Rectors propose reforms to fixed-term contracts

But university leaders want to maintain legal basis for short-term employment, flaunting government promises

The German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) has suggested that PhD students and postdocs could be informed earlier about whether they have a chance of obtaining a permanent position at their host institution, as part of reforms to Germany’s academic contract law. 

The proposal was made in a so-called “discussion paper” issued by the HRK to make a proposal on how Germany’s Act on Fixed-Term Scientific Contracts (WissZeitVG) should be reformed. The law forms the legal basis for short-term employment in academia and is in the process of being overhauled by the federal government.