Academic Perspectives

We want to attract and develop top talent with international experience by offering clear prospects. That is why we offer promising young scientists a TU/e Development Track as Assistant Professor. This means that every new assistant professor is appointed with the aim of becoming Associate Professor within a period of 6 to 8 years. 

Additional effort in attracting excellent young researchers 

Our personnel policy for academic staff is centered around attracting top talent and providing them with ample opportunities on the job based on a development principle instead of a staff capacity principle. New assistant professors are appointed in a development track with the aim of becoming an associate professor within a period of 6 to 8 years. TU/e facilitates individual career paths that are in line with organization objectives, but are also shaped on the basis of the development of individual talent, ambition and performance. TU/e is transparent with regard to career stages, criteria and promotion & assessment procedures. Successful academic careers at TU/e combine Education, Research, Valorization and Organization & Management.

From assistant to associate professor in 6-8 years

TU/e aims at ongoing development among its employees, also in the longer term. Any person who is ambitious and performs excellently is given all the scope for self-development and for shaping an interesting career. TU/e makes a structural commitment to get new assistant professors into a contractual development track as early as possible. A permanent appointment will be granted in the first half of the development track, i.e. within four years at most, on the basis of a positive evaluation and potential assessment.

Next career step based solely on performance and academic excellence 

In each of the four domains Education, Research, Valorization and Organization & Management basic job-level qualifications have been formulated according to which individual agreements will be made containing the organization requirements (output) on the one hand and the individual performance, talents and ambitions on the other hand. 

At three moments during a development track an assessment committee advises on the following step in the career of an assistant professor, with the responsibility for providing key intrinsic feedback to the candidate. These committees are composed of departmental members as well as interdepartmental members in order to develop a wider and shared formation of judgement. On the basis of the second evaluation, the department board decides whether the temporary appointment may become permanent and at what point the candidate can be appointed assistant professor 1 or associate professor.
Once you become Associate Professor, you may even develop into Full Professor.

Clear career perspective and alternative paths

In the event that a position does not offer adequate prospects for a successful academic career, searching for other opportunities is the mutual responsibility of the employee and TU/e. To optimize mobility, TU/e uses the up-or-else system for newly appointed assistant professors. Efforts will be made promptly and jointly to enable the career of the respective employee to continue outside the academic sphere or TU/e. To detail and realize a new career perspective, a period of one year is available within the appointment.

For a full explanation of the various development tracks refer to Chapter 6 of our Personnel policy for academic staff.

 "TU/e differs from many other universities in that it offers tenure tracks for assistant professors as the first position in an academic career. This gives young and talented scientists a clear perspective: they can follow a defined development route that leads to associate professorship."

Professor Marion Matters-Kammerer (Integrated Circuits group)
- in a conversation with assistant professor Georgios Exarchakos and PhD student Robbert Schulpen. Three key people who are associated with the Center for Wireless Technology, which specializes in new technologies to power and accelerate communications.