The document summarizes the role and functions of the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) at Delft University of Technology. The HREC was established in 2012 to review all university research involving human subjects for ethical issues like informed consent and data privacy. It is chaired by Sabine Roeser and has seven members from various faculties. While ethics review is now common internationally, most European technical universities do not have such a committee. The HREC process involves submitting an application for either chair approval if minimal risk, or committee review. Applications have steadily increased and cover a range of research areas. The HREC checks for issues like safety certification, data collection methods, and informed consent forms. It aims to improve awareness and develop

1. Human Research Ethics
Committee (HREC)
Sabine Roeser, chair
Joost Groot Kormelink, secretary

2. What is HREC?
• Established in 2012 by CvB
• Interfaculty committee
• Check all research by staff and students that
includes involvement of Humans (during
experiments and/or data collection) for
ethical issues, e.g.:
 Informed consent
 Data & privacy issues
 Participation vulnerable group's
 Safety equipment (certification)

3. Members of the committee
• Sabine Roeser (Chair, TPM)
• Willem-Paul Brinkman (Vice-chair, EEMCS)
• Ruth Mugge (IDE)
• John van den Dobbelsteen (3mE)
• Daan Pool (AE)
• Clarine van Oel (Arch)
• Joost Groot Kormelink (TPM, Secretary)

4. A bit of background
• Ethics committees common practice for medical experiments since
famous Helsinki declaration in 1964
• Common practice Anglophone countries
• However, not yet common practice for technical universities: 62%
of European universities outside the United Kingdom do not have an
HREC at university level
(Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25746787, 2014)

5. How does it work (process)
Applicants fill
in checklist
• (see HREC.TUDelft.nL)
If minimal risk
(MR) : chair
approves
• Takes about one
week
If not MR:
decision by
committee
•Additional info
required,
committee meets
every 4-6 weeks)
Note: HREC is
not authorized to
review medical
experiments

6. Some remarks
• Awareness existence HREC needs to be improved
(according to the rules: we have to give consent before
experiment may start)
• Number of applications per year: steady increase (this
year we expect around 120 applications compared with
50 in 2014).
• But still: top of the iceberg
• As from this year: applications in order to get EU-funding

7. What do we check: Safety issues
Is all specific equipment certified or checked by
ARBO?

8. Data collection:
• Convert methods
• Access
• Anonymization
• Storage
• Privacy
What do we check: Data

9. What do we check: Informed consent (IC)
participants
IC-form must:
• Clearly state the purpose and benefits of
the research/study without jargon
• Include any foreseeable risk and
discomfort
• Describe how data will be secured,
including privacy issues
• Clearly state that participation is
voluntary and that withdrawal will not
result in any negative consequences.
NB: Special regulations for vulnerable groups

10. Examples of applications
• AE: air traffic controllers experiments
• Bio-mechanical engineering: new equipment
• TPM: Data collection for cybersecurity
• IDE: Devices for the deaf
• EEMCS: Sensors during festivals
• EEMCS: Virtual reality tests
• CITG: Monitoring behaviour people at railway stations
• CITG:Driving automated vehicles
• TPM: Data gathering MOOCs
In most cases: approved but under conditions and/or
recommendations.

11. Important
• Funding agencies like EU and NWO pay more and
more attention to ethical issues (screening)
• Same goes for publishers

12. Training
• All PhD students have mandatory training in scientific
integrity, which also covers human research ethics.
• Some faculties pay attention to HRE in their curriculum (i.e.
IDE)

13. Where do we go from here?
• Web based application (under development)
• Awareness campaign
• Faculties assess applications by students (Ba/Ma):
IDE will hit the ground first, other faculties to follow in 2016.
• Faculties decide on their structure/procedures
• Online teaching materials (web lectures)