Regulations of Consecutive-contracts (Kettenvertragsregelung) prevent scientific excellence in research and teaching.

Statement of professors on the application of §109 at the University of Vienna.

We, professors at the University of Vienna, support the current efforts to change consecutive-contract regulations at universities in Austria.

With the amendment of the University Act (UG) in fall 2021, the newly formulated §109 on the „Duration of Employment Contracts“ (“Dauer von Arbeitsverträgen”) came into force. This policy limits the maximum duration of fixed-term contracts for academic staff* at a university after doctoral studies to eight years after a maximum of two extensions. The regulation applies to all scientists without a permanent position, regardless of whether their positions are financed by global budget funds or third-party funds. Teaching positions are also included in the regulation.

In practice, this amendment threatens the scientific excellence of the University of Vienna.

Due to the current consecutive-contract regulation, we see the competitiveness of the University of Vienna in European and other worldwide top-level research centers in danger. Scientists without a permanent position who have successfully raised third-party funds for the University in recent years are being forced to leave the University. Administrative staff who are affected by the consecutive-contract regulation are also leaving the University. This means that we are losing excellent colleagues, scientific expertise, and critical institutional knowledge. Our University depends on research funds to remain competitive to international markets. Our excellent projects and research achievements of the past years and decades relied upon the cooperation with scientists and administrative colleagues who were financed based on third-party funds on a temporary basis

Furthermore, §109 in its current formulation and application threatens promotion of excellent young researchers and teaching at the University of Vienna.

The inclusion of teaching positions in the consecutive-contract regulation prevents young scientists from gaining teaching experience during their doctoral studies. But it is precisely this experience that is crucial for a successful academic career. Doctoral students require training both in research methods and pedagogy and depend on classroom experience as part of their training. How this gap is to be filled remains unclear to us. Since teaching positions are counted towards the maximum length of employment, doctoral students will be limited in their abilities to teach during the final years of their degree.

§ 109 was amended with the argument that it would promote scientific excellence. In fact, after one year of its existence, it has the opposite effect.

Currently, there is an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty at the University felt by all faculty, staff, and students. These fears are due to how poorly those affected are treated as a result of § 109. Impacted individuals are often informed only a few weeks in advance that they will have to leave, that they will not (or no longer) be able to locate newly acquired projects at the University, or that their teaching assignments during their doctoral studies will now have a negative impact on their employment. This limits research capabilities, and the promotion of young researchers cannot be sustainable and innovative.

For these reasons, we professors at the University of Vienna support the current efforts to change the consecutive-contract regulations at the universities in Austria.

We are of the opinion that the University of Vienna has not sufficiently exhausted all possible policy alternatives. This includes, for example, the de-termination of colleagues financed by third-party

funds, as is practiced at other Austrian universities. In addition, the University should urgently work to end the inclusion of teaching experience in the consecutive-contract regulation. We urgently request the Rectorate of the University of Vienna to engage in a political dialogue between all parties involved—the Rectorate, affected persons, the trade union, the legislator, the works councils, etc.—to reach an agreement. We are happy to actively participate in this dialogue. In the sense of a sustainable employment policy at the University of Vienna, a change in practice and reform of § 109 is required. Excellent, innovative, and sustainable research should be the benchmark and not restrictive policies.

Erstunterzeichner*innen

Evi Agostini
Assoziierte Professorin für Lehrer*innenbildung und Schulforschung
Universität Wien

Matthias Aschenbrenner
Professor für Mathematik
Universität Wien

Monika Bernold
Professorin für Kulturgeschichte audiovisueller Medien
Universität Wien

Dorothee Bohle
Professorin für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft
Universität Wien

Ulrich Brand
Professor für Internationale Politik
Universität Wien

Petra Dannecker
Professorin für Entwicklungssoziologie
Universität Wien

Christian Danz
Professor für Systematische Theologie AB
Universität Wien

Sarah Davies
Professorin für Technosciences Materiality and Digital Cultures
Universität Wien

Kristina Dietz
Professorin für Internationale Entwicklung
Universität Wien

Stefan Dullinger
Professor für Vegetation Science
Universität Wien

Anna Durnová
Professorin für Politische Soziologie
Universität Wien

Anna Echterhölter
Professorin für Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Universität Wien

Franz X. Eder
Professor für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte
Universität Wien

Franz Essl
Assoziierter Professor für Biologische Invasionen und Globalen Wandel
Universität Wien

Alexa Färber
Professorin für Historische Dimensionierung von Alltagskulturen
Universität Wien

Ulrike Felt
Professorin für Wissenschafts- und Technikforschung
Universität Wien

Konrad Fiedler
Leiter des Departments für Botanik und Biodiversitätsforschung
Universität Wien

Ilse Fischer
Professorin für Mathematik
Universität Wien

Jörg Flecker
Professor für Soziologie
Universität Wien

Thomas Glade
Professor für Physische Geografie
Universität Wien

Bernhard Grasemann
Professor für Geodynamik und Allgemeine Geologie
Universität Wien

Andrea Griesebner
Professorin für neuere Geschichte
Universität Wien

Folker Hanusch
Professur für Journalismus
Universität Wien

Gabriella Hauch
Professorin für Geschichte der Neuzeit/Frauen- und Geschlechtergeschichte
Universität Wien

Uta Heil
Professorin für Kirchengeschichte
Universität Wien

Esther Heinrich-Ramharter
Assoziierte Professorin am Institut für Philosophie
Universität Wien

Petra Heinz
Professorin für Paläoöko Systeme
Universität Wien

Gerhard J. Herndl
Professor für Aquatische Biologie
Universität Wien

Stefan Hulfeld
Professor am Institut für Theater-, Film- und Medienwissenschaft
Universität Wien

Dietlind Hüchtker
Professorin für Historische transregionale Studien
Universität Wien

Verena Jantsch
Professorin für Eukaryoten-Genetik am Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie
Universität Wien

Clemens Jobst
Professor für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte
Universität Wien

Janina Kehr
Professorin für Medizinanthropologie und Global Health
Universität Wien

Franz Kerschbaum
Professor am Institut für Astrophysik
Universität Wien

Claudia Kraft
Professorin für Kultur- Wissens- und Geschlechtergeschichte
Universität Wien

Irmgard Krisai-Greilhuber
Professorin, Head of Mycology working group, Mitglied der Fakultätskonferenz Lebenswissenschaften
Universität Wien

Jürgen Kriwet
Professor für Paläobiologie und Wirbeltier Paläontologie
Universität Wien

Christian Koeberl
Professor am Department für Lithosphärenforschung
Universität Wien

Michael Kunzinger
Professor für Mathematik
Universität Wien

Thierry Langer
Professor für Medicinal Chemistry
Universität Wien

Margareth Lanzinger
Professorin für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte des 16. bis Jahrhunderts
Universität Wien

Anja Lembens
Didaktik der Chemie
Universität Wien

Oliver Marchart
Professor für Politische Theorie
Universität Wien

Markus Öhler
Professor für Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
Universität Wien

Sabine Pahl
Professorin für Stadt- und Umweltpsychologie
Universität Wien

Ovidiu Paun
Professor am Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research
Universität Wien

Barbara Prainsack
Professorin für Vergleichende Politikfeldanalyse
Universität Wien

Michaela Pfadenhauer
Professorin für Soziologie
Universität Wien

Bertrand Perz
Professor für Zeitgeschichte
Universität Wien

Judith Rollinger
Professorin am Department für Pharmakognosie
Universität Wien

Patrick Sakdapolrak
Professor für Bevölkerungsgeografie und Demographie
Universität Wien

Annette Schellenberg
Professorin für Altes Testament
Universität Wien

Juliane Schiel
Vizedekanin für Forschung und Internationales, Historisch-Kulturwissenschaftliche Fakultät
Universität Wien

Henning Schluß
Professor für empirische Bildungsforschung und Bildungstheorie
Universität Wien

Brigitta Schmidt-Lauber

Robert Schneider-Reisinger
Professor für Inklusive Pädagogik und Behinderungsforschung
Universität Wien

Hanna Schneeweiss
Professorin und Head of „Plant Evolutionary Cytogenetics“ research group
Universität Wien

Judith Schoonenboom
Professorin für empirische Pädagogik
Universität Wien

Susanne Schwab
Professorin für Schulpädagogik unter besonderer Berücksichtigung sozialer, sprachlicher und kultureller Vielfalt
Universität Wien.

Peter Schweitzer
Professor Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie
Universität Wien

Andrea Seier
Professorin am Institut für Theater, Film und Medienwissenschaft
Universität Wien

Ulisse Stefanelli
Professor für Angewandte Mathematik
Universität Wien

Andreas Stohl
Professor am Institut für Meteorologie und Geophysik

Toma Susi
Assoziierter Professor für Physik
Universität Wien

Kristin Tessmar-Raible
Professorin für Chronobiologie
Universität Wien

Glenn van de Ven
Professor für Theoretische extragalaktische Astrophysik
Universität Wien

Michael Wagreich
Professor für Geologie
Universität Wien

Veronika Wöhrer
Professorin für Bildung und Ungleichheit
Universität Wien

Ulrike Zartler
Professorin für Familiensoziologie
Universität Wien

Martin Zuschin
Professor für Paläontologie
Universität Wien

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