The appointment and career system at FU Berlin is a core element of the institutional strategy to secure a leading position in the competition to attract outstanding talent. “FUTURE Track – the Tenure-Track Program at Freie Universität Berlin” represents a consistent development of this strategy. The career path model at FU Berlin was systematically expanded and supplemented with an additional career path: the tenure-track professorship. In the medium-term, 25% of all appointments will be professorships with tenure-track. This is part of the ongoing strategic development of the personnel structure which favors permanent academic positions.

The tenure-track professorship path specifically addresses researchers who are in the early phase of their career. This is why FU Berlin has developed a series of support schemes designed specifically for this target group – these start with a potential-oriented selection process, and extend to an extensive mentoring scheme and a support program for the future career development in case of negative evaluation. In order to independently perform research and teaching tasks, FU Berlin provides tenure-track professors with the appropriate facilities, which enables them to fulfil the evaluation criteria specified in the performance agreement. After a positive evaluation, tenure-track professors are appointed as permanent university professors.

Last but not least, considering equal opportunities in the process of becoming a permanent professor plays a central role in the identity of FU Berlin. Appointment and evaluation committees of FU Berlin, therefore, receive training which sensitizes them to potential unconscious bias which may occur during selection and evaluation procedures. The procedures and instruments used for the tenure-track process are also re-evaluated every five years in order to maintain their effectiveness in terms of equal opportunities.