Expert meeting on tenure track/
Career tracks in Japan and Germany in comparison
Junior Research Group Leader Position –
A career path to professorship in Germany
Higher education parameters, prospects, funding opportunities, regulatory framework
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Eligibility for professorship in Germany –
Alternative career tracks
3. Junior research group leader position
● Key features
● Overview: Funding opportunities
4. Regulatory framework
● Status
● Rights and obligations
● Tenure option/track
5. Conclusion
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Junior Research Group Leader Position. A career path to professorship in Germany/ Dr. Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp
Tokyo, Japan 04/26/2012
Introduction
Setting the scene – the higher education system in Germany is in flux
► International competition for the best talents: Brain drain – brain circulation –
brain gain.
► Benchmarking against academic systems and career tracks worldwide – as a
consequence German universities have become more competitive and flexible.
► In the transformation process the Excellence Initiative by German federal and
state governments to promote top-level research at German universities plays
a key role.
► Change for the better: status and prospects for early career researchers:
● Labor market for academics (vacancies)
● Laws on higher education institutions (tenure option/track, rights and obligations)
● Personnel recruitment (headhunting/scouting-system, gender balance, appointment
process).
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Junior Research Group Leader Position. A career path to professorship in Germany/ Dr. Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp
Tokyo, Japan 04/26/2012
Eligibility for professorship in Germany
Alternative career tracks
► To hold the rank of professor, it was usually necessary to have attained the
habilitation.
● Written postdoctoral thesis based on independent scholarly accomplishments:
cumulative or monographic.
● Earned after several years while working as a research assistant, assigned to a chair
(core funded).
● The permission for lecturing – venia legendi – is officially given.
► Nowadays the habilitation is no longer a prerequisite for eligibility for
professorship – there are alternatives to assistantship to obtain equivalent
scientific/academic achievements: e.g.
● Independent junior research group leader positions,
● Junior professorships (introduced in 2002, offered by universities).
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Junior Research Group Leader Position. A career path to professorship in Germany/ Dr. Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp
Tokyo, Japan 04/26/2012
Junior research group leader position (1/2)
Key features
► Purpose: to establish an independent position in science/academia early on;
to become eligible for professorship on a fast track by leading a working group
and conducting research.
► The group leader position is a mostly five-year time-limited employment roughly
equivalent to an assistant professor in the U.S. [TVÖD/TVL E 15 (4000 €)].
► Eligibility: (1.) excellent doctorate, (2.) strong scientific track record/
postdoctoral, international research experience.
► Positive study results: Junior research group leaders
● pass through the qualification phase significantly fast,
● enjoy independency of chair holders and creative freedom,
● are equipped well (group leader position, consumables, staff and instrumentation).
● Their appointment ratio is higher than that of junior professors.
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Junior Research Group Leader Position. A career path to professorship in Germany/ Dr. Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp
Tokyo, Japan 04/26/2012
Junior research group leader position (2/2)
Overview – Funding opportunities
Positions are offered by:
► German Research Foundation (DFG)
● Emmy Noether Program – the equivalent to an assistant professorship (24% female),
● Heisenberg Program – the counterpart to an associate professorship,
● within the Excellence Initiative.
► Other funding organizations, foundations, non-university research institutions:
● Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Sofia Kovalevskaja Award),
● European Research Council (Starting Grant),
● Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers (Young Investigators Groups),
● Max Planck Society (Junior research groups),
● Volkswagen Foundation (Lichtenberg professorship).
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Junior Research Group Leader Position. A career path to professorship in Germany/ Dr. Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp
Tokyo, Japan 04/26/2012
Regulatory framework (1/3) – Status
Institutional integration is a work in progress
► The individual states are in charge of their universities´ areas of expertise
(according to federalism reform; sixteen Higher Education Acts).
► The junior research group leader position is a new staff category which is not
explicitly regulated by law; according to the academic classification structure it
is classified as “research assistant”.
► In contrast, the junior professorship is legally established in all individual states.
Junior professors are on par with professors; their equal status is regulated by
state laws.
► However junior research group leaders can negotiate their rights and
obligations with university; rights that normally go along with the rank of
professor can be conferred (reform efforts: context of the Excellence Initiative).
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Junior Research Group Leader Position. A career path to professorship in Germany/ Dr. Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp
Tokyo, Japan 04/26/2012
Regulatory framework (2/3) – Rights and obligations
Wrt teaching and Ph.D. supervision/examination
► Teaching (load):
● Professor/junior professor: is an official duty; 8-9 resp. 4/6-8 hours per term.
● Junior research group leader: not a regular responsibility; however the university can
give permission to teach instruction-freely; lighter teaching load (as a rule).
► Ph.D. supervision/examination:
● Professor/junior professor: is an official duty.
● Junior research group leader: the supervision of the content of dissertations is
uncomplicated (no formal act required); authorization to act as a doctoral examiner
when teaching instruction-freely.
● The vast majority of junior research group leaders has successfully negotiated these
rights; therefore: in the end they are largely on par with professors as well.
Within the Excellence Initiative they are equipped with improved negotiating power.
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Junior Research Group Leader Position. A career path to professorship in Germany/ Dr. Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp
Tokyo, Japan 04/26/2012
Regulatory framework (3/3) – Tenure option/track
The clear path to a permanent professorship/position
► Advancement in the German academic system used to require moving to
another university.
► Nowadays: early career researchers, initially recruited on a temporary basis,
can advance in “their” university.
► In Germany the meaning of the term “tenure” is twofold:
● (1.) Ban on internal appointments is lifted (= tenure option):
By all individual states on condition that the candidates left their university after Ph.D.
or conducted at least two years of research outside of the appointing university.
● (2.) Exception to the rule that professorships have to be announced (= tenure track):
Introduced in all individual states for junior professors but not as yet for junior research
group leaders (one exception; further amendments to Higher Education Acts planned).
► Career advancement: professorship or independent senior researcher position.
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Junior Research Group Leader Position. A career path to professorship in Germany/ Dr. Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp
Tokyo, Japan 04/26/2012
Conclusion
The German higher education system is subject to ongoing change.
► The traditional academic system in Germany changes, giving room for long-
term career prospects for early career researchers.
► Higher Education Laws are opening the way to performance-based career
advancement.
► Junior research group leaders are increasingly on par with (junior) professors.
► Reform efforts are continued consistently.
One idea currently under discussion is:
● Offering risk premiums to universities for converting temporary to permanent positions
– in the context of third-party funded projects.
► Additional funds for the German research system (by the German federal and
state governments).
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Junior Research Group Leader Position. A career path to professorship in Germany/ Dr. Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp
Tokyo, Japan 04/26/2012
For more information
► on the DFG: www.dfg.de
► on DFG-funded projects: www.dfg.de/gepris/
► on over 17,000 German research institutes: www.dfg.de/rex
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Junior Research Group Leader Position. A career path to professorship in Germany/ Dr. Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp
Tokyo, Japan 04/26/2012
Three career tracks to professorship
Overview – the higher education system
= no data available
39.000
Professorships (permanent); ca. 24.000 Univ.-Prof.
C2, C3, C4, W2, W3 (18% female).
Junior research group leaders
approx. 900
5 years
Junior professorships
approx. 1200
(38% female)
6 years
Habilitations
approx. 1800/1900 p.a.
(23% female)
Postdoc phase: not regulated, diverse picture, differences between disciplines;
research assistants at universities, non-university research institutions, fellowships
24.000 p.a.
New System: Ph.D. programs
(RTG, IMPRS etc.), 3-4 yrs.
“Traditional” Ph.D.: „One student,
one thesis, one advisor“, 3+ x yrs.
260.000 graduates p.a.
1.94 mio students
New system: Bachelor (3yrs) /
Master (2 yrs)
Old system: Diploma, Magister,
State examination (4-6 yrs)
German High School Diploma (Abitur) =
university entrance qualification Age 18/19
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Junior Research Group Leader Position. A career path to professorship in Germany/ Dr. Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp
Tokyo, Japan 04/26/2012