Independence and Careers

Principal investigator: Grit Laudel

University: TU Berlin

Independent Research – Collaborative Research Project

Independence is crucial for the emergence of long-term research plans in the early career phase. The three major career systems – chair system, lecturer system and tenure-track system – differ in the ways and in the extent to which they enable independent research. The tenure-track system is commonly believed to provide the best combination of independence for researchers and informed selection of researchers for permanent positions. However, comparative research of opportunities provided by entrance positions in the three career systems is still missing. In particular, functionally equivalent informal solutions for providing independence are likely to exist in all three systems. The aim of the project is to identify mechanisms that enable independent research by early career researchers in the three types of systems. The project will compare three prototypical systems in two research fields.