts, does not hear witnesses, does not engage in ascertaining the truth;
• has no role in (impending) labour disputes and discussions on performance;
• does not accept reports from groups; only from individuals.

TU Delft has two ombuds officers: one for students (Carin Wensveen) and one for staff (Birgitte Peters). Like the confidential advisors, the ombuds officers hold independent positions. They too will listen to your story, help you think about possible solutions and guarantee confidentiality. The main difference between the work of confidential advisors and ombuds officers is that ombuds officers are impartial and can initiate interventions themselves. Examples include mediating between parties and conducting investigations.