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Professor Jan Süselbeck at the Trondheimfjord
Photo: private
At one point he had even made it to second place, and the first-place finisher declined the call.
"Colleagues have already congratulated me," he says.
Then the university withdrew, saying something had gone wrong in the process and now the position had to be re-advertised.
"It's so existentially threatening and dramatic at the moment, you can't imagine it," says German studies professor Jan Süselbeck.
For fifteen years he worked on a temporary basis and during that decade and a half fought for a permanent position at a German university.
With his applications, he often made it to the final round, but no further.
And from 2014 he was no longer allowed to be employed on a fixed-term basis due to the Science Time Contract Act (WissZeitVG).
In the summer of 2015, Süselbeck turned his back on Germany.
He was bitter about the science system.
In his mid-40s, he no longer wanted to let his life be determined by factors he couldn't control.
Süselbeck initially accepted a temporary professorship from the German Academic Exchange Service in Calgary, Canada.
After that he went to Norway.
The application process at Uni Trondheim is transparent.
All applicants are informed there who has applied.
»In May I knew that I was in first place, in June I held a teaching rehearsal at the university, and at the beginning of July I had the contract in the mail.« Open-ended.
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Literary scholar Jan Süselbeck: "Germany is shooting itself in the foot"
Photo:
Private
Scientists have been criticizing the law for years because it legitimizes chain limitations.
About a year ago, on June 10, 2021, they began venting their frustration under the hashtag #ichbinhanna.
The law was recently evaluated.
Conclusion: The reform in 2016 hardly improved anything.
Contract terms are still short, and 93 percent of non-doctoral academic staff are on temporary contracts.
The figure is 63 percent for those with a doctorate or habilitation.
»I would have to start from scratch«
Lisa Janotta is one of those 63 percent.
The doctor of social education is 35 years old and is currently working on her eighth contract at the University of Rostock.
She lives in Berlin and commutes to the university.
Moving for a fixed-term contract isn't worth it, she says.
She still has four years, if she doesn't find a permanent position by then, she can forget about a future at the university.
However, she is not prepared for work outside of science.
"I would have to start from scratch." In the past ten years, she has only gained experience in science, but not in practice.
With her doctorate, she is considered "overqualified" for the salary that is paid in the professions.
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Social pedagogue Lisa Janotta: "It's only over the years that you realize how the system works"
Photo: private
Janotta is involved in the network for good work in science.
The network also evaluated the WissZeitVG.
Accordingly, the time limits also affect the quality of research: »Scientists are reluctant to criticize scientific research in the community because they are afraid of losing their contract.«
According to Janotta, she usually works 40 hours a week and has never had a full-time job.
The alternative evaluation of the WissZeitVG shows: "The fewer hours scientists are paid, the more overtime they work." Janotta knows how uncertain it is to get another permanent position, she knows that she works a lot more than she does is paid, but she stays at the university.
"I'm a scientist, I have a standing in the community, why should I stop?" she says.
Of their own accord
She sees her work as meaningful and important for society.
Furthermore: »If all fixed-term scientists were to give up their work, not only research but also university teaching would collapse.«
It is often their own drive that keeps many scientists in the system.
"You don't understand it at first, you're fascinated by science," says Janotta.
It's only over the years that you realize how the system works.
Caroline Zeiser couldn't stand the system any longer, she quit her temporary postdoc position at a university of applied sciences.
"I got sick from the idea of not having a future," she says.
Whenever the contract expired, it got worse.
She got heart palpitations and couldn't sleep.
"I finally needed a life, an adult life."
Zeiser is now 41 years old.
She says she has no children because she suffered from constant existential angst.
She doesn't want to read her real name in the press, she's only been in the new job for two months.
As a postdoc, she worked 50 hours a week;
she had to give 16 hours per week of teaching, supervise students, develop a new course for the university of applied sciences, raise third-party funds, make contacts.
She was constantly under pressure and had to constantly prove herself, she says.
Older colleagues with permanent contracts didn't understand her at all, Zeiser says, since the competitive pressure wasn't that great back then.
more on the subject
New Minister of Education Stark-Watzinger: »A change in the Basic Law would be the clearest solution« An interview by Armin Himmelrath, Veit Medick and Miriam Olbrisch
Working conditions for postdocs:Humboldt University sues against Berlin Higher Education ActBy Armin Himmelrath
Fixed-term contracts, dependency, insecurity: working at the university?
You have to be able to affordBy Armin Himmelrath and Miriam Olbrisch
Zeiser says she would have worked in a worse position, giving up €10,000 to €12,000 a year just to get a permanent contract.
But that wasn't possible.
After all, she gave the FH an ultimatum: "If you don't give my position a permanent contract, I'll quit."
The termination was an exemption.
Now she works as an IT developer in business.
»I feel healthy, no longer have panic attacks, can sleep again and finish work on time.«
Jan Süselbeck, the professor from Norway, says Germany is shooting itself in the foot by letting well-trained scientists go.
He doesn't want to go back to Germany, he doesn't have to worry about a plan B anymore.
Süselbeck will soon be 50 years old, he is now learning Norwegian and has bought a condominium.