DTU Tenure track

In DTU tenure track, highly qualified candidates are employed in an assistant professor or researcher position, where after a maximum period of six years they are transferred to a permanent position as associate professor or senior researcher, respectively, if given a positive academic assessment at the end of the tenure track process.

DTU tenure track employment

When hiring assistant professors and researchers in DTU tenure track, we will seek to recruit candidates who:

• are research talents and among the best in their field
• have research experience outside DTU after they have taken their PhD degree
• are competent communicators
• are collaborative and community-oriented

DTU offers favourable employment conditions as part of the tenure track programme:

• Individual DTU tenure track career plan
• Annual follow-up with the head of department/head of section
• Midterm evaluation with participation of external experts
• A mentor in or outside the department
• Access to state-of-the-art research infrastructure
• Dedicated support for external funding applications
• Education in University Teaching (UDTU) for both researchers and assistant professors
• Financial scope for travelling expenses, conferences, and other network activities
• Onboarding support for foreign employees and their family

Profile of the DTU tenure-track assistant professor / researcher

As a successful DTU tenure track candidate, you will meet DTU’s tenure track requirements:

• You are among the best research talents in your field with the potential to reach the highest international level
• You are expected to be able to adequately account for your research visions and to produce a coherent vision paper for your research covering the entire tenure track period
• You have documented scientific production at the highest international level
• You can account for independent and original project ideas.
• You are considered to have the potential to recover funds, e.g. based on particularly original research visions / have the potential to attract external funding for research activities
• You are expected to be able to meet the criteria for permanent employment at DTU after completing the tenure track program.
• You have been employed for a shorter or longer period of time at a university or relevant company outside DTU

General requirements for assistant professor/researcher positions

Employment as an assistant professor/researcher requires academic qualifications at PhD level.

Assistant professor

The main responsibilities of an assistant professor are research (including publication/academic dissemination duties) and research-based teaching (with related examination duties). In addition, the position may involve the provision of scientific advice to society.

Researcher

The position of researcher has research (including publication/academic dissemination duties) as the main responsibility. The position also includes research-based teaching. Furthermore, the position may include research-based public sector consultancy (including research-based advisory tasks and research-supporting contingency and monitoring tasks). In addition, the position may include knowledge exchange with society and, to a limited extent, the performance of other tasks.

For further details about the qualification requirements for assistant professors and researchers, please refer to the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities.

Recruitment process

After the application deadline, the Head of Department selects applicants for assessment based on the advice of an internal DTU Appointment Committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been accepted for assessment. The Head of Department subsequently appoints an external Assessment Committee tasked with carrying out an assessment of the selected applicants. Selected applicants are notified of the composition of the committee. Applicants will be continuously informed about the progress of the procedure by email.

DTU employs various testing tools as part of the recruitment process in the lead up to a second interview.

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark, New to Denmark, Work in Denmark.