Postdocs

As a postdoc, you are in a phase of your academic career which is naturally characterised as much by enthusiasm and productivity as by uncertainty and working on a long-term plan for your future career, whether within or outside the field of science. We are aware that you face great challenges in this situation.

As an institution, we can only offer a few permanent scientists positions, but we feel responsible to promote you as a postdoc in your career phase and to identify options for your further development:

• In 2014, AWI adopted "Principles for dealing with temporary employment relationships and procedures for transfer to a permanent relationship". While this may sound obscure, it is actually a commitment to the responsible handling of fixed-term contracts. Among other things, we want that supervisors and postdocs talk more with each other in order to clarify in advance what will happen after the contract expires – is there a future at AWI? If not, what other options do exist?
• Of course, as a postdoc, you are entitled to make use of our in-house training programme and of the opportunity to participate in external seminars, other personnel development tools such as mentoring or job shadowing and, of course individual consultation with our Human Resources Development Department.
• In addition, we are working on additional instruments with which we will be able to support you specifically as a postdoc in a more targeted fashion in the future, in order for you to be successful at AWI and while planning for your future career.