OPUS presented at the 2nd Researcher Career Summit

• April 24, 2023

The International Consortium of Research Staff Associations (ICoRSA) organised its 2nd Researcher Career Summit online, bringing together international stakeholders to discuss the state of research careers in Europe and Africa.

During the event, Gordon Dalton and Dragana Mitrović presented the OPUS project alongside the SECURE project, focusing on issues of research precarity and the pressing need for structured career progression for researchers. The summit emphasised global perspectives on research careers across both continents, underlining challenges such as precarious employment, restricted career development opportunities, and the urgent requirement for sustainable frameworks to improve the attractiveness and stability of research careers worldwide.

The summit featured keynote presentations, survey findings, policy debates and collaborative initiatives designed to improve career prospects for early- and mid-career researchers. Despite numerous initiatives and policy proposals spanning recent decades, participants agreed that progress has been limited and that research careers are, in many respects, becoming less appealing.

Key Highlights and Presentations

• A Manifesto for Early Career Researchers: Opening the summit, Monica Dietl (Initiative for Science in Europe) outlined efforts to strengthen research career frameworks at the European level, focusing particularly on the manifesto calling for reforms to better support early-career researchers.
• Precarious Careers in Research: Jürgen Janger (Austrian Institute of Economic Research, WIFO) examined insecurity within the research sector, presenting policy options to address instability and researcher burnout.
• Science-for-Policy Initiatives: Mathieu Denis (International Science Council, ISC) stressed the importance of embedding research careers within global science–policy frameworks, fostering international collaboration and knowledge exchange.
• Research Careers in Africa: Martiale Gaetan Zebaze Kana (UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa) shared insights into both the opportunities and challenges facing African researchers, presenting the SEDA project on Responsible Research in Africa, which seeks to strengthen long-term career support and international partnerships.
• Sustainable Careers for Researcher Empowerment (SECURE) Project: Gordon Dalton (SECURE Project Coordinator, PLOCAN) highlighted the EU-funded project’s work to establish a unified Research Career Framework, offering long-term solutions to structural precarity in the sector.
• ICoRSA Survey on Research Career Progression: Dragana Mitrović (ICoRSA) presented the latest findings of ICoRSA’s annual survey. The results showed that inadequate salaries, short-term contracts, and unsustainable workloads continue to drive researchers away from long-term academic careers. Respondents expressed the need for more permanent positions and better balance between teaching, research, and administrative responsibilities.
• Joint Statement on Researchers in Iran: Sebastian Dahle (Eurodoc and University of Ljubljana) introduced the joint declaration by ICoRSA, Eurodoc, the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA), and the Young Academy of Europe (YAE). The statement condemned restrictions on academic freedom in authoritarian contexts and urged international solidarity with researchers under political pressure.

Summit Format and Discussions

The summit concluded with breakout sessions, which examined the realities of research careers in Europe and Africa separately. The discussions highlighted systemic challenges such as reliance on short-term contracts, weak career progression pathways, and limited mobility, as well as specific issues in Africa, including fragile institutional support and insufficient funding streams.

Participants agreed that, despite numerous reforms and proposals over the past decade, the overall attractiveness and sustainability of a research career have not substantially improved. However, large-scale collaborative efforts, including the SECURE and OPUS projects, the Early Career Researchers Manifesto, and ICoRSA’s longitudinal career survey, were recognised as practical instruments capable of driving meaningful reform.

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