9 April 2025
Introducing a new job modelUniversity of Hamburg Establishes Senior Lectureships
Photo: University of Hamburg / von Wieding
Both senior lectureships are located in the Department of Social Sciences and focus on qualitative research methods and sociological theory. Teaching is a key responsibility, hence the job title “lecturer.” The job also includes independent research and organizational duties. The focus is more interdisciplinary, as senior lecturers are not assigned to professorships. Pursuing a professorship is always an option.
The new job model evolved from intensive exchange between the faculties, clusters of excellence, and administrative units. It is available to all faculties, which are free to add senior lecturers to their HR infrastructure. Another option is to first offer lecturer positions for a fixed term and convert them into permanent positions, similar to the junior professorship model. New researcher positions can be created in addition to lecturer positions.
“The Hamburg declaration on careers in academia has been actively and effectively implemented. With the Academic Career Paths project established in 2022 and a range of targeted measures the University of Hamburg continues to strive for sustainable employment conditions in academia. We aim to provide optimal professional perspectives to our researchers and teaching staff while establishing state-of -the-art and permanent positions for long-term research tasks. One particular focus is on structural improvements that allow our employees to smoothly transition from a degree program to the next steps in their academic career; for instance, by offering clear career paths and excellent career progression,” says University president Prof. Dr. Hauke Heekeren.
The new job model is part of the Hub of Academic Career & Research Culture (HARC) launched at the beginning of 2025. “Our newly founded hub is a platform and lab for cultivating careers and research at the University of Hamburg. We consider the aim to offer attractive academic careers and the question of what kind of research culture we want to jointly build and live as closely interconnected,” says Prof. Dr. Jetta Frost, vice president for knowledge exchange.
HARC pursues a holistic understanding of career and academic culture: Academic work, career development, diversity, and a healthy work culture are inseparable and key to fostering excellent research.
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