The Ruhr area, one of Europe’s largest metropolitan regions, offers attractive career opportunities for excellent scientists and scholars from around the world. In 2021, Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund University and the University of Duisburg-Essen established the Research Alliance Ruhr to bundle their cutting-edge international research on the most urgent challenges facing humankind. There are four research centres and a college. This is just the latest chapter in our long-standing collaboration as the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr), a community of 14,000 researchers and 120,000 students in the heart of Germany.
As part of the Research Alliance Ruhr, the College for Social Sciences and Humanities is seeking to fill the following positions as soon as possible:
3 Open Topic Junior Professorships (W1 LBesO W, without Tenure Track)
in the field of social sciences and humanities (m/f/x)
Your Tasks
You will serve as leader of one of three research groups that will be established at the College for Social Sciences and Humanities. Along with two doctoral candidates per research group, you will be able to work on a research topic of your own choice and play a significant role in shaping the academic activities of the College. The appointment procedures are organised within the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Duisburg-Essen, whereby, depending on your discipline and research profile, the connection to one of the three universities and a specific target faculty in the field of the humanities or social sciences within the UA Ruhr takes place (see also below: concept to be submitted). The junior professors and the respective research groups will be provided space in the premises of the College for Social Sciences and Humanities in Essen.
The junior professorships will entail a teaching load of four units per week each semester. If the requirements under civil service law are met, employment will be based on a fixed term as civil servant. The length of the employment shall be in accordance with Section 39 (5) of the Higher Education Act of North Rhine-Westphalia (Hochschulgesetz NRW).
Your Qualifications
We are looking for individuals who, in addition to an outstanding doctorate in the field of the humanities and the social sciences, already have an internationally visible research profile (mainly proven by excellent publications), can demonstrate relevant experience in interdisciplinary research projects, and have the proven ability to represent their respective profile areas in research and teaching in a breadth appropriate to their career stage. The call for applications is aimed specifically at early career researchers. Therefore, the doctorate should not have been completed more than six years before the application. Appropriate consideration will be given to particular circumstances in the individual career paths, such as periods of care for children or other family members. The willingness to participate in the academic activities of the College is a prerequisite. The employment requirements are based on Section 36 of the North Rhine-Westphalian Higher Education Act.
Applicants are expected to submit a concept containing the following information:
- proposal for the designation of the junior professorship
- suggestion of two potential target faculties within the UA Ruhr in the field of the social sciences and humanities
- outline (15 pages max.) of the planned topic of the research group (incl. supervision concept for the doctoral students as well as information on how the research topic could be embedded both into the College and the academic landscape of the UA Ruhr)
College for Social Sciences and Humanities
The College for Social Sciences and Humanities will provide a forum for the humanities and social sciences, inviting international researchers to strengthen the existing research focus of the University Alliance Ruhr through collaborations and the addition of new topics. The Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) Essen, one of the oldest joint institutions of the UA Ruhr, acts as an organizational basis for research initiatives in the social sciences and humanities. The College will host research groups and interdisciplinary professorships as well as different fellow and residency programmes in order to develop innovative questions and forms of collaboration in direct exchange with international visiting scholars. The increased collaboration opportunities will allow both senior and junior researchers to broaden their research scope and expand their academic network. The universities supporting the College also offer various established research alliances for collaboration.
Research Alliance Ruhr
The Research Alliance Ruhr is a joint undertaking of the three major universities in the Ruhr area and was initiated by the Ruhr Conference. The four research centers focus on “One Health Ruhr”, “Chemical Sciences and Sustainability”, “Trustworthy Data Science and Security”, and “Future Energy Materials and Systems”. In addition, the Research Alliance has established a “College for Social Sciences and Humanities”. The Research Alliance Ruhr will appoint up to 50 professors in the next few years and also offer numerous positions for research assistants. Join us now to create innovations for the world of tomorrow in Europe’s densest university landscape, where you can find a wide range of scientific and industrial partners right at the doorstep.
Your Application
If you are interested in one of these positions, please submit your application, quoting reference number 6, in a single PDF file by 2 October 2023 to the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. Dr. Petra Stein: dekanat@gesellschaftswissenschaften.uni-due.de.
Questions concerning the appointment procedure shall be directed to the Managing Director of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Dr. Toralf Stark (toralf.stark@uni-due.de). Questions concerning the College for Social Sciences and Humanities shall be directed to its Managing Director, Dr. Mark Halawa-Sarholz (mark.halawa-sarholz@kwi-nrw.de).
Please provide the following documents: (1) CV, (2) list of publications, (3) documents providing evidence of your academic and professional career, including copies of certificates, (4) an outline (15 pages max.) of the planned research topic of the research group (incl. a proposal for the designation of the junior professorship, the suggestion of two potential target faculties within the UA Ruhr in the field of the humanities and social sciences, information on how the research topic could be embedded in the academic landscape of the UA Ruhr, and a concept of supervision for the research group’s PhD candidates), (5) a teaching and learning concept including information on your previous teaching activities, (6) an overview of your experience in academic self-administration and successful grant applications with third parties, (7) your doctoral dissertation and up to three further publications (journal articles, book chapters).
Our Welcome Services
Our Welcome Services are particularly happy to assist international applicants and their families with relocating to the Ruhr area, an up-and-coming metropolitan region. We can advise you on housing in urban or more rural areas and help you find childcare if needed. Our Dual Career Service can help your partner with their own professional development in the region if requested.
Diversity
The UA Ruhr promotes diversity and equal opportunities. We strive to significantly increase the percentage of women in research and teaching and therefore welcome applications from female academics. We give preference to severely disabled applicants if their qualifications meet the requirements.
Further Information
Further information about the Research Alliance Ruhr can be found at:
https://www.uaruhr.de/researchallianceruhr