Workstream 2: Professorships

Mission of the workstream

• Developing and implementing a shared and forward-looking understanding of professorships at ETH and establishing appropriate guideposts
  

Topics 

• Stocktaking: self-​image, rights, obligations and expectations of a professorship​
• Discussion: balance between tasks and demands (research and teaching, knowledge transfer and outreach, internal and external engagement)​
• Development: values and administrative guideposts provide orientation​ aids
• Implementing a shared position: orientation, security, optimisation of the professorship and its surrounds​

Procedure

To produce a detailed analysis of the starting position, the project team followed up an initial written survey by talking directly to focus groups comprising representatives from all university groups. A total of 131 people were involved and 54 hours of group discussions took place. After such comprehensive input, the project team assessed the content of the discussions very thoroughly and identified 13 action areas, which it passed on as suggestions to the Executive Board (EB). The EB in turn prioritised the action areas for further processing. The discussions with focus groups had already shown that there are many different ideas on how a professorship should be organised. The project team therefore decided to consult with professors on compiling Good Practices for the Organisation of a Professorship. The idea behind this was to share these good examples in the next stage, so as to learn from one another. A project team is currently looking at the implementation of a suitable toolbox. Position papers were drafted for several other action areas that are now being used as a basis for implementation in the line.