Career paths at Örebro University

Are you considering a career in academia? Read more about the research support which Örebro University offers its researchers, the possible career paths at ORU and meet three of our staff who talk about how their academic journey led them to Örebro.

Scientific and educational skills are more or less required in all appointments, so working in both teaching and research is necessary for pursuing an academic career, which is also at the heart of academia – seeking and acquiring knowledge and passing it on to others.

Below is an illustration of the career paths available at Örebro University. The red arrows show the potential paths to an academic career at Örebro University, where employment begins with an application for an announced vacancy in competition with other applicants. An academic career or career-building path usually starts with admission to the doctoral programme and a fixed-term appointment as a doctoral student, leading to a completed doctoral degree. The position of doctoral student, postdoctoral appointment and associate senior lecturer are fixed-term positions.

The green arrows indicate that you can apply for open positions, as advertised on the university’s web. Lecturers, senior lecturers, and professors are often permanent posts. Qualification for a specific appointment means fulfilling the requirements described in three instances – in the Higher Education Ordinance – in the university’s appointment procedures – in the employment guidelines established by each faculty board.

The grey arrows indicate an opportunity for teachers with permanent employment of one year or more to apply for promotion to senior lecturer and professor. A permanent employed senior lecturer can also qualify based on their scientific and teaching skills and apply for an appointment as an excellent teacher or docent.

Career paths at Örebro University, Doctoral student, Postdoctoral appointment, Associate senior lecturer, Senior lecturer, Professor, Lecturer, External recruitment, Proficiency test for promotion to higher appointment.

Illustration of career paths.

The different positions, as well as the duties and responsibilities involved, are described in more detail in the following.

At Örebro University, lecturers are expected to spend their working hours mainly on teaching, primarily at the bachelor’s level. In addition to education and collaboration, duties and responsibilities include development work, administration and continuing professional development. Moreover, teaching encompasses supervision, examination, course development, planning and evaluation.

Acceptance to the doctoral programme is linked to full-time postgraduate studies for the duration of the study programme, which corresponds to four years of full-time study.

The appointment as a postdoctoral researcher is intended to enable those who recently have been awarded their doctoral degree to consolidate and develop their research skills primarily. A maximum of 25 per cent of teaching can also be included in the duties and responsibilities.

An appointment as an associate senior lecturer at Örebro University is mainly focused on acquiring [research/artistic] qualifications (at least 50 per cent). The remaining working hours are primarily geared towards acquiring teaching qualifications and collaboration. The purpose of the position is to receive the opportunity to develop one’s independence as a researcher and gain qualifications, both scientifically and pedagogically, to meet the requirements for eligibility for employment as a senior lecturer.

At Örebro University, a senior lecturer spends their working hours teaching at all levels, researching, and performing associated public engagement activities. In addition to teaching, research and collaboration, the duties and responsibilities include development work, administration and continuing professional development. Moreover, teaching encompasses supervision, examination, course development, planning and evaluation.

As a rule, a professor at Örebro University spends most of their working hours on research. They are also expected to work actively to bring in external research grants to the subject, take overall responsibility for its research activities, and monitor the international developments within the subject field. In addition, a professor is expected to be involved at all three levels of higher education and to communicate and collaborate around their own and the department’s research activities.

Moreover, within the scope of their employment, a professor is expected to make themselves available for executive and administrative assignments at the university.

Career paths at Örebro University

The different positions, as well as the duties and responsibilities involved, are described in more detail in the following.

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