Strategy and Focus Research Strategy

Fostering Early-Career Researchers

The University of Bern places particular emphasis on fostering early-career researchers.

In line with its Strategy 2030, the University of Bern offers appropriate employment conditions and comprehensive support in the form of advisory services, specific funding schemes, mentoring programs, courses and other support. In this way, the University aims to ensure that early-career researchers can realize their full potential and achieve outstanding work.

UniBE funding schemes

The University of Bern offers tailor-made funding programs to support the specific needs of researchers at doctoral and postdoctoral level.

Advice and support

The University of Bern has a coordination office that supports early-career researchers in planning their academic career. In particular, the coordination office provides advice on assessing funding opportunities at postdoctoral level. It also launches and coordinates cross-faculty initiatives and projects to promote early-career researchers.

Mentoring, Coaching and Training

The Office for Equal Opportunities offers courses, workshops and coaching. Some are aimed at women, while others are open to everyone. There are also various faculty mentoring programs at the University of Bern. The "COMET" career program specifically supports women early-career researchers at postdoc level, so that they can successfully realize their desired academic career.

The Vice-Rectorate International and Academic Careers offers a comprehensive transferable skills program. Additional offers from other organizational units are also available to early-career researchers.

Career paths at the University of Bern

Background information

In the context of changes in the higher education landscape as well as the national and international funding environment, the University of Bern, together with the faculties and the Intermediate Staff Association, worked on improving the framework conditions for early-career researchers. The aim is to make academic career paths more transparent and easier to plan, so that opportunities and prospects can be clarified at an early stage.

The structure of the assistant professorship with tenure track was improved. The assistant professorship with tenure track was created to offer an alternative career option for people who wish to specialize in teaching, services or applied technology, for example. New job categories for postdoctoral researchers replaced the previous senior assistantship and research assistantship with dissertation.

Doctoral studies

The doctorate is completed in 3 to 4 years, and doctoral students are given sufficient personal research time regardless of the source of funding.

  • At the University of Bern, there are three doctoral models (graduate school, doctoral program, traditional individual doctorate).
  • Doctoral students are supervised by at least one other person in addition to their main supervisor.
  • Doctoral students are entitled to protected research time.
  • A doctoral agreement regulates the procedure, duration and objectives of the doctorate for all doctoral students, as well as expectations, progress and entitlements.
  • Career meetings support doctoral students in choosing their future career path and ensure academic progress.

Postdoctoral studies

The Early Postdoc is particularly aimed at working on a project and acquiring personal funding as well as on research mobility. The Advanced Postdoc aims to consolidate the person's position as a researcher with a view to qualifying for a professorship.

  • In the phase after the doctorate, the focus is on research mobility and the acquisition of personal funding with a view to a successful academic career.
  • Postdoctoral researchers are entitled to protected research time so that they can quickly make a name for themselves by producing notable publications, developing their own research area and establishing an independently lead research group.
  • A postdoctoral agreement regulates the process, duration and goals of the postdoctoral period as well as expectations, progress and entitlements for all postdoctoral researchers.

Tenure-track assistant lectureship

A lectureship is an attractive alternative career goal to a professorship. Through the tenure-track assistant lectureships (TTAL), a career path with a probationary phase and a view to permanent employment was created. The aim is to give early-career researchers the opportunity to work towards a permanent professorship.

  • TTAL are appointed through transparent application procedures.
  • TTAL have complete academic independence, which is a prerequisite for independent acquisition of third-party funding.
  • The performance of TTAL is regularly reviewed.

Tenure-track assistant professorship

The tenure-track assistant professorships (TTAP) aim to provide academic qualifications with a view to taking up an associate professorship or, in exceptional cases, a full professorship.

  • TTAP offer the opportunity for longer term career planning and provide the University with a means of securing excellent researchers in a phase of high creativity and productivity. The advantages lie in recruiting highly qualified early-career researchers at an earlier stage and providing greater planning security, since the position is made permanent following successful evaluation.