The BETTER personnel development strategy aims to establish academic career paths which are more plannable – for the university as well as for the researchers. Therefore, the traditional career paths are redefined by differentiating into a leadership track and two professional tracks (expert track and project track). These tracks are consistently applied at all levels for all positions. Each of the new career paths requires scientific excellence and they are regarded as equivalent options. They are designed for different types of researchers. On the one hand, the new career paths offer the possibility for young researchers to specialize at an early career stage, on the other hand the new system enables them to switch from one path to the other supported by personnel development measures.

The expert track represents the traditional way to reach the eligibility for professorship via habilitation. The establishing of the project track which is third-party funded at every stage reacts to the growing importance of external funding for top level research. But the most important career path for the university is the leadership track because it prepares prospective professors for personnel responsibility. The central element of this path is the junior professorship with tenure track. It’s attractive for young researchers because the evaluation with transparent criteria makes it more plannable than other academic career opportunities. And it’s attractive for the university because of the possibility to recruit research talents at an early stage and to prepare them for taking key positions at the university. For those reasons the junior professorship with tenure track shall be an essential part of the career system of the University of Bamberg.

At all stages of the career paths the researchers are prepared for the next step in feedback talks, consultations, workshops, trainings and mentoring programs.