Federal-States Programme for the Promotion of Young Researchers (WISNA)
Federal-States Programme for the Promotion of Young Researchers (WISNA)
The federal-state programme for the promotion of young researchers (WISNA) supports the establishment of 1,000 tenure-track professorships at 75 universities in Germany, including 14 at Bielefeld University. The aim is to create predictable and transparent career paths for early career researchers and to establish the tenure-track professorship as a sustainable career path in the German academic system.
Aims of the programme
The central objectives of the programme are
- Increasing the attractiveness and competitiveness of the German academic system by structurally establishing the tenure-track professorship as an additional career path to the lifetime professorship,
- better plannable and more transparent career paths for young researchers,
- Promotion of 1,000 additional tenure-track professorships,
- expanded prospects for academics in an early career phase,
- earlier decision on whether to remain in the academic system permanently,
- Promotion of cultural change and the further development of the personnel structure,
- better equal opportunities and a better balance between appointments and family life.
Implementation of tenure-track professorships at Bielefeld University
W1/W2 tenure-track professorships have been firmly established at Bielefeld University since 2028 as an equal appointment option alongside W2/W3 professorships, which are immediately advertised for tenure.
The appointment procedures are carried out in the same quality-assured manner as for permanent professorships with the participation of an external member of the appointment committee and internationally recognised experts.
Both professorships and permanent academic co-worker positions at Bielefeld University are filled on the basis of strategic research and teaching plans and transparent criteria.
Bielefeld personnel campaign -
Funding and support at Bielefeld University
However, due in particular to the increasing proportion of temporary third-party and special funding in the overall funding of universities, permanent options in the academic system are only available to a limited number of academics. Bielefeld University's personnel development strategy was therefore expanded in 2017 to support not only transitions from one career phase to the next within the academic system, but also transitions to careers in business and society.
At Bielefeld University, WISNA professors benefit from a customised personnel development concept coordinated by GrACe. A specific programme for tenure-track professors has been developed to support them during the arrival phase, the interim evaluation, the tenure evaluation and the transition to a W2 or W3 professorship. You can find more information here.
This also includes the Personnel Development Programme for Researchers and Teaching Staff (PEP), which supports all academics in the qualification phase in developing a competence-based career profile. The PEP programme is open to all academics and covers a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary qualifications.
The aforementioned measures are bundled in the Bielefeld HR campaign and support the promotion of academics in early career phases as well as the successful implementation of the funded tenure-track professorships at Bielefeld University.