Germany'sNachwuchswissenschaftler--its rising
generation of scientists--is often discussed these days in the
country's science-policy circles. Because German researchers finish
their doctoral training at the relatively mature average age of
33
, their need to gain scientific independence quickly is even
greater than for their counterparts in countries were the
qualifying age is less.
Attuned to the career needs of German postdocs, German funding
agencies have developed programmes aiming to assist early career
scientists who are seeking a career in academic research. One
scheme--
the Emmy Noether Programme , established by the German Research
Foundation ( DFG ) in
1999, offers “junior” postdoctoral researchers--those who have
finished their Ph.D.s within 2 to 4 year--funding for up to 6 years
to establish their own research groups. The award is generous and
prestigious, and very likely boosts the short-to-medium-term career
perspectives of its awardees, although by just how much remains to
be determined. A few recent Emmy Noether awardees spoke
toScience'sNext Wave,relating their experiences, offering
advice, and pondering their own long-term prospects.
The Emmy Noether Programme is generous and prestigious, and very
likely boosts the short-to-medium-term career perspectives of its
awardees, although by just how much remains to be determined.
Noether in a Nutshell
Emmy Noether awardees usually are funded for 5 years, although 6
years is possible. The funding package includes the salary of the
group leader (the so-called BAT Ib/Ia on the German civil service
scale, which is equivalent to an assistant or junior-professor
salary) and consumables. The funding can also cover salaries for
Ph.D. candidates, postdocs, and technicians. Noether-funded groups
usually contain between two and five members, depending on the
research project. Candidates must secure a host institution--a
university or research institute--that agrees to provide them with
lab space and administrative support.
The Emmy Noether programme is open to researchers from all
academic disciplines. The DFG stresses that scientific excellence
and "outstanding publications in high ranking international
specialist journals" are the key qualifications, but they also
stipulate that applicants must have worked abroad for at least 12
months during either their Ph.D.s or postdocs. 220 awards are
currently being funded, the success rate for application is 30%,
and slightly more than 10% of awards have been secured by
non-German scientists.
The DFG is not the only organisation attempting to create career
opportunities for postdocs in Germany. The Max Planck Society (MPG)
has an equivalent, the
Independent Junior Research Group scheme which has been running
since 1969. More recently, the Helmholtz Association established
its
Young Investigator Scheme . The Helmholtz offers 20 new group
leaders positions per year whereas the MPG has about 50 positions
across its various institutes, with about six new openings every
year.
A Successful Application
What makes an application successful? Bernd Kuckert, an Emmy
Noether group leader and physicist working at the DESY in Hamburg,
believes one of the keys to winning an award is applying at the
right time. "Do not apply too early in your career," says Kuckert.
"Make sure that you can present original work that is more than a
slight technical improvement of your Ph.D. results." Kuckert
stresses that, although the originality of the research project is
essential, it is also important to be able to write a summary of
the project that can be understood by non-specialists.
GainingIndependence
Without a doubt, securing an Emmy Noether award is big boost. “I
was really happy to get the possibility to continue the research I
am interested in, independently and with good funding,” says
Susanne Schoch, a biochemist who is leading an Emmy Noether
research Group at the Institute for Neuropathology at the
University of Bonn. Kuckert feels the real value of the
independence and funding he now has is that it allows him to do
research which would be hard to do otherwise because it is risky
and far away from the mainstream.Chemist Matthias Breuning made the
move from a permanent lab head job in industry to academia--as an
Emmy Noether group leader at the Institute of Organic Chemistry at
the University of Würzburg--because he felt it would enable him to
work more independently.
Kuckert, Schoch, and Breuning agree that the programme is
allowing them to gain the first experiences of scientific
independence that are essential for an academic career:securing
senior-author publications andsupervising Ph.D. students and
postdocs. But even with a Noether award, the transition from
postdoc to group leader isn't pain-free. "The Emmy Noether
Programme has the goal to help junior researchers become senior
researchers," says Kuckert, "To this end, the DFG endows them with
funding of senior researchers, which is fine. But this does not yet
make them senior researchers at once." Schoch agrees: "You are on
your own in every aspect and have all the responsibilities and
stresses that come with that." Still, Noether awardees have at
least a little bit of additional help. In order to nurture the
leadership skills of these young researchers, the DFG offers
leadership and management training for the awardees and organises
an annual meeting so that they can exchange their experiences.
Getting Good Help
One very real challenge for the young group leaders--at least
for thoseScience'sNext Wave spoke to--is how to convince
good Ph.D.s and postdocs to work with researchers who have not yet
established their reputations. “You do not receive dozens of good
applications for your vacant positions, since there typically are
many better-established people” competing for those same postdocs
and graduate students, says Kuckert. So what is the solution that
these young group leaders have found? Teaching. Breuning, for
example, started teaching courses to diploma (the equivalent of a
MSc. degree) students to get exposure to good students and market
his own research. He succeeded, and he now supervises three diploma
and two Ph.D. students.
Career Crossroads
The Emmy Noether awards clearly benefit early career researchers
in the short term, but questions remain: How will the awards affect
their longer-term career opportunities? And, does this new approach
to professional development have a future within the German system?
Over the last 3 years, the German government has attempted--not
without controversy or resistance--to modernise the system of
academic careers with a range of reforms that encourage progressive
programmes like Emmy Noether. The university system--and its career
paths--are now either in a transitory phase or just in limbo. The
so-called 'junior
professorships' and group leader positions--the Emmy Noether
scheme is one--are touted by the German government as an good
alternative to the traditional "habilitation" route to
independence.Thehabilitation is an examination where a researcher
has to present what is essentially a second thesis to document
their independent research abilities; they must also have a certain
amount of university teaching experience. Until 3 years ago, being
"habilitated" was an absolute requirement to apply for a
professorship in any discipline. Although schemes like Emmy Noether
are intended to replace the habilitation, at least in some
disciplines, most of the Emmy Noether fellows still feel they
should do it. "Some professors tell you that the Emmy Noether
programme makes the habilitation obsolete," explains Kuckert. "But
I would not rely on this."
Emmy Noether fellows are also concerned about their long-term
career prospects since, unlike junior professors, they cannot stay
at their host university when the award ends after 5 or 6
years.That is why Schoch, who spent 5 years as a postdoc in Texas,
prefers the American tenure-track system. "It offers you, at the
age where you start to build up your own research group, the
possibility to stay at the university you have chosen--if the
research works out."
Acknowledging that obtaining a permanent position in academia is
not guaranteed, an Emmy Noether award is much more a promising
start than an ultimate solution. The programme is still too young
to judge the long-term career perspectives of its fellows, although
the DFG has just started a programme to determine if and where the
awardees got permanent jobs after their awards are finished. Still,
says Kuckert, it's worth the time and effort to find out. "Just
believe in yourself, write a good proposal, and then let the
referees find out themselves what they think of it. They will let
you know.”
Sicco Lehmann-Brauns is a freelance writer based
inBerlin.