Teaching and research careers at Karolinska Institutet

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Teaching and research careers at Karolinska
Institutet

• The Karolinska Institutets new tenure- track
  career system
• Open floor debate ELSO Sunday 2 september
• A tenure track career structure for European
  academics
• Katarina Bjelke, DDS, PhD
• Director of research and postgraduate education
• Karolinska Institutet

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KI-05

• Increase the relative number of postdocs and
  research assistants, and seek to introduce a new
  career development system for teachers/researching
  postdocs.
• Create clearer career paths for teachers at KI
  and in the public sector organisations.
• Introduce well-defined teaching and research
  careers for postdocs.

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Junior Faculty -2002a career development
programme

• Members of Junior Faculty are junior researchers
  holding a PhD at KI, 720 members at present
• Junior Faculty Steering group comprising junior
  researchers
• Junior Faculty Office
• Research career service

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Junior Faculty - a career development programme

• Junior researchers shall enjoy career
  development opportunities
• Junior researchers are offered additional
  knowledge useful for careers as successful
  researchers
• Junior researchers shall
• be given a sense of belonging

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Career Development Opportunities
Individual Career Counselling
Career seminars
Career Fairs
Workshops
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Junior Faculty - a career development programme

• Junior researchers shall enjoy career
  development opportunities
• Junior researchers are offered additional
  knowledge useful for careers as successful
  researchers
• Junior researchers shall
• be given a sense of belonging

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Junior Faculty offers
hearings
seminars
pubs
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Junior Faculty - a career development programme

• Junior researchers shall enjoy career
  development opportunities
• Junior researchers are offered additional
  knowledge useful for careers as successful
  researchers
• Junior researchers shall
• be given a sense of belonging

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Scale of Contract ResearchersPostdoc careers in
EuropéA LERU position paper 2006
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Teaching and Research careers at KI
Postdoc abroad or at other Swedish universityor
outside academia
Seniorresearcheroe
Careers in the primary field of research
Seniorresearcherlt 2yr
Doc.Stud.PhD
Res..ass2 2 yr
Postdoclt 2 yr
max 5 yr
Sen.Lecturer/Professoroe
Undergrad.edu.Master
Senior lecturer oe,prom.
FUDr ex
Doc.StudPhD
Junior lecturer oe
Careers in the primary field of teaching
Possible paths
Advertised and filled in a context of competition
Evaluation
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Definitions

• Titles
• Appointments
• Eligibility
• Assesment criteria
• Vacancy announcement and recruitment decision
• Career development

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PostDoc

• KI defines a postdoc as follows a person who
  holds a PhD no older than five years, who is
  financed by an institution at Karolinska
  Institutet or externally, and who is receiving
  expert supervision for the development of his or
  her scientific skills. In exceptional cases, this
  five-year period can be extended by one year in
  the event of parental leave, clinical practice,
  sickness or military service.

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Career development

• During his or her period as a postdoc at KI, the
  researcher is to be offered active career
  development, advice and support.

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Appointment

• A research assistant shall be employed on an
  open-ended basis for a period not exceeding four
  years. Such appointments may be renewed so that
  the total employment period covers more than four
  years, if there are special reasons.
• The term of employment as research assistant is
  fixed at KI to two two years, subject to
  evaluation after the first two years. If the
  appointment as research assistant is combined
  with teaching ( 20) the time should be extended
  accordingly (i.e. up to a total of five years).
•  
• Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 4, 30.6

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Expert procedures

• Opinion shall be procured from one person, who
  may not be employed in the area of responsibility
  of the faculty board or equivalent body to which
  the position belongs (meaning the expert must be
  external). The grounds for assessing and
  appointing an expert are decided by the head of
  department. When the position is instigated by
  the Board of Research, the expert is appointed by
  the Board. Exemption from expert review can be
  granted if there is only one applicant and he or
  she has already been assessed by an expert at the
  level of research assistant.
•  

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Training

• During his or her period as research assistant at
  KI, the researcher shall be offered training in
  leadership and university teaching.

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Eligibility

• To qualify as a permanent senior researcher, a
  person must fulfil the specific competence
  requirements for the position. An appointment as
  permanent senior researcher can be seen as an
  alternative to that as senior lecturer/professor.

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Appointment

• Teaching appointments shall be open-ended. An
  appointment may, however, be limited to a fixed
  time under the Employment Protection Act, except
  in cases of appointment as professor.
• An open-ended appointment as senior lecturer and
  professor can be taken earlier in the career
  system.
• Higher Education Ordinance, Chap. 4, 30

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Vacancy announcements and recruitment decisions

• The head of department is normally responsible
  for advertising, financing and filling the
  position of professor. Appointments may also be
  instigated and financed by the Board of Research.
• Decisions on the establishment of
  professorships are taken by the Board of
  Research, and decisions on appointments are taken
  by the President.

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To sum up introducing a new career system at KI
involves the following

•  
• Vacancy announcements for positions in the
  career system and a competition-based application
  procedure.
• Regular quality evaluations through the
  competition-based application procedures
  selection process.
• Systematic planning for staffing and competence
  requirements.
• Transparancy

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Teaching and Research careers at KI
Postdoc abroad or at other Swedish universityor
outside academia
Seniorresearcheroe
Careers in the primary field of research
Seniorresearcherlt 2yr
Doc.Stud.PhD
Res..ass2 2 yr
Postdoclt 2 yr
max 5 yr
Sen.Lecturer/Professoroe
Undergrad.edu.Master
Senior lecturer oe,prom.
FUDr ex
Doc.StudPhD
Junior lecturer oe
Careers in the primary field of teaching
Possible paths
Advertised and filled in a context of competition
Evaluation
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The Academic Career Inquiry

• The Academic Career Inquiry (U 200608) was
  established by Government decision on April 27,
  2006, to examine current academic employment
  categories within Swedish universities and
  institutions of higher education.
• Part of the committee's assignment is to
  accomplish
• 1. A coherent career and qualification system 2.
  A simplified employment procedure governed by the
  rule of law 3. A revision of the situation of
  academics on fixed-term contracts

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• The overall objective is that Swedish
  universities and institutions of higher education
  are to be able to secure long term operational
  quality through the exercise of an active
  employer prerogative, involving sound and clear
  employment conditions as well as a
  well-functioning system for recruitment,
  qualification and promotion.
• The committee is to present its final report no
  later than November 17, 2007.

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Conclusions

• Institutions/universities all over Europé are
  very different from each other.
• There has to be different solutions to academic
  careers and career paths.
• TRANSPARANCY