RECRUITING. A new study by the Swedish Research Council reveals that just over 50 percent of the university and college university PhD researchers and teachers are recruited internally. At the larger centers of higher education the numbers are higher and the highest are found in the area of medicine.
A new report from the Swedish Research Council shows that, on average, just over half of the college university researchers and teachers with a PhD were recruited from within their own organizations. More than 60 percent of professors at major universities have a doctoral degree from the same institution of higher education where they are employed, as do over 70 percent of the lecturers. The highest degree of internal recruiting is within the area of medicine, where approximately 65 percent of the professors and close to 80 percent of the lecturers have a doctoral degree from the institution of higher education where they are employed.
Researchers’ mobility between institutions of higher education, societal sectors and across national borders is often used to emphasize as a way to create dynamic research environments with high quality research. The Swedish Research Council has also been commissioned by the government to work toward increased mobility among researchers.
“The low mobility is troubling, especially in regard to post doctoral and qualified positions,” says Sven Stafström, Director General of the Swedish Research Council. This points to the fact that management at Swedish institutions of higher education need to view recruiting as strategic, to a greater degree.
“To overcome this issue, there needs to be a national career system and open calls for applications for all teaching and research positions. Mobility should also be given increased significance as an assessment criteria for employment.”
FACTS FROM THE REPORT
- A somewhat higher proportion of women than men are internally recruited.
- Internal recruiting at major universities exceeds 60 percent in all subject areas, except for the natural sciences.
- The degree of internal recruiting is lowest among the college universities.
- International recruiting at the major universities varies from just under 30 percent in the natural sciences to around 10 percent in the humanities.
Link to the report Recruitment of researchers and teachers with doctoral degrees at Swedish institutions of higher education.
