Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Understanding career transitions of applied researchers to universities : evidence from Germany

Chavez, Cecilia Garcia LU orcid ; Howoldt, David ; Hoyer, Patrick ; Karaulova, Maria ; Kroll, Henning and Schubert, Torben LU (2024) In Science and Public Policy 51(1). p.89-107
Abstract

This paper analyses the conditions and factors influencing non-university researchers' career transitions back into academia. Using affiliation data in publications of German researchers, their cross-sector career transitions from the public research organisation Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and industry to universities are analysed. Although the rate of transitions is small, there are distinctive windows of opportunity at a junior career stage, especially for Fraunhofer researchers. Researchers who publish more and in more acclaimed journals, Fraunhofer researchers who co-publish with universities, and women are more likely to gain a university affiliation over the course of their career. These results indicate the influence of... (More)

This paper analyses the conditions and factors influencing non-university researchers' career transitions back into academia. Using affiliation data in publications of German researchers, their cross-sector career transitions from the public research organisation Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and industry to universities are analysed. Although the rate of transitions is small, there are distinctive windows of opportunity at a junior career stage, especially for Fraunhofer researchers. Researchers who publish more and in more acclaimed journals, Fraunhofer researchers who co-publish with universities, and women are more likely to gain a university affiliation over the course of their career. These results indicate the influence of institutional proximity for cross-domain career transitions. The quality and impact of academic knowledge could be improved if the higher education sector was more open to recruitment of researchers from other sectors. Policy needs to target the barriers that preclude applied researchers from pursuing university careers.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Applied research, Career transitions, Inter-sectoral researcher mobility, Knowledge transfer, Research careers
in
Science and Public Policy
volume
51
issue
1
pages
19 pages
publisher
Oxford University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85184003508
ISSN
0302-3427
DOI
10.1093/scipol/scad049
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0242fffb-55ab-4f83-80df-5499d133ffe8
date added to LUP
2024-05-20 09:34:55
date last changed
2024-05-31 15:26:49
@article{0242fffb-55ab-4f83-80df-5499d133ffe8,
  abstract     = {{<p>This paper analyses the conditions and factors influencing non-university researchers' career transitions back into academia. Using affiliation data in publications of German researchers, their cross-sector career transitions from the public research organisation Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and industry to universities are analysed. Although the rate of transitions is small, there are distinctive windows of opportunity at a junior career stage, especially for Fraunhofer researchers. Researchers who publish more and in more acclaimed journals, Fraunhofer researchers who co-publish with universities, and women are more likely to gain a university affiliation over the course of their career. These results indicate the influence of institutional proximity for cross-domain career transitions. The quality and impact of academic knowledge could be improved if the higher education sector was more open to recruitment of researchers from other sectors. Policy needs to target the barriers that preclude applied researchers from pursuing university careers.</p>}},
  author       = {{Chavez, Cecilia Garcia and Howoldt, David and Hoyer, Patrick and Karaulova, Maria and Kroll, Henning and Schubert, Torben}},
  issn         = {{0302-3427}},
  keywords     = {{Applied research; Career transitions; Inter-sectoral researcher mobility; Knowledge transfer; Research careers}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{89--107}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Science and Public Policy}},
  title        = {{Understanding career transitions of applied researchers to universities : evidence from Germany}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scad049}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/scipol/scad049}},
  volume       = {{51}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}