Welcome to the survey on the career paths of postdoctoral researchers!
Postdoctoral researchers play a vital role in the Swiss research system. Yet there is still limited evidence on their career paths, professional experiences, aspirations and support needs.
Many researchers move between institutions, regions and countries during their careers, often on successive fixed-term contracts. As a result, it can be difficult for individual institutions to develop a comprehensive understanding of postdoctoral career paths and experiences.
To address this challenge, the Universities of Bern, Fribourg, Lausanne, Zurich, Università della Svizzera italiana, and participating ETH institutes (PSI, WSL/SLF, Empa, Eawag) have joined forces to conduct a large-scale survey of postdoctoral researchers across Switzerland.
By bringing together data from several institutions, the project aims to provide a broader picture of postdoctoral careers, working experiences, aspirations, and future plans that would not be possible through institution-specific surveys alone. It also seeks to complement existing data sources by capturing the experiences of postdoctoral researchers across institutional and national boundaries.
The study will help participating institutions better understand the needs and experiences of postdoctoral researchers and support the development of evidence-based measures for early-career researchers. It will also contribute to a broader understanding of postdoctoral careers within the Swiss research system.
The survey is conducted by FORS, the Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences, on behalf of the participating institutions.
For more information, click on the links below:
