On 15 and 16 May, the future of academic career paths in Germany will be discussed at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The Universities of Freiburg and Jena are hosting the high-calibre conference "The Tenure-Track Principle: Career Paths and Cultural Change in the German Academic System".

In order to create earlier and more reliable career prospects, tenure-track professorships have been established in the German academic system in recent years. Young academics can apply for these professorships in the first few years after completing their doctorate, even without a postdoctoral lecturing qualification 'Habilitation'|to complete a postdoctoral thesis to qualify as a professor. The positions are initially fixed-term, but are converted into a permanent professorship on a higher salary scale after a positive final evaluation.

"We have had very good experience with tenure-track professorships. At the conference, we will be discussing how this positive experience can be transferred to positions other than professorships," explains Professor Thomas Pertsch. "In this way, academic careers alongside professorships could be more predictable and reliable," adds the Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of Jena. "We are also primarily concerned with a change in the academic personnel structure - a more diverse academic landscape in Germany that is also an attractive destination for international researchers and fills positions in a transparent, quality- and potential-orientated manner," says Sylvia Paletschek, Vice-Rector for University Culture at the University of Freiburg.

The conference is organised by the University of Freiburg and the University of Jena in cooperation with UniWiND and the university consortium German U15 and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Representatives from higher education policy, members of the Germany-wide tenure-track network and academics in the doctorate and postdoc phase will debate with each other on the podium. At a parliamentary evening, not only will the higher education policy actors of the new federal government introduce themselves, but they will also provide insights into current (higher education) policy discussions. This evening is presented in cooperation with German U15.