by Dr. Yves Klinger (Spokesperson WG Advocacy)

The Advocacy Working Group is dedicated to promoting the rights and interests of postdocs in Germany. To achieve this goal, we have established four focus groups within the advocacy Working Group, each tackling a critical aspect of postdoc life. These groups bring together postdocs from diverse disciplines to address pressing issues affecting our community. In this blog post, we will introduce you to our new advocacy focus groups and explain how you can join the conversation and contribute to shaping the future of postdoc life in Germany.

Postdoc Definition (Lead: Stefan Pieczonka and Fotios-Alexandros Karakostis)

How do we define the postdoc role in Germany? The role varies widely across disciplines, institutions, and individual paths, leading to confusion and uncertainty on how to fulfil the various expectations during this crucial academic career stage. Our focus group is working towards a widely accepted definition that is both practical and meaningful by drawing on international frameworks and gathering input from postdocs across fields. This will help raise awareness about the postdoc role and support more effective advocacy for postdocs in Germany. If you want your perspective to shape how postdocs are seen and supported, join us in this important conversation!

WissZeitVG – German Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act (Lead: Yves Klinger and Samuel Tickell)

The focus group aims to inform and empower postdocs – both within and beyond the GPN – about a crucial legal framework that shapes the career prospects of researchers in Germany. While the WissZeitVG should make career paths more transparent and plannable, in practice it imposes strict limits on the duration of academic contracts without offering clear perspectives. This creates pressure on postdocs to achieve career-defining results within a narrow time window. Further, the implementation of the law does not sufficiently recognize researchers who contribute to academic life via teaching and administration. Due to its profound effects on research careers and academic culture, the WissZeitVG has long been the subject of debate. With long-overdue reforms planned for 2026, there is now a window of opportunity for the postdoc community to voice their perspectives and ensure that the new law better supports scientific career paths rather than limiting them. Our focus group serves as a nucleus for information, discussion, and advocacy around the WissZeitVG. By joining forces, postdocs can help shape a fairer academic landscape!

Postdoc Situation (Lead: Christina Müdsam and Martin Blaser)

No two postdocs are the same — each of us has a unique story, shaped by our research fields, our backgrounds, and the opportunities emerging during our careers. With the scope of tasks expected from postdocs constantly increasing, standardized ways of evaluating career progress can fall short of capturing this diversity. The goal of the Postdoc Situation focus group is thus to summarize, discuss, and communicate the many realities of being a postdoc in Germany. We look for patterns and shared themes to inform the Working Group Advocacy. By combining objective analysis with genuine curiosity and empathy, we aim to synthesize institutional reports, surveys, and personal insights to create a meaningful picture of postdoc life. Further, the group aims to spotlight both the challenges and the bright sides – because learning from one another includes acknowledging problems and celebrating wins. Through open and honest discussion, we strive to name the issues postdocs face, share practical solutions, and support each other – recognizing the diversity of our backgrounds. Whether you want to share your experience, or simply listen and learn, your ideas and perspective can help us build a more supportive, responsive postdoc community.

Career Paths for Postdocs (Lead: Judith Münch and Nadezda Dolgikh)

The journey after the postdoc phase can feel both exciting and uncertain – full of possibilities yet often lacking clear direction. The “Career Paths for Postdocs” focus group aims to outline those career paths and highlight the skills postdocs bring to positions both inside and outside academia. First, the group will develop a graphical overview of potential career pathways for the GPN website. After outlining potential career paths, the group will invite peers that pursued these different careers to share their experiences – what challenges and decisions have they faced, and how did their postdoc experience help them find their way? Whether you envision a future in research and teaching, science communication, consulting, management, policy, entrepreneurship, or beyond, your experience is welcome here!

Join and contribute to a Focus Group!

Whether you are interested in policy, career development, or exchanging with postdocs from a variety of fields, your contribution is invaluable. By participating, you can help drive change and inform debates, support your peer sharing your perspective and support us in empowering the postdoc community. No matter your background or amount of experience – everyone’s input is welcome and valued!

Interested?

We warmly invite you to join one or more of these focus groups! If you’d like to get involved, have questions, or want to know more, reach out to us. Together, we can make a real difference for postdocs in Germany.