MARIE CURIE RESEARCHERS AND THEIR LONG-TERM CAREER DEVELOPMENT: a comparative study

Transcription

1 MARIE CURIE RESEARCHERS AND THEIR LONG-TERM CAREER DEVELOPMENT: a comparative study MARIE SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE ACTIONS 2014 Conference Trento, 18 November 2014 Sara Gysen GfK 1

2 Study context Main objective To collect and organise information related to career development of Marie Curie researchers, and to present a comprehensive picture and a deep analysis of the long-term career paths after their Fellowship. Survey of MC fellows and control group Direct interview programme Population of former fellows: researchers that have completed their MCF five or more years ago (i.e. under FP4, FP5 and FP6) Operational objectives of the study! Mapping career paths (MC researchers)! Comparing the careers (MC and non-mc researchers)! Assess the extent of the correlation (MC outcomes and career outcomes)! Analyse the gender gap Bibliometric analysis 2

3 Achieved Samples: profile of the respondents Approximately 1,400 former Marie Curie fellows who took part in Marie Curie Actions funded under the 4 th, 5 th and 6 th Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development ( ) A control group consisting of approximately 1,500 EU researchers has been surveyed on the same dimensions Demographics MC researchers 32% female 80% < 45 years old 98% doctorate holders 1. Natural sciences (75%) 2. Engineering and Technology (12%) 3. Social sciences (6%) 24% PhDs at top 100 university 14% Italian 13% French 59% research experience of between y 12% Spanish 74% EU15 12% German 13% EU13 5% Greek 4% BRICS 4% British 1% US 40% Other 8% Other Demographics control group 28% female 14% Italian 7% French 49% < 45 years old 92% doctorate holders 1. Natural sciences (65%) 2. Engineering and Technology (15%) 3. Medical sciences (10%) 22% PhDs at top 100 university 30% research experience of between y 8% Spanish 72% EU15 12% German 10% EU13 3% Greek 4% BRICS 8% British 3% US 48% Other 11% Other 3

4 IMPACT ASSESSMENT - KEY FINDINGS 4

5 General analytical framework Independent variables Dependent variables Demographic char. Country Educ. background Sector Discipline Motivation Type of MCF Duration Host profile Knowledge transfer Researcher profile MC Experience Career drivers Career development Professional output Employment situation Career enablers Mobility effects Short-term empl. Continuity Career speed Family life issues Publications Patents / trade Oth. sc. outputs Access to funds Title / responsib. Status/ conditions Employer prestige Income Satisfaction 5

6 Impact on Career Drivers (1) Contribution of MC to Career Drivers! MCF had a comparatively more pervasive effect on career drivers than other fellowships Career Drivers MC Other The quality of training / research supervision received Having access to high quality research facilities and laboratories A solid preparation on the primary subjects of research The complementary skills and competences developed (team working, leadership, project management etc.) International mobility experience Interdisciplinary / multidisciplinary skills Productivity in terms of research output (e.g. publications, patents, keynote papers ) A strong and widespread research network

7 Impact on Career Drivers (2) Cross-sector mobility MC fellows experience slightly greater cross-sectoral mobility in their career Half of the MC fellows are no longer in the sector they were employed before MCF. [university; public sector employer; research lab / institute (private or semi-public); not-for profit entity; SME; large enterprise] University 26% 45% Private enterprise 1% 4% 11% Other sectors 3% 7

8 Impact on Career Drivers (2) Multi- & Inter-disciplinarity MC fellows are less likely to change discipline after the MCF MCF more effective in developing interdisciplinary skills Internationalisation of careers MC fellows have worked in more countries Settled more frequently abroad Collaborate more frequently on joint international publications Professional network established Smaller but stronger networks (continued collaboration) 8

9 Impact on Career Trajectories (1) Short-term employability Improved fellows short term employability More likely (+8%) to obtain a permanent position after the fellowship Retention by Hosts More likely to be retained by hosts, especially after long fellowships Career Speed Mild short-term effects especially for knowledge-intensive fellowship No effects or negative effects in the medium/long term (academic titles) 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% MC fellows 34% 6% 61% Before 10% 4% 86% other unemployed employed Six-months after Other: students, trainees, unable to work etc. 9

10 Impact on Professional Output (1) Impact on Publications Slightly higher number of articles published Higher H-index citation Significantly higher Journal Impact Factor Rather limited positive effect on books and monographs Impact on Other Scientific Outputs Less patents filed/commercialised Average no. of start-up enterprises established marginally lower Greater participation of young MC fellows to international conferences Higher number of scientific prizes and awards received by young MC fellows 10

11 Impact on Professional Output (2) Access to Research Funds 70.0% 65.5% 62.4% 60.0% 50.0% MC CG 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 7.2% 5.5% 19.4% 18.2% 21.0% 20.3% 19.2% 13.8% 12.0% 17.6% 9.6% 8.5% 20.4% 17.0% 0.0% ERC EU fund Intl. grant Nat. grant Ext. private fin. Int. private fin. Other None 11

12 Impact on Current Professional Situation Employment status and conditions! Marginally more often employed with more stable contracts! More frequently employed by top 100 institutes (ca. 25%)! No significant impact on income, but marginal positive effects with respect to income growth Job profile and qualifications! More likely to be still active in research! Much higher probability of leading a research team! More likely of holding the title of associate professor or full professor Effect on satisfaction! On average, 16% higher overall satisfaction:! Progress opportunities (32%), benefits (27%)! Resources for research, job location (24%)! Job security, working conditions, status/prestige (21%) 12

13 GENDER ISSUES AND MCF EFFECTS - KEY FINDINGS 13

14 Disparities in Career Development Career constraints Women report far more frequent career breaks than men (56% vs. 24%) Women also experience more frequently conflicts b/w professional target and private life, and often this lead to lower career targets 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 21% 19% 28% 35% 51% 47% M F No, played down private life No, played down career Yes 14

15 Self-assessed discrimination Experiences of discrimination About one-third of female researchers suffered some kind of discrimination (lower among young researchers) Only marginally lower in the MC sub-group Types of discrimination Job qualification and conditions: by far the most frequent, especially cases of male colleagues with same level of experience and skills having higher-ranking positions Employability and career progress: reported less often, severity was rated higher: especially for cases where the potential employers appear reluctant to hire candidates with children Gender-based misconducts: these cases were reported as being comparatively less severe than various other types of discrimination 15

16 Disparities in the MC experience Differences in immediate career effects MC proved more effective in enhancing the immediate employability of women than men but a greater share of men obtained a permanent contract after the end of MCF The chances to move to a more senior position after MCF are high for all fellows, but seemingly slightly higher for men 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 27% 31% 54% 50% 70% 68% M F M F M F Become employed Got a perm. contract More senior position 16

17 Career Outcomes and MC effects (1) Impact on scientific output Number of articles published: smaller for female researchers but mitigated by participation to MC H-index citation: Also lower for female researchers but significantly offset by participation to MC Journal Impact Factor: no significant discrepancy; MC female researchers has a higher JIF than non-mc Patent submitted: significantly lower for women, not influenced by MC Invitations as keynote speaker: lower than men and not influenced by MC Access to research funds: significant outcomes registered for access to EU/intl. grants (lower for women in general) - significantly offset in the case of MC female fellows. 17

18 Career Outcomes and MC effects (2) Differences in employment status and conditions Women appears slightly more frequently unemployed than men, and less often employed under a permanent contract The professional title and position of women appear generally lower than men (especially professorship title), but the MC female subgroup is typically in a better position than non-mc researchers Job satisfaction is somewhat lower among women, but only marginally The income level of women is lower than men for all degrees of professional experience EUR (2012) 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 - < 8 ys. b/w 8 & 15ys. b/w 15 & 25 ys. M F Average > 25 ys. TOT 18

19 CONCLUSIONS 19

20 Overall conclusions MCF do have definite beneficial effects on improving fellows career prospects and achievements. a highly positive reputation in the research environment attracted talented EU researchers educated in prestigious universities degree of affiliation of former fellows remains high, even many years after the end of fellowship. In quantitative terms, the differences observed between MC fellows and the CG career outcomes are rather small. Possible reasons: (i) (ii) career benefits take longer to fully materialise; non-mc fellows often undertook equivalent mobility schemes, which produced similar effects. MCF can mitigate some aspects of the gender gap especially with regard to the career outcomes for female MC fellows compared to their female counterparts completing non-mcf. 20

21 Recommendations (1) (as discussed at final validation seminar held with EU-level stakeholders, MC supervisors and fellows) #1 To further MCAs contribution to structuring the European Research Area (ERA) in terms of training and employability Host institutions are asked to provide education and training that focusses on increasing fellows employability. " also involve training in transferable skills (project management, presentation skills, etc.) MCA could emphasise that a variety of career paths are possible following the completion of MCF. Case studies of the different career paths taken by previous MC fellows should continue to be advertised with materials emphasising that a MCF that does not result in an academic career is by no means a failure. 21

22 Recommendations (2) #2 To further the relationship between MCA and private industry More difficult for SMEs to engage with MCAs because of less experience and resources at hand (human resources and legal knowledge to facilitate the administration of such programmes). MCA could foster partnerships between SMEs and universities, in part for universities to assist SMEs with the administrative aspects of the fellowship. Promotion of such collaborations by communications focusing on success stories of MCF within SMEs. 22

23 Recommendations (3) #3 To increase the focus on closing the gender gap Statement on MCFs and maternity leave: maternity leave could be treated as a matter of social security, and should not impact on the fellowship in terms of time and money, i.e. should not imply a shortening of the fellowship or receiving less funding. Mentorship or other type of support could be increased to help female researchers in their career progress (e.g. stimulating output) but also in finding work-life balance and resuming the career after breaks. Improve the gender balance in MCF selection committees and panels. Selectors and evaluators should be further trained to be conscious of potential gender biases which can impact on the decision-making process. 23

24 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION Sara Gysen 24