Focus change

Staff members whose ambitions have changed in the course of their career can change their focus domain and switch to another career path provided a number of conditions are met. 

Conditions for focus change

A staff member’s focus domain can only be changed if three conditions are met. The first condition is that the focus change is in the interest of the research institute and the organization more broadly. Among other things, this implies that the change is supported by the staff member’s supervisor and the scientific and education directors of their institute. The second condition is that the staff member meets the criteria associated with the position in the career path to which they wish to switch. For example, an Associate Professor 2 with a research focus can only change their focus to education if they meet the criteria for promotion to Associate Professor 2 with an education focus. The third condition is that the staff member has been employed at FSE for at least five years. 

Procedure

A staff member who wishes to change their focus domain and who has been appointed for at least five years at FSE as Assistant, Associate or Full Professor discusses their wish to change their focus domain with their supervisor and the scientific and education directors of their institute. If the supervisor and the directors support the staff member’s ambitions and are convinced that the change would be in the interest of the research institute more broadly, they may make adjustments to the staff member's tasks to enable the staff member to work on satisfying the relevant criteria. 

At the moment that the staff member seems to satisfy the relevant criteria, the scientific director can form an ad hoc assessment committee that will evaluate the staff member’s request to change their focus domain. The committee consists of the scientific director, the education director, and a member of the BC1 or BC2 (depending on the candidate's position), and is supported by an HR advisor. In preparation of the interview, the staff member prepares a file by means of which they demonstrate to meet the promotion criteria associated with their current rank in the intended career path. For example, an Associate Professor with a research focus who wishes to change their focus domain to education, and thus switch to the career path with a focus on education, has to demonstrate meeting the criteria for promotion to Associate Professor with a focus on education. The assessment committee forms a conclusion about the application for focus change on the basis of the candidate’s file and an interview with the candidate. 

If the committee unanimously concludes that the conditions for focus change are met, the committee proposes the change to the Faculty Board, after which the Faculty Board makes the final decision. The proposal will be accompanied with a report in which the assessment committee motivates its proposal with respect to the aforementioned conditions. If the Faculty Board approves the proposal, the scientific director will be requested to provide an updated profile report that reflects the new focus domain.