Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft
Promoting Excellent Researchers Today
for the Science of Tomorrow
The Emmy Noether ProgrammeContents

Contents
Emmy Noether
A trademark of excellence3

Ideal Preparation for a Professorship
Emmy Noether fellows take stock

4/5

Early Independence Puts Young Talent on Fast Track
Young researchers benefit fromgreater academic freedom and excellent resources

6/7

Passionate Pioneer
Emmy Noether lived for mathematics



8

Searching for Jain Traces in India
Julia A. B. Hegewald is an art historian specialising in South AsianStudies at the University of Heidelberg’s South Asia Institute9

Credits

Toward the Tenure Track
New impulses for German academia

10/11

Young Researchers in DemandInterviews with university experts

12/13

Too Young to Be a Professor?
Johannes Dillinger heads the Emmy Noether
independent junior research group at the
University of Trier’s Department of Modern History

14

15

axeptDESIGN
www.axeptdesign.de

20/21
22/23

Wanted: Long-Term Prospects
Oliver Huck is a musicologist at the Würzburg College of Music

24

Expert on Bee Colonies
Peter Neumann is a biologist at
Martin Luther University’s Institute of Zoology
in Halle-Wittenberg

Photos, illustrations:P. 3 DFG; pp. 4-5 Ausserhofer; p. 6 top: Zick, Jochen/Keystone, bottom: Ausserhofer; p. 7 axeptDESIGN, PhotoDisc; p. 8 Auguste Dick: Emmy Noether
1882-1935. Boston 1981, p. 59; p.9 Ausserhofer;
pp. 10-11 Götz Wiedenroth; pp. 12-13 FLTR: University of Heidelberg, Balsereit (Cologne), Universityof Hamburg; p. 14 private; p. 15 Ausserhofer; pp.
16-17 AID BOX axeptDESIGN; p. 18 left: Instituteof Physics, University of Cologne, right: Christina
Spassova; p. 19 University of Western Brittany; pp.
20-21 University of Hohenheim; p. 23 private; pp.
24-27 Ausserhofer

Printing:

25

Research in Germany
Annual meeting of Emmy Noether researchers in Potsdam

SciTech Communications GmbH
Heidelberg, Germany

Design, typesetting, title page:

Young Researchers Want Clear Commitments
Looking beyond the quick fix

Uschi Heidel (uwh)Dr. Isabell Lisberg-Haag (lb)
Katja Spross (KS)English translation:

18/19

Impulses for Young Science
Action Plan in computer science promotes
new generation of professors

Dr. Isabell Lisberg-Haag (project manager)
Uschi Heidel
Trio MedienService
www.trio-medien.de

Writers:

16/17

Concentrated Expertise
Collaborative Research Centres: young researchers exchange ideas

Dr. Anjana Buckow
Michaela Dreike
Dr. Beate Scholz

German Editors:

Excellence European-Style
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German Research Foundation
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Tel. +49 228 885-1
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Coordination:

A Researcher with All His Heart
Lars S. Maier is a cardiologist at the University of
Göttingen’s Heart Centre

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Richard Thierbach
Buch- und Offsetdruckerei GmbH
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Circulation:

26/27

3,000
October 2006

Introduction

E

mmy Noether was an exceptional
scientist. She carried out pioneering work in the field of mathematics,
under less than favourable conditions. At that time it was still particularly hard for women to qualify foracademic positions. It is therefore fitting that a programme of excellence
that applies the highest standards tothe young scientists and academics
it supports should be named after arole model like Emmy Noether.

Such young researchers are in high demand internationally. The DFG tries toencourage non-Germans to research inGermany, keep excellent German researchers in the country or win themback. First-rate young researchers fromaround the world who intend to work at
German research institutions in the future
are invited to apply for the programme.
Once accepted, they can look forward

Emmy Noether
A trademark of excellence

Those accepted into the DFG’s Emmy Noether Programme have passed
a rigorous selection process and, ata young age, can already point to impressive academic and scientific trackrecords that promise outstanding careers in science or the humanities.

not only to five or six years in a well-paid
position, but also to funding for an independent junior research group and adequate travel and project funds. Moreover, they are given the opportunity to
conduct independent research – which isexactly what they need in order to realise
their ideas and establish an independent
position in science and academia early on.

In the short period since its inception in
1999, the Emmy Noether Programme
has already become a trademark. It is
well known that “Emmys” are among
the best. The great acceptance which
this young programme has already won,
and the high quality of its fellows, areattested to by the fact that more than
70 of them have been offered professorships – some more than one – even while
they were still in the programme. A wellfunctioning network of former and current Emmy Noether junior research groupleaders has formed. The DFG welcomes
this development and supports it to thebest of its ability, for example throughannual meetings and an Internet forum.
Among the high-calibre guests who
have given speeches at Emmy Noether
meetings – which have become an annual tradition, taking place each summer in Potsdam – were former Federal
Minister of Research Edelgard Bulmahn
and former Minister of State for Culture Julian Nida-Rümelin. They engaged
in discussions with participants late into the night. Brandenburg’s Minister of
Science, Johanna Wanka, is a regular
guest and has so far been able to attend each year’s “Political Evening”. This
proves that politicians look at these leading young researchers as interesting dialogue partners whose opinions deserve
to be heard. I, too, have found the open
and stimulating exchange with young
scientists and academics not only highly
enjoyable, but also valuable as a sourceof feedback and inspiration for the further development of our programmes.
These conversations always reinforce mybelief that the future of Germany as ascientific and academic centre of excellence is in good hands.

Professor Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker
President of the DFG



Emmy

With new confidence
Dr. Wolf-Tilo Balke
Research Centre L3S
Hanover“Emmy Noether junior research group leaders have gone througha tough selection process and this, combined with the fact thatthey are funded through the programme, makes them very interesting to universities. In the US, however, this programme is not
yet widely known. When I was in Berkeley I explained the termsof the programme, and the Americans were very interested andeven willing to top up the funding with some extra money. For computer scientists, heading a
research group is par for the course, even for those working on their doctorates, and this is especially true for projects with third-party funding. Our professors are more like research managers
than pure researchers, so junior scientists have to get down to business early on. I was an Emmy
Noether fellow during my two years abroad and although it was like being thrown in at the deepend, it certainly had positive consequences: I returned from the US with new confidence and was
no longer the inexperienced postdoc. After all, I’d done independent research for two years andworked with renowned experts – and that definitely improved my standing in the job market.”

Ideal Preparation for a Professorship
Emmy Noether fellows take stock“During my postdoctoral period in the US, I saw
Pursuing a career in science while raising a childhow my international female colleagues took it for
Dr. Andra Schromm
granted that they could start a family while they
Leibniz Centre for Medicine and Bioscienceswere doing demanding scientific work. When I reBorstel
turned to Germany, I had to compensate for thewell-developed childcare opportunities and social
acceptance found in the US, using a lot of creativity on my part in Germany. For my research it’s
essential that I attend international meetings and conferences, and it is not always possible tokeep a regular schedule. Standard German childcare doesn’t allow for that, so I need good organisational skills and the help of my partner and relatives to make it work. The Emmy Noether
Programme gives me an opportunity that is rare in Germany, to harmonise my career and family life. The great autonomy I have as the leader of an independent junior research group affords me the flexibility I need, for instance, when it comes to my teaching schedule. At the
beginning of the fellowship, when my daughter was still very young, I was able to suspend
my teaching obligations. Later on I gradually started to teach and conduct seminars again.”More flexibility needed
Dr. Bodo Grimbacher
Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology
Medical University Clinic, Freiburg“Most professors appreciate Emmy Noether
junior research groups. For my department,
the existence of this group is a seal of quality. The success of my junior research group isbased on our cooperation with scientists not
only in Europe but all over the world. In addition to receiving DFG funding, we also raise third-party funds, and the group is constantly growing. More scientific recognition means additional administrative work: we need more staff andbigger labs. We get no support from the administration in this regard. Because space is limited,
we have to fight for it, which puts a strain on our time and nerves. I’m not allowed to decide independently whom I invite for job interviews. People who are already employed by the university
have to be invited, regardless of whether or not they’re right for the job. So I end up holding quite
a few interviews for no good reason.”Statements

An underrated path to professorshipProf. Tanja Börzel
Centre for European Integration
Otto Suhr InstituteFree University, Berlin“The Emmy Noether Programme is a very promising step on
the academic career ladder because it allows for a strong research focus. I could dedicate a lot of time to publishing andwas able to gain experience in third-party fundraising – two
key criteria for success when it comes to negotiating chair appointments. Without the Emmy Noether junior research group
I would not have been appointed professor so quickly, especially as I don’t have a habilitation. An alternative to assistantships and junior professorships, theposition of independent junior research group leader is underrated as a third way to an academic
career. Public perception is focused on junior professorships, while hardly anyone talks about thesignificance of independent junior research groups. At many universities, junior research groupleaders aren’t visible enough, even though their appointment ratio is much higher than that ofjunior professors. Universities don’t realise yet that junior research groups can raise their profileand give them an edge in the competition for excellence. This has to change, and it will. We’reworking on it.”

“Heading an Emmy Noether independent junResponsibility for the teamior research group is an outstanding opportuniDr. Christian Wegener
ty to grow into a leading role in science. I work
Philipps University, Marburg
independently in my chosen field of research
Department of Biology, Animal Physiology/Neurobiology
and with my own budget, and I supervise myown doctoral students and write proposals toraise additional research funds. I don’t conduct
research all by myself though – I’m responsible for a team. That’s an important element for myfuture career. It’s up to me to decide how much I get involved in teaching or administration. It all
starts with recruiting suitable graduate and doctoral students. As a junior research group leader,
it’s my job to motivate them, to leave room for their creativity, but also to establish the direction we’re heading in. After all, we’ll only be noticed and recognised if we take a joint positionas scientists. That holds true both within and outside our university. It’s a big responsibility, but
I’ve grown with the job – that’s one of the fundamental experiences I’ve had as a junior researchgroup leader.”Shortened work week went a long way
Dr. Laura Kallmeyer
Collaborative Research Centre “Linguistic Data Structures”
University of Tübingen“I had just been accepted by the DFG when our firstchild was born. So the option given by the ENP, to reduce the working hours, was ideal for me. In the beginning I worked 60 percent of a full-time position,and later on 80 percent. I was doing research at the
University of Paris VII at the time. The conditions forbalancing an academic career and family life are ideal
there. Childcare isn’t really an issue in France because of their well-developed infrastructure. I
worked at the university for four full days a week and enjoyed great freedom as a researcher. The
excellent conditions that the Emmy Noether Programme offers encouraged me to have two morechildren. Overall, my first funding phase lasted not two but almost four years. But that didn’t
compromise my research – on the contrary. Now I head an independent junior research groupin Tübingen and work full-time again – something I had been looking forward to after my timein France. I want to do research, lead my group, and be a role model for other women scientists
who don’t wish to sacrifice their family life.”

EarlyYoung researchers in the Emmy Noether Programme enjoy a privilege that many of their colleagues in Germany can only dream about, and which is unheard of among
many university lecturers: Emmy Noether fellows are scientifically independent. They select and head their own independent junior research groups, supervise doctoral students, teach, perform management tasks, administer theirown budgets – and they do so at a university of their choice.
“Young scientists should be able to step out of their professors’ shadows early on and develop their own research
profiles,” says Dr. Beate Scholz, Programme Director for the
DFG’s Research Careers Section.



Early Independence Puts Young Talent on Fast Track
Young researchers benefit from greater academic freedom and excellent resources

When the DFG instituted this programme
in 1999, it broke new ground in termsof the promotion of young researchers,
bringing on a paradigm shift. One of theinspirations for the programme was thekind of academic freedom enjoyed byassistant professors in the United States.
The goal was to establish a qualification path which was an alternative toresearch assistantship. “We wanted tobreak away from the master-apprenticemodel,” explains Beate Scholz. Changes
along these lines had previously been
advocated by international experts who
reviewed German academia as part ofan international system evaluation. Theirconclusion: long-term dependencybased relationships not only undermine
young researchers, but also the competitiveness of universities and the country
as a whole in the global competition for
innovation and top-level scientists andacademics.

“Turbo programme for young
researchers”
That’s exactly where the Emmy Noether
Programme comes in. Emmy Noether
fellows pass through the qualification

phase that leads to professorship significantly faster than their colleagues who
work as research assistants. The ENP has
even been called a “turbo programme
for young researchers” by the media. In
five years – six at the most – an “Emmy”
should be able to make it: The high appointment ratio shows that this is sufficient time to gain professorship. Morethan 100 current and former Emmy
Noether fellows have been offered professorships so far. Close to 300 Emmy
Noether independent junior researchgroups have been funded since 1999,
almost a quarter of them headed by
women. Fifty new research groups areapproved each year, on average.
The Emmy Noether Programme is open
to all young scientists and academics who have a strong track record andwish to qualify in Germany as university lecturers. The overwhelming majorityof fellows work in the natural and life
sciences; humanities scholars and social
scientists are rare. “So far,” adds Beate
Scholz. She notices that the humanities are beginning to catch up as they
are undergoing a general shift and considering new approaches to promoting

young researchers. The Emmy Noether
Programme seeks to support this trend.
Because team research has traditionally been less common in the humanities
than in the natural sciences, researchers
in the humanities may receive funding
as project leaders even without a juniorresearch group.

Heating up the competition
Close to nine percent of the young researchers come from outside Germany.
“We’re not pursuing a brain gain strategy, but the programme does try to recruit the best researchers, regardless of
their current location,” explains BeateIndependence

Handpicked
What does it take to be an “Emmy”? Applicants must demonstrate that they have conductedindependent research after obtaining their doctorates and areable to build independent academic careers. “They need tohave cut themselves loose fromtheir professors, meaning theyshould be independent and mobile, both geographically andthematically,” says Beate Scholz,
who is responsible for the DFG’s
Research Careers Section.

Scholz. The ENP especially targets highly
accomplished Germans who would liketo return to Germany. For them, excellence funding might be just what they
are looking for as it allows them to conduct research in Germany under conditions that match the attractive packages
offered in their adopted country. The
biggest incentives are greater academic
freedom and excellent resources for theirown research group. Word of such benefits gets around in the scientific community. “Young people go whereverconditions are most favourable. Our programme wants to support this dynamic,
and so create competition among German research centres,” says the DFG
expert.

New mentality needed“However, some universities are still insufficiently aware of their assets andhow they can leverage them,” adds
Beate Scholz. “Assets”, in this case,are researchers who have been selected against tough international competition. Their work helps raise the profile ofthe university they work in, and thefinancing they bring with them improves

the university’s third-party funding statistics. But instead of making a point of
recruiting Emmy Noether candidates,
some departments and administrations
balk and point to issues such as lack ofspace. Another challenge is insufficient
integration: in contrast to junior professors, Emmy Noether fellows are often
not permitted to teach and to supervise doctoral students from beginningto end. “We still have a long way to go
in terms of changing mentalities,” says
Beate Scholz. However, the paradigm
has already begun to shift – as evidenced
by universities that make an effort to offer long-term prospects for their “Emmys” and succeed in doing so.
uwhPreviously narrow age restrictions have been replaced by a
new rule that allows candidates
to be admitted into the programme up to four years after
they have finished their doctorates. Each application must include a letter of commitment
from a hiring institution that is
willing to employ the candidate
and provide the necessary working conditions.
Candidates should have worked
abroad for at least one year. It isirrelevant whether this international research experience waspart of their doctoral trainingor gained afterwards, for example through a DFG research fellowship. Applicants who havenot done any research outside
Germany, but who are well
networked internationally, also
have a good chance of being
accepted. Scientific excellence
and independence are the key
criteria that all applicants must
demonstrate in the tough competition for funding.
Junior research group leaders
are generally handpicked by expert committees on the basis ofwritten proposals and in-personpresentations of their research
projects. Successful applicants
may be funded for five years,
or six years in exceptional cases.
uwhEmmy Noether

Passionate Pioneer
Emmy Noether lived for mathematics

One “cannot emphasise strongly enough that nature itself has determined for
women the role of mother and housewife, and that the laws of nature can in noway be ignored without severe harm,” wrote Max Planck in 1897. He was one of over 100 professors who contributed their opinions about female university students to a report titled “The Academic Woman”. This was the response of academics to demands emanating from the middle-class women’s
movement, which had challenged attitudes in Wilhelmine Germany by demanding the right to education andto free choice of profession.

This was the time in which Emmy
Noether, who was born in 1882, grew
up. For eight years she attended a secondary school for girls in Erlangen, where
she learned cooking, sewing and foreign
languages – a typical education for girls.
In 1900 she passed the state examination for teachers of English and French.
The daughter of a mathematics professor, she registered as a guest student ofmathematics, physics and philosophy in
Erlangen in 1903. At the same time, she
prepared for her university entrance exam. In 1904 she enrolled as a student ofmathematics and found herself the only
woman among 46 male students. Three
years later she was the second woman
ever to earn a doctorate at the Universityof Erlangen, with her thesis on invariant
theory.

ant Theory: Prof. Hilbert assisted by Dr.
Noether, Mondays 4 to 6, free”.
As early as 1915, these two mentors encouraged Emmy Noether to apply for habilitation (the German qualification for auniversity lecturer), even though womenin Germany were not entitled to do sountil 1920.

Obstacles to habilitation
However, her doctorate did not lead toacademic employment. The young mathematician was limited to discussions
with colleagues and to scientific publications, with which she made a name forherself. In 1909 the renowned German
Mathematical Society accepted 27-yearold Emmy Noether as a member. It was
not until 1932 that she became the firstwoman to deliver a major speech at amathematical conference. In spite of thisrecognition she continued to work without pay at the mathematical institute in
Erlangen.
Mathematicians Felix Klein and David Hilbert had established a “centre of
excellence” for mathematics in Göttingen. They promoted female talent andin 1915 asked the gifted scientist to join
their institute. Even there she gave lectures without a teaching licence: “Invari-

off her small inheritance. During the1920s she published a series of fundamental papers and proposed Noether’s
Theorems, which describe the conservation laws of energy and linear and angular momentum.

Learning from Emmy Noether
In addition to her lecturing and research
activities, Emmy Noether spent a lot oftime with her students. Hailing from
France, China, the Soviet Union and theUnited States, they disseminated her
method, called “conceptual mathematics”. She supervised 13 dissertations andnumerous mathematical papers written
by students who went on to become renowned mathematicians in their own
right. In 1932 Emmy Noether, together
with Emil Artin, obtained the important
Ackermann-Teubner Memorial Prize forarithmetic and algebra – the only award
she would ever receive.
Just one year later, the Nazis revoked
her teaching licence. The Jewish woman
was considered “left-wing”, and thosein power deemed her politically and “racially” undesirable.

Even with the strong support she received, it took Emmy Noether three attempts before she was finally granted an
exemption and allowed to habilitate in
Göttingen in May of 1919.
Again she was a pioneer: she was thefirst woman in Göttingen to receive ateaching licence, albeit without salary.
Emmy Noether depended on her father’s
financial support; in later years she lived

In 1933 the president of Bryn Mawr College for women in Pennsylvania invited
Emmy Noether to teach as a visiting professor for one year. While in the US, shealso lectured at Princeton. In 1935 Emmy
Noether died unexpectedly during surgery at Bryn Mawr Hospital. Albert Einstein commented that same year in the
New York Times: “In the judgement of
the most competent living mathematicians, Fräulein Noether was the mostsignificant creative mathematical genius
thus far produced since the higher education of women began.”
lbPortrait

Searching for Jain Traces in India

T

ravelogues sparked a passion for India in ten-year-old Julia Hegewald that ended up driving her
academic career. Together with her interdisciplinary Emmy Noether junior research group, she
now explores the history, architecture and religion of Jainism in the South Indian state of Karnataka.
Jains, along with Hindus and Buddhists, constitute one of India’s oldest religious communities. Jainism
reached its peak between the 5th and 12th centuries, and its followers held important government
positions during that period. Today Jains make up only a small minority. Why did the Jains lose power,
and what did the political changes mean for them? These are the questions the junior research grouptries to answer, in context, for the first time.
After she finished secondary school,
Hegewald, who was born in Aachen,went to Nepal to participate in excavations. It was during this time that shereconsidered her plan of becoming an
is an art historian specialising in South Asian Studies at thearchaeologist in South Asia. “Not unUniversity of Heidelberg’s South Asia Institutederground but right in front of my eyes
I saw buildings crumble that nobody had
ever done research
on. I wanted to workon these treasures,”says the art historian. She searched
for a university thatoffered everything
she wanted to study:
the art and architectural history ofSouth Asia, alongwith Sanskrit, Nepaliand Hindi. She chose
the School of Oriental and African Studies at the Universityof London, where
she studied and obtained her doctorate.
Afterwards she became a research fellow in Indian Architecture at University College, Oxford. For her
doctorate she spent more than 14 months in India. That was when she discovered the numerous Jain
temple complexes that had been largely ignored by scholarly literature. Julia Hegewald began a systematic search for structures that were either dilapidated or had been converted to Hindu temples. In
four years she had located, recorded and documented Jain temples in about 500 locations across India,
and this research formed the basis for her habilitation.

Julia A. B. Hegewald“The Emmy Noether Programme was very appealing to me. It allowed me to continue and conclude
my field research. Now I have enough time in Heidelberg to approach the Jains through several disciplines and shed light on unexplored areas,” says the 34-year-old. However, she often meets withscepticism at the University of Heidelberg, because although she is neither an assistant nor a professor, she does have her own research budget and her own independent junior research group, thanks
to DFG funding.
The art historian recruited a doctoral student from Leipzig into her team to contribute religious expertise, as well as an Indian postdoc to work on historical aspects. The regional focus of the research is on
Karnataka. There, in the town of Shravanabelgola, the researchers visited the Mahamastakabhisheka,
one of the Jains’ most important religious festivals, which takes place only once every twelve years.
Afterwards they presented their impressions in a photo exhibit. An academic conference in Karnataka
and an international symposium in Heidelberg round off the research project.
KSTenureF

irst there were Emmy Noether researchers, then came junior professors. Not only did the Emmy Noether Programme
serve as a model for this second new qualification path for
future professors, it also inspired other research funders todevelop their own programmes for junior research groups
and young professors.

The idea of early independence in conjunction with leadership training – allof it at the highest academic level – has
penetrated the sometimes ossified structures of research and academia in Germany, thanks to the Emmy Noether Programme. A slow but certain paradigm
shift is underway. The introduction ofjunior professorships was a visible signof this new orientation in the system.

track, the clear career path to a permanent position, is an established institution in the United States. In Germany itwill be “the big topic” in the next few
years, according to education experts.
As long as there are no permanent positions on the horizon, German academia
will have an increasingly hard time in re-interim evaluation by the DFG and theuniversity, the position is converted into a tenured professorship, as in the US
system. In December 2005 the German
Federal-State Commission for Educational Planning and Research Promotion
approved the introduction of Heisenberg
Professorships.
The Lichtenberg Professorships, whichwere introduced in 2004 by the Volkswagen Foundation, include the tenure-track
option. Their purpose is to motivate uni-

10
A better starting position
However: “Junior professors are notcompetitive in many cases, while Emmy
Noether junior research group leaders
are,” concludes a study entitled “Junior
Professorships and the Emmy Noether
Programme: A Comparative Evaluation
Study” by the Young Academy. Composed of young researchers, the Young
Academy is a project of the BerlinBrandenburg Academy of Sciences andHumanities and the German Academyof Sciences Leopoldina. Its members arecommitted to interdisciplinary academic
dialogue and involved at the interface of
science and society.
Both groups were interviewed in the
Young Academy study. It became clear
why “Emmys” do better than juniorprofessors just about everywhere: they
have more staff, better equipment, anda lighter teaching and examination load,
and tey are on average one year younger
when they are offered professorships –all of which translates into a better starting position, according to the study.
Another bonus for Emmy Noether junior research group leaders is the “DFG
seal of approval” – because of the DFG’s
highly respected review process.
In spite of excellent research funding,
young scientists and academics lacklong-term career prospects. The tenure

Toward the Tenure Track
New impulses for German academia

taining top-notch researchers against thecompetition from universities in othercountries. The systematic promotion ofyoung researchers requires that longterm prospects be available – otherwise a lot of effort will be lost.

Heisenberg Professorshipas a shining example
That is why the DFG considers
the Heisenberg Professorship as
an exemplary model and a logical career step, especially for Emmy Noether fellows. In practice itworks as follows: a young researcher
finds a university that does not currently have a professor in his/her area of research, so that appointing this researcher
would permanently establish a new discipline. The researcher applies for a fiveyear Heisenberg Professorship, undergoing the DFG’s rigorous peer review. Thenthe university where the Heisenberg Professorship is to be instituted reviews the
DFG-approved candidate in an appointment procedure. If the researcher is chosen, he/she initially becomes a Heisenberg Professor. Finally, after a successful

versities to actively recruit outstanding
young professors and engage in timely
structural planning. The first young researchers have already been appointed.
The foundation funds the positions forfive years. Then, following successful

trackevaluation, these young researchers will
be hired by their universities as regularprofessors. The universities, in turn, arecalled on to contribute funding from the
beginning. The Donors’ Association for
the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany pursues a similar path:in conjunction with the Claussen Simon
Foundation and the Fritz and Hildegard
Berg Foundation, it offers funding for 14
tenure-track junior professorships.

Strengthening the right to teach
The independent junior research groups
sponsored by the Helmholtz Associationof German Research Centres also havetenure-track positions at the association’s own non-university centres. Since
2004 the organisation has advertised up
to 20 junior research groups each year.
The programme is initially scheduled topartment’s focus. Wherever possible,
the junior research group leader is also
appointed as a junior professor. “These
groups in particular are supposed to build
bridges between the Helmholtz research
centres and universities and enable upand-coming researchers to gain experience and have access to good partners,”
says Bärbel Köster, Head of Strategy andInternational Relations at the Helmholtz
Association.
With a view to creating favourable conditions for independent junior researchgroups, the Helmholtz Association has
been inspired and encouraged by theEmmy Noether Programme. Its approachto promoting young researchers is quite
similar to the DFG’s. “We’re on the same
page with the DFG, especially in termsof strengthening the independence of
junior academics at universities and theirprospects, have existed since 1969. All
researchers funded so far have been offered professorships or have achieved
high-level positions in science. Twenty
directors of Max Planck institutes areformer junior research group leaders,according to Susanne Mellinghoff ofthe MPS’s human resources department.
Currently there are 57 independent junior research groups. Approximately half
the positions for independent junior research group leaders are announced internationally, without specification of
the research field or the institute.
“As an alternative to the tenure-trackmodel, the MPS uses a balanced ratio.
About half the positions are offered ona fixed-term basis and the other half
are permanent. So after the fixed-term
contracts expire, there are usually permanent positions available, which areawarded on the basis of scientific evaluations and scientific planning considerations,” says Susanne Mellinghoff.
Universities are now pushing for amendments to state laws for higher education
so that they can retain their best young
researchers and academics – whether bygiving junior professors a real tenuretrack option or averting the appointmentof Emmy Noether junior research groupleaders to foreign professorships. Says
the DFG’s Beate Scholz: “Our goal forthe medium term is to make the tenure
track available to Emmy Noether fellows
as well as to junior professors. We’re currently working on models along thoselines.”
uwh

run until 2009. The programme funds
groups that are based at Helmholtz centres and at universities. The latter are
established jointly with universities andaddress topics that fit both a Helmholtz
programme and the university’s or de-

right to teach,” says Bärbel Köster.
The Max Planck Society (MPS) has
a different focus. MPS junior research groups, which offer
early independence andsubsequent career11

Interview

Young Researchers in DemandInterviews with university experts

12

Dr. Marina Frost
Vice-chancellor, University of
Heidelberg
How do you rate the Emmy Noether
Programme compared to other qualification programmes for up-and-coming
academics and scientists?
Because of its very high entry requirements, the ENP guarantees excellent
young researchers and is an outstanding
funding instrument. Its special benefits, inmy opinion, include independence, freedom to choose research topics, and support of all disciplines. At our university,for example, Emmy Noether independent junior research group leaders are also
active in the humanities. That’s very valuable, because for natural scientists andengineers there are often more funding
opportunities. Another excellent feature
are the resources, which provide some relief to universities and their tight budgets.
How does the University of Heidelberg
design the qualification process for its
young researchers?

At the University of Heidelberg we’ve adopted a programme for the promotionof young researchers. It
doesn’t primarily deal withfunding, but rather it summarises the regulations forthese researchers. It is important, first of all, to ensuretransparency and to establish clear rules, so that young
researchers know what they
are getting involved with. For instance,
what are the planning requirements interms of schedule, finances and concept? How will the researcher be supervised and supported? What internal funding programmes are available?
How are teaching and management
skills acquired? Laying down these rules
is an important first step.
Young researchers want more planning
reliability. What are the prospects fortenure-track options in Germany?
Within the “Deregulated University”
programme, which was launched by
the Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany, our university is in charge of the
project area “Flexible Personnel Structures.” One of the things we want to do
is try out different versions of the tenure track. For example, it would be possible to have the professorship prearranged from the beginning, or to havea tenure battle. We can’t guarantee a
job for everybody, but at least we canprovide the opportunity to compete forlong-term positions. Eventually we plan
to summarise our experience in a statement, which we will then present as an
appeal to all state legislatures to open
the way for the tenure track.

Professor Bernhard Kempen
President, German Associationof Higher Education
What is the significance of Emmy
Noether independent junior researchgroup leaders for universities and their
distinctive profiles?
Universities know that these are outstanding researchers, with a great future in science and the humanities.
However, universities could leverage
their strengths better and enhancetheir strategic positioning to attract
these researchers. Universities are familiar with the programme, but it
hasn’t taken hold as much one mightwish.
What does a successful and attractive
qualification path for young researchers look like?
There can’t be only one method of promoting young researchers, because thedisciplines and the qualification paths
are too different. We need both com-Interview

petition and prospects. On the one
hand, the competitive phase has tolast long enough to make sure we get
the best people. On the other hand,gifted young researchers need appealing prospects. It’s not easy to create ahealthy balance here. Politicians have
tried to provide long-term prospects
from an early stage, and without competition. The attempt to give the juniorprofessorship a monopoly as the only
path to a professorship, by a de facto prohibition of the habilitation, wasdoomed to fail from the beginning, because it didn’t take into account thedifferent needs of various academic
and scientific disciplines. In the past,
universities themselves have suffered,especially in international competition,
as they couldn’t offer long-term prospects until it was too late. Junior professorships do help to invigorate thisprocess, but now we have to see how
we can further improve this balance.
How can we make career planning morepredictable for young scientists and academics?
The catchword we often hear in thiscontext is “tenure track”. It’s an ambiguous term, especially when used inGerman. It could mean that the ban
on internal appointments is lifted andthat junior academics are free to apply
to any university. Another possibility
would be that a university could offer
the tenure option to an extraordinary
young researcher, pending evaluation
at a later time. However, these should
be exceptional cases, in our opinion.
This type of tenure-track option makes
sense, for example, when trying to retain an outstanding young scientist
who has received a tempting offerfrom abroad.

Global competition for thebest young minds is fierce.
What can a German university do to keep up?

Dr. Jürgen Lüthje
President, University of
Hamburg
How well prepared are Emmy Noether
junior research group leaders for the
profession of university lecturer?
It seems to me that preparation for future teaching assignments is currently lacking. It makes sense for young
scientists and academics to teach ona limited scale, about two semester
credit hours, in order to gain specificteaching experience. While the Emmy Noether Programme permits that,it doesn’t require it. Important in thisregard are teaching qualification programmes such as the one offered by
the University of Hamburg. We havean accredited master’s programme inhigher education, which is also open
to Emmy Noether fellows from otheruniversities, and which allows them totrain specifically for teaching. Participation should be voluntary, of course,
but universities ought to offer suchprogrammes.

We have to focus a lot moreon staff development andmake it possible for young
academics to apply for specific jobs, including jobs attheir own university. I don’t
think an actual job promotion system would be useful. It is however a goodidea that each career step involves anapplication and appointment procedure. This is a tried and tested featureof the German university system. Emmy
Noether fellows should also always be
required to compete with other applicants, and they should be able to do soat their own university as well. The university should check in a timely manner
whether there will be a vacancy in the
fellow’s field of research by the end of
the funding period and advertise that
position early on.
What are the chances that these jobs
for young researchers can actually becreated?
The problems that young researchersin Germany are facing right now stemfrom the fact that there aren’t enoughjobs available, relative to the number ofhighly qualified young academics that
our higher education system produceseach year. And this in turn has to dowith our stagnating academic system,with its lack of staff and funding. The
main reason why there are more opportunities in the United States is that
American universities and research institutions have better funding. This iswhere we need to do some rethinking
in Germany.
Interviews: Uschi Heidel

13

Portrait

Too Young to Be a Professor?

D

r. Johannes Dillinger heads an Emmy Noether independent junior research group at the Department of Modern History at the University of Trier. He enjoys the respect and solidarity of his colleagues. Usually Johannes Dillinger remembers past events very precisely, but when asked about the
beginnings of his passion for history, he hesitates and finds it difficult to name a date. “My interestin the past has always been there, and it accompanied me throughout my childhood,” The Saarland
native recalls. While studying history, Catholic theology and education, he spent two semesters in the
UK. “The year in Norwich was very stimulating and changed my view of history,” he says. He began tosee things also from an anthropological angle, which has informed his work as a historian ever since,
including his dissertation on witch hunts in two German territories and his habilitation thesis on thepossibilities of political representation for farmers in pre-revolutionary states.

14

When the Emmy Noether Programme
was launched in 1999, Johannes Dillinger applied for it immediately. The
DFG accepted him into the circle offellows, and even today, the historian – one of few humanities scholars among “Emmys” – is enthusiastic
about the programme. “Funding is extremely flexible. I was recently granted
a one-year extension, which allows me
to successfully finish my research.”

Johannes Dillinger
heads the Emmy Noether independent junior research group at
the University of Trier’s Department of Modern History

In 2002 he established his own independent junior research group at the University ofTrier – the first of its kind in Rhineland-Palatinate.
“I’m largely on par with professors and allowed
to examine master’s and doctoral students,” heexplains. To make this possible, exam regulations
had to be changed and approved by the state
government. “From the very beginning I’ve experienced great solidarity from all colleagues,” says
the 37-year-old. His group consists of three doctoral students, two historians and a law graduate. “We meet regularly. I’m the contact personfor each phase, but I also rely on the other researchers to take personal responsibility,” he clarifies. One thing was especially important to him: “I
made it clear from the beginning that this wasn’t
about competition and that all issues should be
addressed openly” – a credo that was well received by his team members.
Johannes Dillinger believes that Emmy Noether
junior research group leaders have a definite edge
over junior professors. “We’ve all been selectedby reviewers who were not known to us, in a rigorous procedure, so quality is ensured.” However,many of his colleagues at universities still don’tknow enough about the ENP. “The programme
and its benefits aren’t widely known yet,” he observes. “Those who ignore this funding instrument put their own university at a disadvantage.” Young,excellent research achievements, managerial skills honed by leading a research group – who could
refuse such an applicant? Johannes Dillinger recently learned about a “shortcoming” of “Emmys”
when a fellow historian remarked, “You want to be a professor? You’re too young!”
lbPortrait

A Researcher with All His HeartO

ne in every two Germans dies of heart disease. “Our research findings aren’t just important for theindividual, they’re also of great socioeconomic significance,” Dr. Lars Maier states, summarising
the implications of his Emmy Noether research project. Even as a medical student in Freiburg, he wasintrigued by science and communication. He put his studies on hold and travelled to Sydney, Chicago
and Baltimore for research stays. His commitment paid off: he completed his dissertation summa cum
laude. Afterwards he did research in Chicago for two years as an Emmy Noether fellow and completed
his habilitation in Germany, at the age of 32, as one of the youngest medical academics.
With his Emmy Noether junior research group of ten, currently including seven doctoral students,
the lecturer at the University of Göttingen’s Heart Centre has been researching the exact causes ofcardiac insufficiency in relation to theheart’s calcium balance since 2003.
In addition to calcium metabolism incells, calcium-independent proteins also play a role here. The goal is to create the basis for the development of a
is a cardiologist at the University of Göttingen’s Heart Centre
new drug.

Lars S. Maier“I’m a practice-oriented researcher, so
thinking about my patients is as important to me as thinking about research,”says the 33-year-old. After a nightshift
or a day’s work at the clinic, he often
doesn’t head straight home to his family but rather to the lab. He would liketo conduct experiments there, but time doesn’t permit
that. His spectrum of tasks is rather broad as it is: on
top of his activities as a physician and researcher, his
position as junior research group leader requires him to
manage the lab, train doctoral students, and raise additional funds from third parties. So far, the group has
had €1.1 million at its disposal. In addition, Lars Maier isalso active as a lecturer. “I don’t do research to have an
impressive career. I do it because I enjoy it. That’s what
drives me. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to cope withthese multiple responsibilities,” he says.
The cardiologist feels well integrated into the university.
The university has made additional lab space available
to the research group and paid for a confocal microscope. “Our university wants to rank in the top tier in
research. Our accomplishments are rewarded here in
Göttingen,” explains the scientist. The director of his
department, Professor Gerd Hasenfuss, supports the research group through an additional lab technician anda medical assistant, who is the contact person at the lab
when Lars Maier is busy at the clinic.
The young physician believes in flat hierarchies. He
learned a lot about cooperation and teamwork during
his residencies in the US. He is convinced that, “if you
pull together as a team and everybody’s willing to go the extra mile, you’re going to be successful.”
He brought another insight with him from the US: “A hundred years ago German scientists were theworld leaders in heart research. Now that centre of gravity has shifted to the US. We’re trying to reverse
this development.”
KS

15

EuropeanEurope is on its way toward becoming a harmonised education
and research area. Funding acrossborders for outstanding young researchers is the topic of the day.
Germany’s answer to this challenge
is the Emmy Noether Programme.
What are our neighbours doing?

16“Our new ‘Focus’ programme, whichbegan in 2006, was modelled after the
Emmy Noether Programme. We learned
from experiences gained in Germany,”says Tomasz Perkowski. The deputy
president of the Foundation for Polish
Science (FNP) sees parallels between
Germany and Poland. “The main obstacle for young Polish researchers is theirdependency on a supervisor over many
years, because habilitation is mandatory there,” he explains. In Poland too
a discussion about the second thesis
has begun, though it is still in its earlystages there, with no concrete alternatives in sight. The most secure option
for Polish scientists and academics who
have finished their doctorate is an assistant position at their university, because it usually leads to a permanent
job after a few years. But many have nocertainty in their academic career – noteverybody is able to secure such a position, which is why brain drain to the US
is an issue in Poland.
The FNP has taken action: “Funding begins after the master’s degree in order tomotivate young people to remain committed to science and not to leave thecountry,” explains Tomasz Perkowski.
In addition to domestic and international mobility programmes, the foundation launched two new programmes
in 2006. “Homing” tries to lure Polishresearchers who live and work abroadback to the universities of their homecountry. “Focus” funds excellent scientists in certain disciplines over a periodof three years and gives them the opportunity to form their own researchgroup. The FNP works hand in handwith Poland’s universities: funding recipients are hired by universities, andthe foundation pays for the rest. And
Poland thinks across borders – for example by planning to cooperate withGermany’s Max Planck Society (MPS).
Polish postdocs who work at a Max
Planck institute are to be given prior-

ity in the selection process for “Focus”,
and the institute in question can apply
to the MPS for mobility funding. “We’reaiming to establish such collaborations
with other organisations in several
countries as well,” says the 36-year-old
research manager.

Funding in three steps
In the Netherlands a discussion about
young researchers began in the latenineties. In 2000 the Innovational Re-

As with the ENP, researcher independence is a key issue. The three-step programme is funded by Dutch universities
and the NWO. It has a budget of €715
million from 2002 to 2007. “Since 2000
we’ve supported 850 scientists and academics from all disciplines. Feedback
has been overwhelmingly positive,” reports Anko Wiegel. Its effect is similar tothat of the Emmy Noether Programme.
Anko Wiegel: “To be selected by
the NWO has become a seal of
quality in the Netherlands, andExcellence European-Style
A complete researcher funding package

search Incentives Scheme was launched.
Behind this bureaucratic-looking title isa confident motto: “Veni, vidi, vici”.
Anko Wiegel of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
explains: “When a glaring shortageof young researchers became evident
in Dutch universities in the 1990s, theNWO wanted to create a structure thatallowed for long-term planning and thetraining of outstanding young researchers.” Julius Caesar’s slogan, “I came, I
saw, I conquered,” accompanies scientists throughout their academic careers.
Young researchers who have just finishedtheir doctorates enter the “Veni” phase.
If they can demonstrate excellence, they
may receive funding of up to €200,000
over a period of three years. This grantis supposed to help them continue theirresearch in the Netherlands or abroad.
Postdocs who completed their dissertation three to eight years ago may apply
for the “Vidi” phase. During this funding period postdocs gain crucial experience as leaders of their own researchgroups. The third step is reserved forsenior researchers in their “Vici” phase.
Eight to fifteen years after their doctorates, they may receive up to €1.25 million. The five-year duration of the grantis meant to ensure a researcher’s integration into an institution.

it’s often the determining factor for
successful applications for permanent positions.”

Lifelong
learning andresearch
Programmes likethese are good news
to Georges Bingen. He
heads the European
Commission’s Strategy
and Policy Aspects Unit
in Brussels and is very interested in national initiatives to support up-and-coming researchers in Europe. “TheEmmy Noether Programme isone of the most attractive funding instruments for young researchers, and it clearly adds
value to their professional development. At the European
level, we consider the ENP to bea generously endowed and effective undertaking,” comments
the 48-year-old Luxembourger.
He looks at promoting young researchers within the context of

Excellence Programmes

the 7th EU Research Framework Programme, which – pending clarificationof its finances and details by all member states – should come into effect atthe beginning of 2007. With its specific programme “People”, the European
Commission wants to promote scientists in research and technology and support
the development ofan open European
job market for

researchers. “Within this framework, we’re planning two important changes that areof interest to young researchers. For example,
when it comes to experienced researchers, i.e. postdocs,
we want to support the aspectof lifelong learning and research

17even more strongly. We
avoid the term ‘postdoc’
because our funding may cover the whole period between thedissertation and retirement,” explains
Bingen. This funding is equally available
to a scientist who wants to go in a new
direction after 15 years and applies for asabbatical, or a researcher who returns
from family leave or makes the transition from industry to academia. “Thelatter may have fewer publications toshow than a competing applicant froma university. That ‘shortcoming’ needs
to be compensated for,” emphasises
Georges Bingen.

Another change: Marie Curie excellence
teams will no longer exist in their oldform. Up to now a researcher and his/her research group were awarded up to€1.5 million over four years. Georges
Bingen would like to see this career-enhancing programme under the care of
the European Research Council (ERC).
Some have criticised the fact that Marie
Curie excellence teams focus on individuals and promote their careers, whereas the ERC emphasises the quality ofthe project over people. But Bingencounters, “If a project is very good, it’salso going to advance the careers of theresearchers who are involved.”

European Junior Nobel Prize
The European Young Investigator Award (EURYI) has been given
to 25 outstanding young scientists each year since 2003. The
EURYI Award, which is based on the Emmy Noether Programme,
was developed by the European Heads of Research Councils (EUROHORCs) to effectively support young researchers in European
countries for five years with award sums of up to €1.25 million.
Meanwhile, 18 research funding and science organisations in 16
European countries such as the DFG in Germany, are participating in this excellence programme; Six of the overall 50 award
winners are currently working in German institutes, where theyhead junior research groups and establish their own research
focuses.

For more information see:www.fnp.org.pl
www.nwo.nl
www.cordis.europa.eu/fp7/
www.dfg.de/euryi_award/en

lb

vor

T

18

hey see themselves as recognised members of a large circle
of colleagues, integrated into a common research area, but
at the same time working independently. It is this very combination that attracts young scientists to the DFG’s Collaborative
Research Centres (Sonderforschungsbereich, SFB) where theyhead their own independent junior research groups.

Choosing Heidelberg over theUnited States“I appreciate the discussions with mycolleagues and the exchange of new
ideas,” says astrophysicist Dr. Martina
Wiedner. The young researcher, whocompleted part of her studies abroadand obtained her doctorate in the UK,
feels very comfortable at the Universityof Cologne’s Institute of Physics I.

Dr. Kerry Lee Tucker, an American researcher at the Interdisciplinary Centre
for Neurosciences in Heidelberg, would
also like to see more planning reliability,commenting: “After all, I’m at an age
where I’d like to start a family.” Nonetheless, the research incentive has to be
the right fit for this developmental bi-

my Noether Programme when she wasdoing research at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, USA. “I was absolutely thrilledby the idea of being able to freely
choose a research topic and a university. Great equipment was another plus.
And besides, I wanted to go back to Eu-

Labour pains in outer space
As independent junior research groupleader in SFB 494, “The Developmentof Interstellar Matter: Terahertz Spectroscopy in Space and Laboratory,” shedeals with the birth of stars. Certain
stages of star formation are visible onlyin very short radio waves. They penetrate the dense dust that surrounds celestial bodies. “For that we need special
radio receivers, which pose major technical challenges,” says Martina Wiedner. Together with her team she built
the CONDOR receiver, which recently
allowed her to look into space for the
first time from the Chilean desert. She
hopes that the device at the airborne
observatory SOFIA will soon provide
further insights.
Martina Wiedner heard about the Em-

Concentrated Expertise
Collaborative Research Centres: young researchers exchange ideas

rope after four years in the US,” says
the physicist. She visited several German institutes. “Cologne seemed to offer the best opportunities.”
At the request of the host institute she
applied instead as a junior researchgroup leader in the SFB, but she keeps inclose contact with “Emmys” at annual
meetings and at regular researcher gettogethers in town. Discussions mostly
involve issues that researchers have tocope with in their daily practice: How
do I handle students or rather dominant
professors? How do I position my groupwithin the institute or department?
Once her position expires, the university plans to continue to fund Martina
Wiedner for another year or two. After that she will have to look for a job.
“Promising a permanent position fromthe outset isn’t necessary, and it’s difficult for universities to do so when theyhardly know a candidate. But as a reward for doing good work at the university, it would make sense to have thepossibility,” says the scientist.

ologist, which is why he declined a wellfunded tenure-track position in the US
to stay in Heidelberg.
He finds ideal conditions here: “Theresearch environment is rich in goodpeople and ideas. There’s a variety ofchoices available. I can collaborate withdifferent institutes and exchange ideas
with experts in various fields.” Tucker’s
junior research group belongs to SFB
488, “Molecular and Cellular Bases of
Neural Development,” which is the centre’s most substantial research funding
instrument.

Ort

In 1997, right after earning his doctorate, Tucker came to the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried.
Later he followed his supervisor to theFriedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel. “At some point I
wanted to head my own group, so I responded to an ad in the journal Nature
for an SFB position.”
The scientist investigates very early development stages of nerve cells, especially the formation of axonal outgrowths. These must navigate longand complicated pathways before theyreach their target. Understanding thegenesis and development of nerves requires observing them “on location”.
To this end, Kerry Tucker uses transgenic mice which he engineered himself. They produce a luminous green
protein in newborn nerve cells and thus
allow for visual observation of the development process. The junior researchgroup also examines this process inreal time under the microscope. In addition, Kerry Tucker uses the gene locus in
the transgenic mouse for other genes.
“That way we can determine to what
degree different genes influence nerve
development.”

Keeping in touch with peers
Change of scenery: IFM-GEOMAR in
Kiel. At the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of Kiel,
Dr. Marion Jegen-Kulcsar works in SFB
574, “Volatiles and Fluids in Subduction Zones: Climate Feedback and Trigger Mechanisms for Natural Disasters.”
The geophysicist has expert knowledge
that used to be virtually nonexistent inGermany. “I’m sure that was one of themain reasons why the SFB selected me
as junior research group leader,” shesays. Marine electromagnetics is thename of her research field, which shehelped advance in Canada, the UK andFrance. “Germany is great in terrestrial electromagnetics, which is why I’m
happy to work here, but there’s a lackof expertise and equipment in marine
electromagnetics.”
Electromagnetic technology measures underground electric conductivity, which is mainly determined by fluids. Specifically, the scientist conducts
research in the Pacific, off Central andSouth America. In these subduction
zones, an oceanic plate meets a continental plate and slips underneath it.
This triggers fluid and volatile recycling
processes, which have a significant influence on climate, the depth of earthquakes that may arise in these areas,
as well as the development of volcano
eruptions and the formation of tsunamis.

“In the SFB, I can take advantage of thebenefits of interdisciplinary work in alarger research context,” says Marion
Jegen-Kulcsar. “For example, we cancollaborate to analyse the rich data wecollect in our major testing campaigns
in the sea, using our diverse expertise,
and thus arrive at better results.”
Marion Jegen-Kulcsar specifically wanted to return to Germany and settle down
here in the long term. “I have two smallchildren, and I can’t keep moving themaround from place to place.” She also
wants to network with German experts
in her field, which she wasn’t able to do
during her many years abroad.
uwhWith about 270 Collaborative Research Centres (SFB) across Germany, the DFG creates structures
for excellent research. The programme supports scientists who
collaborate within, as well as beyond, their disciplines. Its goal is
to focus the expertise that exists
at a university and to develop a
research emphasis. In about one
out of ten SFBs, young scientists
head their own research groups,
recruited through the DFG. Emmy Noether researchers and theirgroups can also be integrated into
an SFB.

19

Action PlanM

ost chairs in computer science were established in
the seventies. This generation of professors has
mostly retired by now, and there is a dearth of qualified
young computer scientists to fill the gap.

20

Computer science is the key to today’s
networked world, and knowledge ofthis subject is needed in all areas of society. Nonetheless, academic computerscience is short of promising young experts. “At the turn of the millennium,
many chairs became vacant due to awave of professors retiring,” explains
Dr. Gerit Sonntag, Programme Director for computer science at the DFG. In
2002, in response to the shortage, theDFG launched the “Action Plan in Computer Science,” which is a variant of theEmmy Noether Programme.
“Young computer scientists often end
up going abroad and staying there, due
to attractive job offers,” says Gerit Sonntag. This is where the Action Plan camein – by encouraging more young scientists to embark on an academic careerin Germany and by winning back young
researchers currently working abroad.

Foreign experience not mandatory“We changed the prerequisites for admission. The foreign experience requirement didn’t necessarily have to be demonstrated through a two-year research
period abroad. We also recognised international publications as a form ofinternational networking,” says Gerit
Sonntag. The response affirmed the intention of the programme designers:
during the three-year programme duration, the DFG received a total of 162
proposals; 66 candidates were interviewed by reviewers, and 28 young researchers were awarded funding.
One of them is Dr. Mareike Schoop. She
has been professor of business computing at the University of Hohenheim
since 2004. She was offered the chairin Hohenheim – and another one at the
University of Koblenz-Landau – while
she was still in the programme.

Mareike Schoop was seriously considering remaining abroad. “I got my doctorate in Manchester and would’ve liked
to stay in the UK for a bit longer. But
then again I also wanted to pursue anacademic career in Germany,” she remembers. An assistant position at the
Aachen University of Technology per-Making noise is part of the job
To help young computer scientists makea name for themselves among experts intheir field, the DFG supports networking
activities. Junior research group leaders
funded through the Action Plan are invited to attend not only the multidisciplinary annual Emmy Noether meetings but also the yearly meetings of the

Impulses for Young Science
Action Plan in computer science promotes
new generation of professors

suaded the computer scientist to returnto Germany for her habilitation. Whenher supervisor brought the Action Plan
to her attention, she wasn’t immediately fired up about it. “The application didn’t really fit with my schedule.”
But ultimately Mareike Schoop was persuaded by the programme’s attractive
terms. She points out the benefits of
DFG funding for her further qualification: “As a junior research group leader, I was in charge of business computing in Professor Jarke’s team in Aachen.
That allowed me to further enhance myprofile, which is definitely an asset for
future applications.”

German Computer Science Society.“It’swhere the generations can exchange
experiences and where young researchers can introduce themselves and raise
their profiles,” says Gerit Sonntag. The“DFG seal of approval” alone is notenough to convince veteran colleagues.
“At these meetings, junior scientists
are observed and evaluated in terms of
who’s a good fit for a certain university,” says Gerit Sonntag.

Computer Science

Electronic negotiations
This was a hurdle that Mareike Schoop
took in stride. The computer scientist
substituted for a professor in Münster,
supervised her junior research group in
Aachen, and received appointments to
Hohenheim and Koblenz during this period – it doesn’t get any more seamlessthan this. “The leadership experience I
gained through the ‘Action Plan in Computer Science’ has been very beneficial
for my work as a professor. I alreadyknew what it was like to supervise andbe responsible for my staff,” says the
35-year-old, looking back on her startin Hohenheim. Thanks to these experiences she was able to fully concentrateon her new tasks as a chair holder.

The Action Plan brings additional solid
benefits. “When offered a chair, a scientist can take along the funds thatwere granted for a five-year term,” explains Gerit Sonntag. That is why Mareike Schoop was able to provide theUniversity of Hohenheim with two employees for three and a half years – atno cost to the university.
This five-year guarantee, regardless oflocation, is also important for doctoral students in Emmy Noether junior research groups. “Promoting young researchers doesn’t stop with the first
professorship. I told my associates fromthe beginning that I expected them to
be mobile, and in return I want to offer them prospects for the future,” emphasises Mareike Schoop. Due to theattractive ENP funding, she just turned
down a third offer, at the University of
Vienna.
In the meantime the Action Plan in
Computer Science has finished. “Thisspecial programme was a trial run forthe modified admission criteria. Meanwhile, they’ve been adopted by the entire ENP,” says Gerit Sonntag, pleased
with the outcome after three years offunding. Five computer scientists havebeen offered professorships, and moreare in negotiations.

By appointing Mareike Schoop as professor, the University of Hohenheim has
positioned itself at the cutting edge inthe field of business communication.
The computer scientist and her teamare developing programs that support
business partners in negotiations. “Asbusiness is becoming increasingly global it’s getting harder and harder to negotiate at the same place at the sametime, and e-mail communication is too
unstructured and therefore inefficient,”
explains the scientist.
The goal is to support decision-making
processes, rather than to create standardised “answer machines.” The “Negoisst” system, which was developedby Mareike Schoop, can analyse thetype of a message and then project theeffect of a certain decision on the entire
project. As a service function, agreement drafts can be generated based on
decisions made and amended with eachnew decision. The young computer science professor needs to consider morethan just system-related issues. At least
as important is the trust that potential
users put in the program. “People act,
and the system supports and accelerates communication,” says Mareike
Schoop.
The North German native is a pioneer
in another sense as well: she is one of
only a few women in a field where lessthan ten percent are female. “I learned
early on to assert myself,” she remembers. As a professor she tries to be a rolemodel for other women: “Many female
students attend my classes. I want toencourage them to keep pursuing theiracademic path, so that the professoriate will also change in the long run.”lb

21Interview

Young Researchers Want Clear Commitments
Looking beyond the quick fix

Literary scholar Dr. Sandra Pott studied political science, German, art history and philosophy at the University of Hamburg. She earned her doctorate at the age of 25, and five years later, following researchstays in London and Paris, she finished her habilitation. The lecturer has headed the Emmy Noether junior research group “Poetological Reflection” in Hamburg since 2003. In 2005 she was awarded the Heinz
Maier-Leibnitz Prize by the DFG. Sandra Pott is active in higher education politics and serves on the International Expert Commission of the Elite Network of Bavaria. Beginning in September 2006 she will teachand conduct research as a reader in German at King’s College, University of London.

22

According to the agreement on the federalism reform, the individual states will
be in charge of their universities’ areasof expertise. What effect do you expect
this to have on Germany’s academic
landscape?
Competition between the individualstates, between innovative and reproductive regions, will increase, which I
believe is a good thing in and of itself.
The academic landscape will become
more differentiated because clusters of
excellence will form. However, in thelong run it will also mean that someuniversities aren’t going to survive. The
landscape is going to change significantly, and – this would be the worstcase scenario – sectionalist tendencies
will emerge, a kind of academic provincialism. Also, the individual states will
primarily focus on their own development, in order to hold their ground at anational level. This could hamper themin competing on a global level.
What does this development mean foryoung researchers?
Young academics and scientists want toparticipate in innovative developments
and will therefore flock to these centres of excellence. A fundamental restructuring of higher education mightalso increase the brain drain to othercountries. Young researchers may go
abroad to gain experience and to wait

and see how things develop in Germany. To prevent that, we would need, firstand foremost, to establish clarity about
qualifications across the nation. Youngacademics and scientists need to know
which qualifications will be required going forward. Junior professorship as analternative to assistantship is certainly
a promising model. However, it hasn’t
been able to establish itself as a standard qualification path, so young academics will continue to pursue a varietyof career paths, at substantial individual
risk.
Federal Minister of Research Annette
Schavan in her policy statement
promised “dependable career paths”
for young academics. What do you
expect from the minister?
The thrust of this statement is very encouraging, but it’s too vague. Also, theminister focusses on junior professorships alone and pretty much ignores
independent junior research groupleaders who have already undergone
multiple evaluations and gained leadership experience.
We need more than vague promises,
and fewer fixed-term appointments.
We need a clear commitment to goaland performance agreements, which
ultimately translates into tenure tracks.
That’s the only way we can offer clear
prospects to young researchers, whoin turn will ensure that Germany cancompete internationally as a centreof science and research. In addition, aEurope-wide job market for researchers would constitute a key step toward
more openness and flexibility.
How will different university admission
criteria and qualifications change
higher education?
That will certainly vary widely from subject to subject. Even today we have significant differences: a bachelor’s degreefrom one university may not qualify you
to enrol in a master’s programme atanother university. Although this maylead to desirable differentiations, it also
causes limited mobility and flexibility foracademic careers.
Therefore, comprehensive evaluation of
study programmes is becoming more
and more important. Criteria that vary
widely from university to university need
to be at least somewhat harmonised.
Other countries, such as the UK and
the Netherlands, have a sophisticatedevaluation culture that has implications for the allocation of funds, theimage of any given institution, andthe appointment of active young researchers. Germany should form an alliance with these countries to contribute to the development of a European
Research Area.

Interview

23

What do you think of the current reform
proposals and initiatives?
Scientists and academics are currently
being inundated with reform proposals.
The question remains, however, whether they can undertake these efforts on
top of their regular research and teaching commitments. The spirit of reform islaudable, but politicians need to give us
more time to implement these changes.
Converting to the BA/MA system takes
time, and so does implementing the Excellence Initiative. Science needs a wide
time horizon, beyond the quick fix.
I welcome the fact that universities are
given more autonomy, but that’s just lip
service unless there’s enough money toback it up. Structural planning with financial deficits ultimately leads to nothing but intra-university cannibalism.
Without the appropriate investments,
be it at the state or the federal level,
you can’t create centres of excellence.
The Excellence Initiative, federalism
reforms and tuition fees are all factorsthat will increase competition. What’s instore for the individual scientist?
German scientists and academics arequickly adapting to these new conditions, as the applications for the Excellence Initiative have shown. The Excellence Initiative swept all universities into
action – researchers teamed up with-in their disciplines to develop projects.
They also started to communicate moreacross disciplines.
When universities get excellence
projects approved, this will have a substantial impact on their faculties. Because then they’ll have to develop
graduate programmes, for example, fillthem with content, and do so over alonger period.
But the implementation of theseprojects is jeopardised by the wave ofprofessors retiring from university service. Sufficient staffing is an essential
prerequisite for excellence projects tosucceed.
Which framework conditions need to
be improved to entice German scientists
to return from abroad?
First of all, the subject in question must
be represented in an innovative fashionat the German university. Then there’s

the introduction of tenure-track options. A third factor would be the relationship to colleagues. Somebody who
has experienced and learned to appreciate flat hierarchies in the UK or the US isgoing to expect similar decision-making
structures in a job in Germany.
Also, appointment procedures in thiscountry are very slow and aren’t particularly transparent. In the UK, for example, an applicant can consult an exact timetable that specifies the various
dates and when certain decisions will be
made, which is very helpful. Individual
departments can make decisions relatively independently, which speeds up
the process – just one example of thebenefits of an autonomous university.
Interview: Isabell Lisberg-HaagPortrait

Wanted: Long-Term Prospects

S

ometimes the paths that lead to excellence grants are unspectacular. “I was walking down the hallat the University of Paderborn and saw a bulletin that said ‘Doctorate – and now what?’ It struck achord,” remembers Dr. Oliver Huck. He met with a research officer who showed him different avenues– one of which led to the Emmy Noether Programme. It wasn’t the first time that this musicologist
had to deal with “proposal culture” – frequently a daunting task for humanities scholars. But the 36year-old acknowledges its positive aspects as well: “These applications also force us to find answers toquestions we haven’t asked ourselves before.” Oliver Huck tries to pass this insight on to his doctoral
students.

24

While he was still at school, Oliver Huck decided he wanted
to study music. But he wasn’t
content with mastering several
plucked instruments. He was interested in historical issues, which
is why he ultimately ended up
studying musicology at the University of Paderborn. In his dissertation he followed
the tracks that led
Carl Maria von Weber to write his bestknown work, “DerFreischütz”. His habilitation, which wasawarded a prize by
the University of Jenain 2005, also deals
with a historical subject: early trecentomusic. A special challenge here were thesources: “We havewritten notation but
no audible results.
They did begin to notate tone duration in
the 13th century, but
not the tempo,” explains Huck.

Oliver Huckis a musicologist at the Würzburg College of Music

His search for explanatory models is aided by the composition of his independent junior research group. A Romance scholar
analyses linguistic aspects such as Italian metrics. Her findings about metre and stress may in turn provide clues as to what a musical recital might have sounded like 600 years ago.
Oliver Huck is very pleased with his work in Jena. “An advantage of the ENP is that, unlike junior professors, we’re free to choose our university,” he points out. “I work in a highly dynamic environment.
Performance isn’t defined by one’s job title here but by one’s achievements as an academic.”
He does find the ENP lacking in one regard: there is no tenure-track option. In some states, junior professors may be appointed to tenured professorships – an option that is not yet open to ENP junior research group leaders. “That’s regrettable. Highly qualified ENP candidates should have this opportunity
too,” he says. As for himself, Huck managed to make the jump without tenure track. In the 2005/2006
winter semester, he took up a professorship in historical musicology at the Würzburg College of Music, where he received another offer of a professorship in historical musicology from the University of
Hamburg.
lbPortrait

Expert on Bee ColoniesAs a small boy, Dr. Peter Neumann was intrigued by ants. He fed them chocolate and observed how
quickly the six-legged creatures organised themselves and carried off their booty. “Social insects
are my hobby. I want to understand how they function,” says the biologist. It is a coincidence that heworks with bees these days. “I studied with a bee researcher at the Free University of Berlin. His enthusiasm rubbed off on me,” says Peter Neumann, now a worldwide bee expert in his own right.
After a three-year research stay at Rhodes University in South Africa, he assembled his Emmy Noether
junior research group at the University of Halle-Wittenberg. From 2001 to 2005 he researched socialparasitism in bee colonies, together with three doctoral students, two of whom were funded throughthe German Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. The fundamental question was:What mechanisms cause worker bees from one colony to invade another bee colony in order to take advantage of it for
their colony’s reproduction?

Peter Neumannis a biologist at Martin Luther University’s Institute of Zoology inHalle-Wittenberg

During the last three years, thesubject was expanded by introducing another species: thesmall hive beetle. Native to Africa, this parasite has spreadto North America and Australia, and last year it reached Europe as well: “I work wherever
the beetle is currently causing
trouble,” says the evolutionary
biologist. The beetle destroys
honeycomb structures, spoils
honey, and sometimes causes significant damage
to the beekeeping industry. It may also infest wild
insects such as bumblebees and stingless bees.
All of this spells danger to biodiversity and agriculture: without bees there is less pollination andtherefore poorer crops.

As a bee expert who can present complex facts inan accessible way, Peter Neumann is popular withthe media. He has also made a name for himself
as a university lecturer. Over the past few years,
he has supervised seven postgraduate and 22 undergraduate students, held 45 seminars and led
12 excursions. Peter Naumann commends the Emmy Noether Programme: “I was able to choose
what to focus on and use the funds very flexibly, as
needed for my research.” For his fieldwork and as
a visiting professor, the bee researcher frequently
travels abroad. He has contacts in Australia, China,
Austria, Finland and the UK, as well as in South Africa and North and South America. “In 2006 I’ll bein Germany for three months, four at the most,”
he says. Peter Neumann habilitated in 2004. The
lecturer – after wrapping up the Emmy Noether
junior research group – is now on the lookout for a full professorship. “I’d like to stay in Germany, but
I’ve also received enquiries from South Africa, Australia and the United States,” says the Berliner. He
advises his doctoral students to think twice about an academic career, even though he himself did notgive the issue much consideration after he finished his doctorate: “There was no alternative for me.
I’m a researcher.”
KS

25

Annual Meeting

Research in Germany
Annual meeting of Emmy Noether researchers in PotsdamT

he hotel lies amidst woods andmeadows, right on the shore
of Lake Templin on the outskirtsof Potsdam. This is where Emmy
Noether researchers gather once a
year at the invitation of the DFG.
They discuss the latest political developments in higher educationand formulate demands on behalfof young scientists and academics
in Germany. Since 00 this meeting has been a fixture of the Emmy
Noether Programme.

Young researchers compare notes
about their experiences as “Emmys”,
talk about their research findings, anddiscuss professional options for researchers in Germany. From an internationally informed viewpoint, they discuss specific reform proposals, such as
the introduction of dependable career
paths based on a US-style tenure-track
system, or the institutional integration of Emmy Noether junior researchgroups at universities. Feedback fromfunding recipients is crucial and enables
the DFG to work closely with them tofurther develop the programme.

High-profile guests
High-ranking discussion partners indicate how well-regarded the DFG programme is when it comes to promoting excellent young researchers. Guests
have included former Federal Ministerof Education and Research Edelgard

orgenpost,
10

Newspapers like to report about
successful young researchers.

EinbeckerM

Press Review.01.2005

Press Review

Bulmahn, former Minister of State forCulture Julian Nida-Rümelin, then State
Secretary Wolf-Michael Catenhusen,
DFG President Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, as well as university chancellors andvice-chancellors.
In 2003 the “Political Evening” revolved
around the topic “Academic Elite in Germany: Continuity in Promoting Young
Researchers.” In 2004 the topic waspicked up again by young researchersand guests, this time with an emphasis on comparing junior professors andEmmy Noether junior research groupleaders. At the 2005 annual meeting,participants spoke about opportunities
and obstacles for research as they result
from Germany’s federal structure. For
years to come there will be no shortageof interesting topics to discuss.
KSEmmyNoetherannualmeeting,15-17July2005inPotsdam.2004

DieZEIT,13.05

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Emmy
NoetherProgramm
DeutscheForschungsgemeinschaft