Information for Assistant Professors

At KI, employment as an assistant professor generally follows the period as a postdoctoral researcher or equivalent. The position is primarily a teaching appointment within a subject area where both education and research are often included in the work duties. As an assistant professor, you hold a fixed-term merit-based position, and the employment period may vary between four and six years. If there are special reasons, such as illness or parental leave, the employment can be extended.

As an assistant professor, you have the right to apply for and be considered for a permanent position as senior lecturer.

For information about employment and titles at KI, as well as the regulations governing positions for those holding a doctoral degree, visit the page on KI's career structure.

As an assistant professor, you have the right to apply for promotion and be evaluated for a permanent position as senior lecturer. At KI, the Recruitment Committee prepares applications for promotion to senior lecturer and assesses the applicant's eligibility for promotion. Decisions are made by the Head of Department.

The eligibility requirements and assessment criteria specified in the instructions for the appointment procedure for teachers at KI that applied when you were appointed as an assistant professor are used in the evaluation.

It is important that you have a good understanding of the assessment criteria and eligibility requirements you need to meet if you intend to apply for promotion, as this often requires planning. You must meet both the requirements for employment as a senior lecturer and certain specific criteria for promotion.

When applying for promotion, you must choose a focus on either research, or education and research. The requirements and assessment criteria for each focus are important to consider in your planning. For example, for a research-focused promotion, there are assessment criteria requiring last authorship on a substantial number of scientific articles in leading international journals. You must also have active funding and lead research. For the education and research focus, there are several assessment criteria related to responsibilities in teaching and pedagogical activities.

For those appointed as assistant professors before 2024-11-01, there is a requirement to have completed ten weeks of higher education pedagogy, which requires some planning. For those appointed from 2024-11-01 onward, an exemption from the ten-week pedagogy requirement may apply, and the training can be completed within two years during employment as senior lecturer— but only for promotion applications focused on research.

It is important to apply for promotion well in advance so a decision can be made before your employment as assistant professor ends, as promotion cannot be granted retroactively.

Visit the page on applying for promotion for information on rules, the evaluation process, and contact details

As a teacher or researcher involved in education at KI, you have the opportunity to receive training in higher education pedagogy and further develop your pedagogical competence through courses and workshops at various levels. You may also participate in higher education pedagogy courses offered by KTH and Stockholm University, subject to availability.

When applying for promotion from assistant professor to senior lecturer, you must have completed ten weeks of higher education pedagogy if you were appointed before 2024-11-01, regardless of whether you choose a research focus or an education and research focus.

If you were appointed as an assistant professor on or after 2024-11-01 and apply for promotion with a research focus, exemption from the ten-week pedagogy requirement may apply, but you must complete the training within two years during employment as senior lecturer to reach a total of ten weeks.

To apply for promotion with an education and research focus, you must have ten weeks of higher education pedagogy, as no exemption or possibility for completing the requirement after promotion is permitted.

To be admitted as a docent, five weeks of higher education pedagogy are required.

If you plan to register as a principal supervisor, you need to complete the Introductory Doctoral Supervision Course.

A docent is an academic title indicating that the holder has completed a PhD and has significantly broadened and deepened their scientific and pedagogical expertise within their subject area, as well as their leadership and collaboration skills.

Being admitted as a docent provides opportunities to serve as a member of an examination board, expert reviewer, and take on pedagogical assignments, which are considered meritorious in academia.

Visit the page on Docent at KI to read more about the title and application process.

At KI, you can receive support for your research from various units and your department. On the staff portal, you will find a summary of all available resources and support to give your research the best possible conditions from start to publication.


 

If you are interested in learning about all the research conducted at KI in centers and through collaborations with other organizations, or in finding research networks connected to your area, the page on research areas, centers, and networks gathers information and links.