For 2020, the Union had set up four working groups, focusing on the following matters:
- Information and open science,
- Higher education and continuous learning,
- Fixed-term employment and career models and
- Early career researchers.
The Information and open science working group prepared an Open Science Survey, which was sent to the members in November. It surveyed the members’ attitudes towards different areas of open science. Thanks to the more than 300 respondents! The responses will be communicated later and will be used to support the Union’s advocacy activities.
The working group is currently preparing a policy paper on current open science issues.
In 2020, the special interests of the Higher education and continuous learning working group have been the pressures for change in higher education, the development of higher education pedagogy, and continuous learning. During the year, the working group prepared the Union’s policy paper on higher education and continuous learning, based on the staff perspective and the exceptional circumstances during the COVID-19 year, 2020.
The Fixed-term employment and career models working group has met twice during the autumn and started by outlining its activities for the coming year. This working group supports the actual Collective agreement working group and acquires the necessary background information and prepares the Union’s positions on career models and merits.
The Early career researchers’ working group has finalised the Union’s recommendations for the shared rules in the doctoral researcher-supervisor relationship, which were published in three languages in the early autumn.
A larger project this year has been the preparation of a survey for early career researchers. The new survey continues with the themes of 2017, but it has been updated with questions concerning, for example, mobility and career guidance issues. The survey for early career researchers is a key source of information for the Union’s advocacy work and the working group will continue its work on the results of the survey next year.
See Shared Rules Vitally Important in the Doctoral Researcher-Supervisor Relationship