New Careers in Research

14/11/2013

With a recently started project research organizations and technical universities want to design models together, for how careers in research could look – for women and men.

 

Professional prospects for excellent minds are in demand to keep research and science in German at a international level. The attractivity of the science system is expected to increase with sustainable and diverse career models for both genders. This is the goal of technical universities and research organizations - in the joint research project "New Careers in Research for Women and Men." The project is headed by RWTH Aachen and Fraunhofer Society. Together, five technical universities and four large non-university research organizations aim at developing new career models. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research or BMBF is funding the joint project.

Researchers analyze the existing structures in the research system - what is obstructive, what is advantageous for female and male research careers. Building on these results, they develop new approaches. Attractive carrer paths help with more flexibility and better permeability between organizations, and to tap into innovation and knowledge potential. They are expected to help women advance to leadership positions and enable men to be actively involved in family life, without of them having to give up a challenging career.

Since careers in research typically proceed from different universities and other research institutions, this step can only work, if all actors in the research stystem work together. For this reason, nine well-known institutions are involved in the project: RWTH Aachen, TU Berlin, TU Braunschweig, the University of Hannover, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT, as well as four large research organizations Fraunhofer Society, Helmholtz Association, Leibniz Assocation, and the Max Planck Institute.

The project results will be presented at a conference in summer 2015.

Contact Persons:

Prof. Dr. phil. Carmen Leicht-Scholten
Kackertstraße 9
52072 Aachen
Tel.: +49 (0) 241-80 90549

RWTH Aachen

Fraunhofer Society
Prof. Dr. Martina Schraudner
Hardenbergstraße 20
10623 Berlin
Tel: +49 (0)30 680 7969-0