May was a big month for the Research Center with the kick off of the Research Ethics Committee! UA researchers also published articles and attended conferences. We close May with a conference that takes place at the University of Aruba on 29 May 2026: The Shaping Rights Across Oceans Conference!

Shaping Rights Across Oceans: UA Conference 29 May 2026

The University of Aruba is organizing a one-day conference on May 29 2026, exploring the influence of the European Convention on Human Rights in the Caribbean. The primary language of the conference is English. The main objective is to bring together diverse professionals and legal experts to analyze how the rights guaranteed in the European Convention on Human Rights are interpreted, contested and realized in the courtrooms and communities of Caribbean territories. The University of Aruba invites everyone who is interested in gaining more knowledge to participate in this informative and educational conference on May 29! Register here, or contact Dr. Chun Luk and Brechtje Huiskes (echr75@ua.aw) for more information.

Open call: Ocean Data

Conference: Dutch Caribbean Research Week

The Dutch Caribbean Research Week 2026 is a free multi-day conference taking place from 17-24 June in person and online. You can still register to hear more about the research from UA Researchers and Associates such as:

• Dr. Amber van Veghel, 17 June: A scoping review in small island contexts: mapping research on food in the ABC islands

• Francis Laclé, 17 June: Navigating Research Realities on a Small Island: Lessons from A PhD Healthcare Project on Aruba

• Bart van Donselaar, 17 June: Language ideologies in Aruban secondary education: Integrating policy texts, teacher perspectives and pupil perspectives through nexus analysis

• Dr. Esther Plomp, 17 June: panel discussion: Advancing just and trusted knowledge systems: open science, research integrity, and equitable AI for evidence-driven policy

• Dr. Eric Mijts, 19 June: Book presentation: Turning the Tide: Climate Change, Social Change and Islandness

• Brechtje Huiskes, 24 June: Incompatibility regulations for public office holders in the Dutch Caribbean

• Hannah Meijer, 24 June: ECHR obligations and the necessity to collaborate: how to do so considering the Murray-case?

• Thaïs Franken, 24 June: Public Value Creation by Civil Society Organizations: Insights from Social, Health, and Cultural CSOs in Aruba and Bonaire

And many poster presentations such as the one about the Dutch Caribbean Digital Competence Network!

Kick off Ethics meeting

On 4 May 2026 we held our Research Ethics Application information meeting, kicking off the possibilities for UA Researchers and Research Associates to submit an Research Ethics Committee Application for review. These types of reviews are necessary to ensure that the research is conducted ethically. Previously these types of reviews were conducted by international institutes - and now the UA is able to lead this part of the process!

UA Researchers and Research Associates can find the documents they need via our StOnE module (Research Ethics Application). The protocol of the UA Research Ethics Committee is publicly available on the Open Knowledge Repository. If you can’t access the module in StOnE, doubt whether you need to do an Ethics Application, or have any other questions, please reach out to ethics@ua.aw.

Research highlight: Dr. Nigel John & Kailas Malwade

Dr. Nigel John and Kailas Malwade went to the international conference: Where Oceans Join: Landscapes, Seascapes, Archipelagoes in Circum-Caribbean Ecologies, taking place from 5-7 May at the University of the West Indies, st. Augustine. Nigel presented on: ‘STEM, Sustainability and Caribbean Environmentalisms: The SISSTEM Program in Aruba’. Kailas presented on: ‘Sustainable energy: Natural convective drying of Aruban mangoes: An experimental case study’.

Research Highlight: Dr. Clementia Eugene

Dr. Clementia Eugene published an article titled ‘Child Maltreatment and Children’s Human Capabilities in Aruba’ in 2022. We have now summarized and made translations of this one page summary available on our Open Knowledge Repository!

Research Highlight: Dr. Amber van Veghel

Congratulations to Dr. Amber van Veghel who successfully defended her PhD thesis titled “The environmental impact and research characteristics of food systems in small island contexts” 🏝️🥬🍅. This research was conducted within the SISSTEM program of the University of Aruba, the PhD degree was awarded by KU Leuven. Check out the aftermovie or read the PhD thesis on our Open Knowledge Repository!

Research Highlight: Jeltzlin Semerel & Dr. Nigel John

Jeltzlin Semerel and dr. Nigel John have published the article: Novel Aloe-Emodin Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents: Synthesis, Characterization and Cytotoxic Activity. Preliminary research shows that Aloe vera component derivatives can potentially help to combat lung and breast cancer cells!

Research Resources

• Zeven lessen voor AI-robuust toetsontwerp in het hoger onderwijs (article)

• Eight Principles of Good Data Management (blogpost)

• Navigating Partnerships in Grant Writing (webinar)

• Designing a Survey: Part 1 - Asking Good Questions and Part 2 - Solid Structure & Flow (blogposts)

• Human Research and Ethics: Singing from the same songbook (video)