ABSTRACT
How can we preserve the idea of differing in researcher assessment in an academic climate where competition between scholars is the norm rather than a notable exception? We explored the potential of a queer perspective in trying to answer this question using WhatsApp to facilitate knowledge exchange on researcher assessment in a transdisciplinary group of scholars. Queer is by definition whatever or whoever is perceived as at odds with an established norm and standard practice. The concept was useful to guide the collective thinking process about what good researcher qualities are and how these could be visualized. The core argument is that transdisciplinary exchange is crucially important for a healthy survival of the academic species. It challenges scholars to focus not only on who they are but also on what they do, how they do it and whether it matters in the context of achieving a more inclusive, diversifying academic climate. Considering different levels of reality of scholars, acknowledging time and place-related challenges particular scholars might be exposed to, and questioning the practice of title-driven assessment procedures might help to make progress. It is the actions behind a title that should be weighted in recruitment and promotion procedures.
