A wide range of career paths are available at universities once you have gained an academic qualification. The new guidelines cover academics with permanent employment contracts at HHU who are not professors. The regulations are aimed at establishing transparent, more plannable career paths and comparable working conditions, and helping academics identify more closely with their own professional role.
What positions are needed? On the basis of this question, permanent academic positions are defined by the faculties in strategic personnel planning and agreed with the University management. In the reality of day-to-day work, there is a certain amount of overlap between the three profiles. However, each profile has focuses that characterise it and the intention is to describe typical and ideal concepts.
Three profiles
Researchers mainly conduct research, acquire third-party funding, manage third-party funded projects, participate in collaborative projects, publish work and give presentations at academic conferences. Teaching classes and supervising dissertation/thesis projects are also part of their work. Support for research infrastructure facilities is a further possible focus. Ideally, they establish networks in their specialist field at national or international level and engage in dialogue in business, politics, culture and society.
Lecturers also conduct research, but are primarily involved in teaching and exams. They also advise students on study organisation and study-related/career-oriented issues, and supervise dissertation/thesis projects. They network with other teaching staff within the University and ideally also engage in dialogue with stakeholders from business, politics, culture and society. This is also reflected in teaching projects. They also get involved in the conceptual development of study programmes, contribute didactic innovations or help advance digitalisation in teaching.
Scientific managers primarily perform management tasks: They often act as the link between research and teaching on the one hand and the University administration on the other hand. Their activities range from the management and coordination of larger units in research, teaching and transfer to project, quality and financial management. They also develop concepts, work in (science) communication and events management. They can acquire third-party funding, publish work and teach, and have a strong network, both internally and externally.
These are just a few sample duties; many more are stated in the guidelines – they illustrate the diversity of these permanent academic positions, for which selecting the best, fairness and equal opportunities are essential. “All positions are publicly advertised and separated from individual funding relationships. HHU is striving to fill at least 50% of these positions with women or to at least achieve a ratio of women comparable to the percentage of women with a doctorate in the corresponding subject,” says Dr Madlen Kazmierczak, personal assistant to the President.
The document also regulates the exact procedure for advertising and filling positions. And that is not all: The intention is also to develop the “Düsseldorf Way of Training” qualification programme further in this direction to enable individuals with doctorates to be offered appropriate personnel development measures.