Miur, Extraordinary Plans to recruit teachers and researchers

The Extraordinary Plans for the recruitment of over two thousand researchers and professors in state universities have started, thanks to two new decrees signed by the Minister of University and Research, Gaetano Manfredi. Overall, 111.5 million euros per year are made available to renew the extraordinary plans already started in 2019, with the aim of supporting young people's access to research and promoting the competitiveness of the Italian university system at international level. "The Italian university system represents excellence, but it is too small in size compared to the potential of our researchers", comments the minister in a note.

"We are still too small, even numerically, to really compete on an international scale. We have few teachers, few students and researchers. But a lot of competence and desire for knowledge that could power and sustain even the evolving Italian industrial system in a virtuous way. a duty to enhance them ". The first decree allocates 96.5 million per year starting from 2021 for the recruitment of type b researchers and for the subsequent consolidation of resources at the end of the three-year contract, once the national scientific qualification has been obtained, in the position of second-level professor end. The places financed are 1,607 and will be divided as follows: a fixed quota between 2 and 15 researchers (for a total of 437 places) is guaranteed to each institution, on the basis of the size of the teaching already in service; a share of 700 researchers is attributed in proportion to the student population; a share of 235 researchers is attributed on the basis of the evaluation of the university's research quality; finally, a share of 235 researchers is attributed in proportion to the number of type b) researchers with national scientific qualifications, already in service at the institutions, taking into account the different needs of teachers in relation to the enrolled students.

The second decree provides for an allocation of 15 million euros per year starting from 2022 for the career progression of permanent researchers in service and in possession of national scientific qualification (currently just over 4,000 researchers). The resources available will allow 1,034 researchers to become second-level professors. Career progression will take place after passing specific bankruptcy procedures activated by the institutions. These procedures, for at least 50% of the posts, will also be open to researchers in service at other institutions, while the remaining part will be reserved for researchers already in service at the institution that announces the competition. The allotment criteria provide for the assignment to each institution of a fixed quota of resources to proceed with at least one recruitment of a second-level professor with a procedure open to all researchers, regardless of their home, and a variable quota proportional to the number of researchers with certification in service at the institution.