UdS programme ‘Sharpening profiles - strengthening skills - promoting careers’

In December 2018, the ‘Sharpening Profiles - Strengthening Skills - Promoting Careers’ programme was adopted by the UdS committees. This programme systematically describes all academic qualification paths at UdS with all accompanying measures for personnel development and career support.

The UdS uses the EU Commission's ‘EFRC’ phase model to structure its academic staff. This provides for four academic qualification levels R1-R4 based on research experience, reputation (especially in the degree of personal networking) and independence. At the UdS, level R1 is associated with the start of academic qualification as part of the doctorate, while level R2 corresponds to the early postdoc phase. Level R3 corresponds to the advanced academic qualification paths (e.g. habilitation, junior research group leader, junior professorship, etc.) at the UdS. At level R4, academic qualification no longer takes place, usually with the assumption of a lifetime professorship.

In developing its measures and framework conditions for academic qualification, personnel development and career advancement, the UdS follows a number of essential guiding principles:

• Adequate formal framework conditions (e.g. regulations, guidelines) for academic qualifications
• Appropriate support for academic qualification
• Appropriate autonomy within the framework of academic qualifications
• Continuous personnel development at all qualification levels
• Transitions in career paths (also when changing to non-scientific career paths) as a focus of career development
• Career development should facilitate (inter)national networking
• Career support for female academics at all qualification levels
• Equal opportunities and compatibility of career and family

Together with the programme, guidelines for the establishment of independent junior research group leaders and guidelines for academic career planning were introduced.