Proposed new appointment procedure out for consultation
New career paths outside the academic career system, the right to apply for promotion to professor, and academic citizenship as a criterion. These are some of the key features of the proposal for KTH’s new appointment procedure.
KTH’s appointment procedure, which regulates recruitment processes and career opportunities for teachers and
researchers, is being revised. The proposal has been sent out for consultation to KTH’s school heads, faculty council, university director, central collaboration group, and the student union at KTH. Responses are due by 18 June.
“There have been many interesting discussions, but it has not been easy to design a system that works across the whole of KTH,” says Cecilia Williams, professor at the School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), and member of the working group behind the proposal.
New post for doctoral-degree lecturers and teaching researchers
One of the major changes concerns a new position for teaching-focused staff that sits outside KTH’s academic career system. Lecturers with a doctoral degree and researchers with substantial teaching duties can be tried for a new type of senior lecturer position and gain the opportunity to fund their teaching time through first-cycle education funding. This means that the student will be taught by teachers that have been evluated for their pedagogical merits rather than by researchers which have not been evaluated in this respect.
“During a transition period of five years, lecturers holding a doctoral degree who currently teach at undergraduate and postgraduate levels should be eligible for reassessment for a senior lecturer position outside the academic career track. Similarly, researchers who primarily have a substantial teaching load should be eligible for consideration for a senior lecturer position outside the academic career track during a three-year transitional period. This creates a clearer distinction, highlighting that those with a doctoral degree have a higher level of scientific competence than what is required for an adjunct position,” says Henrik Artman, professor and head of faculty renewal (FFA) at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), and also a member of the working group.
According to a review conducted by the group, around 25 of KTH’s approximately 500 employed researchers could be eligible for this type of position. Of approximately 150 lecturers at KTH, around 65 hold a doctoral degree and could be considered for assessment for the new senior lecturer position.
Career ladder within research infrastructure
The proposal also introduces a career ladder for infrastructure specialists. According to Williams, this responds to a national demand from research infrastructures to improve staff retention.
“We propose three levels. We also wanted to create opportunities for research engineers, who often work alongside researchers in comparable roles in this type of infrastructures. The model is inspired by Uppsala University, where research engineers can enter as junior infrastructure specialists and then be promoted further. For the highest level, senior infrastructure specialist, a doctoral degree is required in this proposal,” she says.
Right to apply for promotion to professor
The academic progression from assistant professor to associate professor and professor has also been clarified, with clearer distinctions, eligibility requirements, and evaluation guidelines. A key change is that associate professors within the tenure-track career system will be given the right to apply for promotion to professor, provided they meet the requirements. Previously, such applications depended on an identified “need.”
“The reason we propose this change is that there has been no clear definition of what constitutes a need. It has been interpreted differently across schools—sometimes based on financial considerations or individual qualifications, which may not reflect the intended meaning. We consider this an important issue for KTH and want the rules to be transparent and consistent,” Williams says.
Academic citizenship
Another new feature is the inclusion of “academic citizenship” as a criterion for promotion. In addition to scientific and pedagogical expertise, applicants must demonstrate their contribution to the academic environment, including areas such as leadership, gender equality and diversity.
“There are many tasks that are expected but do not fit within researchers’ 40-hour workweek and therefore need to be recognised in promotion processes. We have made sure that the appointment procedure highlights this more clearly and provides concrete examples,” Artman says.
Text: Sabina Fabrizi ( sabina@kth.se )