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Early-career researchers need resources to navigate evolving world of academic careers and assessment

30 March 2026 | Ann MacPhail, University of Limerick | Simon Marti, EUA Council for Doctoral Education

Recent developments demonstrate just how important dedicated instruments and training are to career development for young researchers and doctoral candidates, write Ann MacPhail and Simon Marti.

To foster the development of attractive research careers that support excellence in R&I, the European Charter for Researchers lists 20 principles, grouped under four pillars:

- Ethics, integrity, gender and Open Science

- Researchers' assessment, recruitment and progression

- Working conditions and practices

- Research careers and talent development.

But how can these principles be put into practice? To support the Charter’s implementation, since December 2024 the EU-funded European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) organisation is carrying out a Cross-Cutting Activity (CCA) on ‘Career development for young researchers’. Concretely, this initiative has created an alliance of young researchers, career advisors and relevant stakeholders who have identified four objectives:

- Support the full personal and professional development of young researchers in Europe

- Create a community of practice armed with training and guidance based on examples of good practice

- Analyse the extent of transferability of good practices across multiple jurisdictions

- Explore how to promote, develop and implement better and more consistent HR strategies for young researchers.

A first CCA deliverable, a commentary on the 20-year anniversary of the European Charter for Researchers, was recently published.

The experiences of doctoral candidates as young researchers

What practices exist to better understand and support the experiences of doctoral candidates?

First of all, it is important to note that doctoral candidates are not always considered as ‘young researchers’, depending on what point of reference different jurisdictions follow. That said, one common thread across many doctoral candidates and young researchers is the importance of support and resources, and specifically that of career instruments and career development training with a view to creating sustainable (research) careers.

To enable this, there are three key considerations for doctoral education:

- To build sustainable research careers, doctoral colleges need to favour long-term research development support, in a more holistic manner than tools such as weekly workshops or webinars on a range of tenuously linked topics.

- Development training should include career management skills as well as research and professional skills. Such skills include CV and portfolio development (academic and non-academic), interview preparation and entrepreneurship and innovation.

- Structured tools should be put in place that assist doctoral candidates in understanding themselves, their goals and those of the labour market, e.g. researcher/individual development plans.

How doctoral schools are reforming research careers

The results of EUA-CDE’s 2025 survey also provide some interesting findings on this topic. With 217 universities from 37 countries participating, this survey examined at a variety of policies in doctoral education, including the policies and perspectives of doctoral schools in reforming careers and related opportunities for early-career researchers.

The survey results show that more than 90% of participating universities are involved in reforming research careers. About half of respondents mentioned that their efforts focused on the definition of clear career development criteria and slightly less than half on the improvement of working conditions. And about two out of five universities are dedicated to the implementation of the European Charter for Researchers as part of their activities on the reform of research careers.

A similar share of institutions is placing an emphasis on the recognition of the careers of research managers, technicians and data stewards. These widespread activities are followed by the facilitation of intersectoral mobility, with slightly more than a quarter of respondents having selected this option.

What should academic career assessment focus on?

The 2025 survey also aimed to identify the institutional perspective on how academic careers should be assessed. Two thirds of respondents reported that it will be important to keep a focus on research, with primarily qualitative assessment, while at the same time using quantitative metrics in a responsible way. A slightly lower percentage mentioned that their institution is in favour of considering all three missions of universities equally for the assessment of academic careers.

A third of the respondents stated the assessment of academic careers should include a stronger emphasis on contributing to society, while one out of five specified that a stronger focus on teaching should be part of the assessment of academic careers at their institution.

Preparing doctoral candidates for changes in careers and assessment

Finally, the survey results also shows how universities are supporting and preparing doctoral candidates for the reform of research assessment and academic careers. Just over two in five respondents indicated that they do so by raising awareness on the possible changes, e.g. through course offers. Just over a quarter reported that their institution has started to introduce reforms related to research assessment or academic careers that will provide doctoral candidates with orientation in practice.

As most universities are making efforts to reform careers and inform and support doctoral candidates about the possible changes ahead, dedicated resources, such as those expected from the upcoming results of the COST CCA, will provide valuable support for this important work.

Note:  This article is based on the authors’ contribution to the COST Cross-Cutting Activity (CCA) on ‘Career development for young researchers’ mid-term conference in December 2025.