Early this week the memo was submitted to the University Council. The accompanying letter says that the new policy line was formed ‘on the basis of various talks, intended to formulate a position, which were conducted with representatives of the scientific staff from the departments’.

An important item in the plans is TU/e’s aim that each new Assistant Professor ‘should also be offered a structural commitment under employment law as soon as possible’. The Assistant Professor enters a development path and within not more than four years ‘a permanent appointment must be given on the basis of an evaluation and assessment of the potential’. The appointment will depend on the way in which the employee develops.

In Monday’s meeting with the University Council Rector Frank Baaijens confirmed that each Assistant Professor should in principle become an Associate Professor. To achieve this, they are granted a period of eight years at the most. Baaijens explains that an eight-year period was determined in order to provide an opportunity for successful completion of the path also to women who may be pregnant one or more times during that period.

In the memo this is described as the up-or-else system. This implies that if it should turn out during the development path that the final goal is not within reach anymore, ‘efforts will be made in good time and jointly to bring about a good continuation of the career outside science, or outside TU/e'.

Baaijens gave a negative answer to the question posed by Boudewijn van Dongen, a member of the PUR personnel party, whether Baaijens is not afraid that this will create a ‘Mexican army’ (just officers and no soldiers, ed.). Van Dongen also feared an egocentric attitude in scientists who must be fully focused on continuing to grow.

Van Dongen: "If these people are asked in the future to go the extra mile, as was the case for instance upon the setup of the Bachelor College and the Graduate School, don’t you think they will first want to see whether there is any personal gain in that for them?" Baaijens said that, in view of the current organization, he was not afraid of this.

Van Dongen also wanted to know whether the university can bear the financial burden of the implementation of this new policy. According to Baaijens an increase in the number of Associate Professors will not be a problem financially either.