Perspectives in science: On the question of good working conditions for doctoral students & postdocs

PhD students and postdocs take on important tasks in research, especially in the natural sciences. In this interview, Prof. Dr Björn Schumacher explains how good working conditions can help them gain a long-term foothold in research institutions and that the science system as a whole can only benefit from this.

Basic research is largely carried out at universities and non-university research institutions (AUE). It is therefore necessary to attract young scientists to academic research and offer them good prospects at universities and AUE.

Postdocs are key performers in research. They must demonstrate the ability to conduct research largely on their own. This phase determines whether they stay in academic research or move to research-based companies, for example. Good research takes time. That is why the postdoc phase should not be too short.

Academic research is highly competitive. Jobs at universities and AUE are scarce. In order to attract suitable candidates for academic research, clear selection criteria, transparency in the selection process and reliable target agreements are needed so that academic career paths can be planned to a certain extent.

The efficiency of the academic sector should be improved. The introduction of departmental structures instead of chairs, more scientific positions in the academic mid-level staff, greater differentiation of professorships and the mandatory introduction of tenure track after the first postdoc phase are part of this.

The entire interview "Perspectives in science - On the question of good working conditions for doctoral students and postdocs" can be read here as a PDF. The publication is only available in German.

The questions were asked by Dr Norbert Arnold, expert on science, technology and ethics in the Analysis and Consulting Department at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.