Tenure-Track-Office
The Tenure-Track-Office is the central point for all services and activities relating to junior and tenure track professorships. We offer comprehensive advice and support for all junior and tenure track professors. We can provide important documents such as statutes and guidelines, and offer support for all processes concerning professorships. The office of the Permanent Tenure Committee also has its base in the Tenure-Track-Office, and the wide range of tenure track-related networking activities at the University of Freiburg is brought together here.
Tenure Track at the University of Freiburg
A key objective of the University of Freiburg is to make it simple to plan reliable and transparent career paths, as well as offering attractive conditions of work. With tenure track professorships we offer outstanding scientists the option of academic independence and transparent career planning from an early stage. For the University of Freiburg, this offers a special opportunity to attract scientific talent at an early stage and retain it in the long term.
For this reason, tenure track has been a strategic tool at the University of Freiburg since 2009 for responsibly shaping career paths, enhancing the profile of faculties and disciplines, and increasing competitiveness in the recruitment of international talent.
Tenure track professorships are a crucial element in structural planning at the University of Freiburg and frequently used in all faculties. Therefore they form a permanent part of the university and contribute significantly to institutional cultural change and the ability of our university to renew itself. The Joint Federal Government-Länder Funding Programme for Junior Academics to promote junior researchers has resulted in the successful acquisition of tenure track professorships, which are an important milestone in its realisation. The Tenure-Track-Office is responsible for implementing and coordinating the Joint Federal Government-Länder Funding Programme for Junior Academics.
Advice and Skills Development
We guide junior/tenure track professors through every stage of the professorship and offer solutions tailor-made for the individual. We advise on the interim and tenure evaluation procedure and offer advanced training on interdisciplinary skills development and coaching, with a focus on developing junior and tenure track professors as managers and setting them on their career path. All these services are united in the Centre for Advanced Researcher Development (CARD).
Contact
Permanent Tenure Committee
To ensure the quality assurance of the tenure procedures at the University of Freiburg, the Rectorate has established an interdisciplinary Permanent Tenure Committee (PTC) in accordance with the Statutes. It is the role of the committee to examine the tenure procedures at the University of Freiburg and give its opinion on the results of evaluations by the faculties’ tenure committees. On request it advises the Rectorate on strategic issues in relation to tenure track.
The Permanent Tenure Committee consists of renowned academics from the University of Freiburg as well as recognised international academics. Both humanities and social sciences, as well as life sciences, natural sciences and engineering sciences must be equally represented on the committee. The committee also has an equal number of male and female academics. The members are appointed for a term of office of three years by the Rectorate.
Members of the Permanent Tenure Committee
Chair: Prof. Dr. Mathijs Lamberigts
Deputy chair: Prof. Dr. Sonja-Verena Albers
Internal
- Prof. Dr. Andrea Kiesel, Faculty of Economics and Behavioural Sciences
- Prof. Dr. Marlene Bartos, Faculty of Medicine
- Prof. Dr. Joachim Grage, Faculty of Philology
- Prof. Dr. Judith Schlehe, Faculty of Humanities
- Prof. Dr. Gregor Herten, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
- Prof. Dr. Sonja-Verena Albers, Faculty of Biology
- Prof. Dr. Heiner Schanz, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources
- Prof. Dr. Oliver Paul, Faculty of Engineering
External
- Prof. Dr. Mathijs Lamberigts , KU Leuven, Belgium
- Prof. Dr. Rita Franceschini, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy
- Prof. Dr. Christine Maillard, University of Strasbourg, France
- Prof. Dr. Anne Spang, University of Basel, Switzerland
Tenure-Track-Network
The University of Freiburg founded the Tenure-Track-Network in cooperation with the University of Jena. The network is dedicated to investigating key issues relating to tenure track professorships and actively contributing to the development of academic career paths towards and alongside professorships.
The network was founded following on from the Tenure Track Conference 2020. Four work groups were established at the conference with the aim of continuing the discussion of aspects raised at the conference and working together to develop joint solutions.
Besides the exchange of ideas and work in the four work groups, network members meet annually at an inter-work-group gathering to take part in workshops.
Since 2023 there has been a cooperation between the Tenure-Track-Network and UniWiND e.V. with the aim of intensifying and systematising the shared exchange.
Tenure-Track-Conference 2025
Following the Tenure Track Conference 2020, there will be a Tenure Track Conference 2025 at BBAW in Berlin on 15-16 May 2025. The conference is a joint initiative of the Universities of Jena and Freiburg in cooperation with the Tenure-Track-Network and UniWiND e.V. The event is being organised by the University of Jena. The two-day event will take up the discussions from the previous conference and consider them in relation to the current Higher education debates. At the same time, the focus of the conference will be widened to the tenure track principle for positions alongside professorships.
The conference will discuss practical measures that could contribute to making conditions of work and career prospects more attractive, easier to plan and responsive to diversity needs for early-career researchers, given the context of international competition and the growing skills shortage.
Tenure-Track-Workshop 2025
In preparation for the Tenure Track Conference 2025 in Berlin, there will be a tenure track workshop in Freiburg on 6-7 March 2025. The event is being organised by the University of Freiburg in cooperation with the University of Jena. The workshop brings together 15 early-career researchers from various disciplines to consider topical issues relating to academic career development, tenure track and the outlook for the academic system. Following the workshop, their findings will be developed and incorporated into the discussions at the Tenure Track Conference 2025 on 15-16 May 2025.
Postdoctoral researchers (postdocs, team managers, junior and tenure track professors), who work at universities, colleges, non-university research institutes or academies and do not hold a permanent chair can apply to take part in the workshop. The workshop will be held in German, however participation in German and English is possible, therefore only passive German skills are necessary. Any academics who are interested can apply for the workshop here. The closure date for applications is 30 September 2024. The Call for participation with further information can be downloaded here (as link to PDF)
Tenure-Track-Statutes
The University of Freiburg was one of the first German universities to introduce the tenure procedure with comprehensive tenure guidelines, thereby creating a transparent and quality-assured procedure.
Since 2017 this procedure has been laid down with legally binding effect in the tenure track statutes. In 2018 the Statutes were extensively revised, with the new version now applying to all junior professorships with and without tenure track appointed after 30 November 2017.
Mentoring for tenure track and junior professors is regulated in the tenure track statutes. A mentor from the relevant faculty guides each junior professor in the fields of research, teaching, administering own academic matters and personnel management, and support for individual career development.
Downloads:
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Satzung für Juniorprofessuren mit und ohne Tenure Track
(effective as of 26 April 2017)
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Statutes for Junior Professorships with and without Tenure Track (entered into force as form 26 April 2017)
(effective as of 26 April 2017)
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Neufassung der Satzung für Juniorprofessuren und Tenure-Track-Professuren (in Kraft getreten am 05.10.2018)
(effective as of 5 October 2018)