A lack of new permanent positions threatens the future of neuroscience

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event A lack of new permanent positions threatens the future of neuroscience Mario Bonato1* and Esperanza Jubera-Garcia2 1 Ghent University, Belgium 2 Free University of Brussels, (ULB), Belgium In this contribution we will discuss the drop in the number of new permanent positions available in academia and public research centers which is affecting several European countries. Our reasoning builds upon the data we mentioned in a recent letter to a leading neuroscientific journal [1]. While this problem is very well known by young researchers we have the feeling that, overall, the scientific and political communities are not fully aware of the current situation and of the dramatic long-term consequences this "downsizing" in the recruitment process will have. The duration of this severe recruitment freeze has been so long that we think it is posing a serious threat for young neuroscientists: those who are the future of neuroscience. Where does this situation come from ? Several players are involved, some of which are doing their duties and some of which are not. The good ones first: local and European institutions are regularly funding the best research projects in Europe and universities are doing their job in preparing new researchers. The responsibility of the situation can be then attributed to those countries which, by prioritizing budget over people, regrettably started to neglect their crucial role: regularly hiring new scientists with permanent or tenure track positions. The presence of funding for research in the absence of new permanent positions is resulting in a perfect storm. More and more (over)qualified researchers cannot obtain any security for their future after having contributed to several, often successful, scientific projects. This is especially worrisome for the domain of neuroscience due to its high number of temporary jobs (i.e., research projects usually involving several doctoral students and postdocs). The reduction in the offer for permanent positions is very short-sighted. It temporarily allows research activities to continue but worsens the problems on the long term. We maintain that the updated societal long-term investment in Neuroscience is better mirrored by the number of new positions opened every year rather than by the overall funding. This number plummeted, in the last years, in at least three main European countries (Italy, France and Spain). -Italy- Recruitment for new personnel in Italy (tenure-track research positions in public universities) across all disciplines decreased from more than 1500 per year between 2005 and 2010, [2] to less than 300 per year after 2010 [3]. With a retirement age at 70, the average age of a full professor in Italy is now about 60 years. In several countries there is a limit (either explicit or implicit) on the number of years a researcher can spend as a postdoc and therefore for many the only option left is to leave the country. The outcome of the Marie Curie mobility fellowships [4] confirms this trend. Between 2007 and 2014, 615 Italian researchers moved to another European country to start their research projects, while only 147 foreign researchers moved to Italy. The best index of the ever increasing number of young Italian researchers leaving the country is probably the fact that two thirds of the young Italian researchers obtaining the prestigious starting grant from the European Research Council (ERC) are already operating abroad or in the process of moving their research abroad [5]. -Spain- Also worrisome is the fact that 703 Spanish researchers moved to another country after gaining Intra European Fellowships, while only 277 foreign researchers decided to undertake their research in Spain. Spain has lost about 14 000 researchers from 2010–2014, and 3000 in 2014 alone [6,7]. Moreover, the research and development funding in the Spanish national budget for 2016 has been reduced by 34% in comparison to 2009. As a result Spain became the European country with the major descent within the OECD [8]. Only 11% of the planned hiring of CSIC researchers between 2010 and 2013 has been fulfilled [9]. The speed by which Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), the major public conjoint of Spanish research centers, is getting old has never been so dramatic (e.g. average age of researchers is more than 53 years) [9]. -France- Also the number of entry-level permanent positions in France (Maître de conférences) significantly decreased from a rather stable average of 2000/year (2004-2010), [10] to 1444 in 2014 and to 1299 in 2015, [11] when the minimum number of new openings in the last fifteen years has been reached. Candidates for the positions are increasing: only in 2016 the number of researchers with a PhD who qualified for participating (qualification requires a competitive CV and lasts for several years) was as high as 6000. In a nutshell, in the last few years at least three major European countries have dramatically reduced the number of researchers hired every year with permanent jobs in universities and research centers. This means that fewer and fewer young researchers have the possibility to start an independent lab and to focus on long-term achievements. This also means that these researchers will be unharmed in case of potential further cuts while society will not benefit from the professional skills they acquired thanks to past public expenditure. This situation is relevant for the Belgian context for at least two reasons. First, many foreigners researchers are now applying for scientific positions (permanent and non-permanent) in Belgium. While the advantages of an international research environment are clear this new scenario is posing a number of new challenges because foreigners do not always master French or Dutch sufficiently well to teach, help with paperwork or perform clinical activities. Second, due to the lack of positions before mentioned a Belgian researcher will regrettably have difficulties in finding a job in academia in several European countries. Finally, it would be interesting to compare the high number of temporary contracts in Belgium with the comparatively limited opportunities offered by universities and research institutions. Acknowledgements SUMMARY Science is made for people and by people. Due to dramatic budget cuts young researchers from Italy, France and Spain are not being hired by universities & public research centers with permanent contracts but only with temporary ones. The almost total absence of possibility to secure a permanent position in Academia before the age of 40 made many young and promising researchers leave their country or look for another job. It is important to raise awareness on this problem References [1]. Bonato, M., Jubera-Garcia, E. (in press). The sharp drop in the number of academic positions is compromising the future of neuroscience. Lancet Neurology. [2]. Italian Ministry for University and Research. http://bandi.miur.it/ (accessed July 26, 2016). [3]. Italian Ministry for University and Research. http://bandi.miur.it/index.php (accessed July 26, 2016). [4]. European Commission. Statistics: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions research fellowships. http://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/funded-projects/statistics/index_en.htm (accessed July 26, 2016). [5]. European Research Council. ERC starting grants 2014 outcome: indicative statistics. https://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/erc_2014_stg_statistics_update.pdf (accessed July 26, 2016). [6]. Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology. http://icono.fecyt.es/informesypublicaciones/Documents/Indicadores%20SECTI%202015.pdf (accessed Aug 5, 2016). [7]. Spanish National Institute of Statistics.Statistics on R&D activities final results. Year 2014. http://www.ine.es/en/prensa/np943_en.pdf (accessed Aug 5, 2016). [8]. Confederation of Spanish Research Societies Analysis of the Public Budget invested in R&D. Nó & Molero, 2016. http://www.cosce.org/pdf/InformeCOSCEPGE2016Aprobados.pdf. (accessed Aug 25, 2016). [9]. Spanish National Research Council. Plan de Actuación del CSIC 2014–2017.http://www.csic.es/ web/guest/plan-de-actuacion-2014-2017 [10]. French Ministry for Research and Higher Education. http://cache.media.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/file/statistiques/78/1/Bilan_recrutement_2012_277781.pdf [11]. French Ministry for Research and Higher Education. http://cache.media.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/file/statistiques/21/9/Note_DGRH_n5_Juin_2016_Bilan_de_la_campagne_de_recrutement_2015_604219.pdf Keywords: Research Policy, budget impact, Neuroscience, Science, Academies and Institutes, Universities, Research Conference: 6th Belgian Brain Congress, MONS, Belgium, 8 Oct - 8 Oct, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Brain and brain diseases: between heredity and environment Citation: Bonato M and Jubera-Garcia E (2016). A lack of new permanent positions threatens the future of neuroscience. Conference Abstract: 6th Belgian Brain Congress. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnagi.2016.03.00092 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 26 Aug 2016; Published Online: 27 Aug 2016. * Correspondence: Dr. Mario Bonato, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, mario.bonato@unipd.it Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Mario Bonato Esperanza Jubera-Garcia Google Mario Bonato Esperanza Jubera-Garcia Google Scholar Mario Bonato Esperanza Jubera-Garcia PubMed Mario Bonato Esperanza Jubera-Garcia Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.