Track 6: Academic Career Development
ACADEMIC CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Location: Track 6: Nador 13, 118 - see floor map
Track Chair:
Kata Orosz • Central European University, Hungary
The massification of higher education in Europe and beyond, the internationalization of many higher education institutions as well as the changes in the universities’ missions have led to a more complex organisation of both academic markets and careers. In Europe there is significant variety in the organization of academic work (whereby faculty may be civil servants or private employees, may or may not work in tenured- environments and may or may not have mandatory retirement from their academic position). Nevertheless, there are also common trends and worries regarding the status of the academic profession and the pressures faculty have to withstand. Issues such as the limited number of entry level positions compared to the number of graduates of doctoral programs, the increased casualization of academic work as well as the increased pressure put on faculty to conduct high quality research (essential in the race for rankings and individual prestige), teach and engage in third mission activities are relevant across the profession and regardless of the national context.
Research shows that academics often struggle at all points of their careers. At the entry level, the employment options for doctoral graduates are limited and the post-doctoral positions are difficult to translate into stable employment. Alternatives to academic careers are discussed more and more but universities have difficulties offering doctoral education that prepares graduates to work outside academia. Those who manage to secure academic employment struggle with the balance between research needed for promotion and teaching and service. They may also struggle with advancing through university management and leadership particularly if they are women, minorities or work in places where external stakeholders are allocated larger leadership roles than previously. In such volatile environments, universities may have difficulties retaining faculty.
This track accepts papers related to:
- Post-doctoral positions: their availability and impact on career trajectories.
- Career expectations of and options for doctorate candidates.
- Development of alternative models that provide structured opportunities for tenured employment.
- Recruitment and promotion of academic staff.
- Home grown talent versus internationally recruited faculty.
- Impact of appointive autonomy on academic careers.
- Good-practices in university leadership and management aimed at increasing participation of underrepresented categories.
- Academic markets and careers in comparative perspective.
- Status of the academic profession and its impact on recruitment and retention.
- Academic work reward systems.
- Part time vs. full time academic work, the casualization of academic work.
- Differences across disciplines in academic career development.
