For all established and Early Career Researchers (ECR), the Universität Konstanz offers a large and effective network of central service facilities, such as the offices for Academic Staff Development (ASD), Research Support, the Equal Opportunities Office, Family Support & Diversity, Welcome Center, Alternative Career Planning, etc., and a family-friendly working environment. These measures are why Universität Konstanz is known for its thorough and effective staff development concept – with its focus on in-house coaching – that addresses the specific needs of different career stages following the values of the Code for Efficient Staff Development (“Kodex für gute Personalentwicklung”). In 2017 and 2019, these path – breaking measures targeted at Early Career researchers were recognised by the Federal Ministry of Education and research in the university´s successful application to the Federal and State Programme for the Promotion of Early Career researchers (“Nachwuchspakt”). The university’s successful promotion of Early Career Researchers was honoured in 2017 within the framework of the “Bund-Länder-Programm zur Förderung des wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses”.
CRC Measures
As the term ECR includes everyone working on a postgraduate doctoral thesis or engaged in postdoc research to acquire a further academic qualification, the majority of the CRC’s workforce lies in this sector. It is therefore a clear and intentional aim of the CRC to not only support the efforts of its researchers in all status groups, but also to allow them to connect, collaborate, and thrive within and beyond the CRC context. Specifically, we aim to train monodisciplinarily, interdisciplinarily, and transdisciplinarily educated doctoral researchers, and enable postdoctoral researchers and recently appointed junior professors to follow a substantial and sustainable academic path. To this end, essential measures (1–10) are planned for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers and Early Career sub-project leaders in collaboration with existing facilitators at Universität Konstanz, and specifically within the CRC’s academic and structural design.
- Recruitment/Application/On-Boarding
- Supervision/contract/integration
- Support for subsequent reliable career paths within and outside of academia
- Concept for fixed-term postdoctoral positions, that takes into account both career opportunities within and after the CRC employment and individual planning of career advancement based on achievable milestones and efforts of all involved parties
- Collaborations of the Zukunftskolleg
- Central and CRC-specific mentoring as well as (non)monetary support structures
- Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary training measures for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers
- Annual PostDoc Academy
- Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary training measures for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers
- ECR Officer and ECR Assembly
