Career path Junior Professorship
Would you like to become a professor at a University of Applied Sciences (UAS), but you still lack the professional experience or doctorate to fulfil all the requirements? Then the Junior Professorship is your opportunity for a university career at THI.
THI offers two qualification paths with the Professional Tenure Track Programme (PTTTHI): The doctorate track for young practitioners, and the practice track for young academics. The aim of the evaluation-based qualification programme is to take on a regular professorship.
Change to German versionQualification paths to Professorship
The doctoral track is aimed at professionals with an excellent Master's degree and at least five years of professional experience who, through the programme, acquire the academic qualification for a HAW professorship via a doctorate. The programme focuses on the academic post-qualification of experienced professionals with professorial potential.
The practice track is aimed at post-docs who, as part of the programme, complete the legally required practical work for a HAW professorship. The focus is on the professional qualification of outstanding post-docs with professorial potential.
Programme procedure
In the first 6 to 12 months, candidates prepare for the program depending on the career path they have chosen, for example by finding the partner company (practice track) or doctoral topic (doctoral track). In addition, a personal development plan is drawn up with individual program goals to be achieved as part of the Professional Tenure Track program.
In the following three to four years, the junior professors are given responsibility for teaching, research and self-administration. At the same time, they either gain three years of practical experience at a partner company (practical track) or complete a doctorate in three to four years (doctoral track). The junior professorship is assigned to a faculty and a research group at THI. Quality assurance is carried out through annual status evaluation meetings, in which past performance is compared with the target agreements in the development plan.
Depending on individual progress, the final phase begins in the fifth year. In this phase, the final evaluation is carried out, in which a decision is made on whether to accept the position as a regular W2 professorship. The application for the expert appointment procedure is possible after four years at the earliest.
Over the five-year duration of the program, the professorships are supported by two experienced mentors and also benefit from a qualification program, through which all the necessary knowledge and appointment requirements for the transfer to a regular professorship are acquired.
As a junior professor, I am looking forward to contributing my creativity in teaching and my curiosity in research, helping to shape personalities and innovations and constantly learning through dialogue with others. (translated from German)
I am passionate about solving production-related challenges with the help of materials science and am very much looking forward to passing on my knowledge to the next generations of engineers and scientists. (translated from German)
The Professional Tenure Track Programme offers great new opportunities: for top performers with top practical experience, even without a doctorate. And for the universities, which can only benefit from this growth! (translated from German)
The Junior Professorship enables me to turn my passion into an appointment right now: To help shape the future of mobility through research and teaching. (translated from German)
As a junior professor on the Professional Tenure Track Programme, I am looking forward to combining my enthusiasm for Mechanical Engineering with practical experience in order to develop exciting solutions for resource-efficient and innovative production technologies together with the students. (translated from German)
Our cooperation partners
Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI) is proud of its strong partnerships with leading companies and academic institutions, which play an essential role in the development and support of our Junior Professorships.
Junior professor Philipp Tröber gains practical experience at Audi
With this co-operation, THI and Audi are bringing together the best of two worlds: Philipp Tröber brings the latest scientific findings and methods to the company. His practical experience from the Audi foundry can then be channelled directly into the research and development of future technologies. Prof. Tröber is already working with the team to analyse the processes for heat treatment, straightening and grinding, identify bottlenecks and simulate the future system. These activities are currently still carried out manually. By increasing the level of automation, ergonomically critical workstations will be eliminated and the employees concerned will be trained for higher-value functions.
Prof Tröber's second project is the large-scale casting of structural components. This is currently still in its infancy, but companies such as Tesla are already leading the way and casting entire body parts. It is important for Audi not to miss the boat. Prof Tröber also has valuable insights in this area: Thanks to his work at the Chair of Metal Forming and Foundry Technology, he knows both the casting and sheet metal worlds and can use his neutral perspective to develop the best processes for Audi.
To the press clipping
Junior professor Martin Landesberger gains practical experience at MTU
Dr Martin Landesberger is the first scientist to gain the necessary industrial experience at MTU as part of a part-time position limited to three years. The specialist in materials science and engineering previously researched and taught as a research associate at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) before moving to THI as a junior professor in January 2023. "Among other things, I supervise Bachelor's and Master's students here, and this summer semester I'm also giving a basic lecture on 'Material Science'," says the 35-year-old. His conclusion after six months of industry experience: "First of all, I learnt a lot about the aviation industry, MTU and the corporate culture. What impressed me immediately was that quality is the number one topic and is practised at every point in the company."
To the press clipping
Contact
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Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Hof
Project Management Professional Tenure Track Program
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Dr. Tanja Engelbert
Project Coordinator Professional Tenure Track Program
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Julia Hackl
Project Coordinator Professional Tenure Track Program