Promotion programme

The decision whether an associate professor eligible to apply for admission to the promotion programme will depend on an individual assessment. The individual assessment is based on:

• Research publications of particularly high quality within the candidate’s field
• Teaching efforts and new development of research-based teaching, methods, courses, as well as PhD education
• Activities that involve innovation or applications of research, knowledge exchange, networking and research-based consultancy work
• Management skills at group-leader level
• Ability to build well-functioning professional collegial environments
• Attracting external research funding

If the Head of Department and the candidate agree to initiate the application procedure for the promotion programme, the application submitted by the candidate must contain the following:

• Application stating reasons for applying
• Detailed Curriculum Vitae with funding history
• Information on previous teaching and supervision experience, including a Teaching Portfolio
• Research plan, including funding strategy (max. 5 pages)
• List of publications (please highlight five publications on which the applicant wishes to be evaluated)
• Promotion plan (max. 5 pages):
  • The promotion plan is expected to be based on the faculty’s policy for recruitment and career advancement of academic staff.
  • Moreover, the individual promotion plan should contain:
    • Concrete goals and activities including a timeline for these.
    • A description of the mutual expectations for the department’s and the candidate’s contribution to the candidate’s individual career development and a research management vision in relation to the development of the department.
    • An overall expected timeline between 2 and 8 years.

The application must be sent to the Head of Department.

The application must be sent to the head of department, who submits the application to the Dean along with a recommendation.

The dean assesses whether the request should be submitted to an assessment committee.

If the dean decides to proceed with the application, the head of department forms an evaluation committee following the same rules as for an advertised professor position.

Read the principles for recruitment of scientific staff at SDU (in Danish).

The evaluation committee must assess whether, by following the promotion plan, the associate professor can be expected to reach professor-level and the associate professor’s potential in relation to fulfilling the plan. The evaluation committee’s opinion is based on the criteria expected to be met by a professor, as well as the faculty’s specific professor criteria, cf. the policy for recruitment and career advancement of academic staff.

• Download template letter to assessor committee (.docx)
• Download assessment form (.docx)

The dean authorises and accepts or declines the application. The associate professor is informed about admission to the programme or the grounds for refusal.

The Dean's Office, the heads of department and the department secretaries share information in Microsoft Teams.

Go to the Microsoft Teams team (access by invitation)

Annual evaluation with the Head of Department

The annual evaluation is done by the associate professor and the Head of Department. The evaluation is carried out based on the promotion plan and has two purposes:

1. to focus on the associate professor’s development
2. to document the associate professor’s performance and this ensure that the associate professor performs satisfactorily and in accordance with the promotion plan

The evaluation should give the associate professor clear and qualified feedback on their academic progress and development in accordance with the expectations. This is to ensure that the associate professor is on the right track and performs within the agreed framework with a view to achieving a positive assessment and thus transition to a professorship at the end of the promotion programme.

The mid-term evaluation and the further promotion process are also discussed and planned at these evaluations.

Mid-term evaluation (mandatory only under certain circumstances)

 The purpose of the mid-term evaluation is:

• to evaluate the associate professor in relation to the goals in the promotion plan
• to ensure that the associate professor is on the right track in relation to achieving a positive assessment after completion of the promotion programme
• to guide the associate professor in planning the remaining time of the promotion programme

Following a positive assessment from the assessment committee, the head of department will submit a recommendation for transfer to professorship for final decision by the dean.

The dean will make a decision solely on the basis of the assessment, ensuring that the academic quality corresponds to the appointment of professors in open advertisements. 

In case of a negative assessment, the associate professor can ask for one additional assessment. If the second assessment is also negative, the associate professor remains in their current position and cannot enter the promotion programme again.

When enrolled in the promotion programme, both the associate professor, their immediate manager (such as research group leader, Head of Section or Deputy Head of Department) and the Head of Department commit to the programme and the promotion plan until the final assessment.

The management reference does not change with selection to the programme. The development of the associate professor in relation to the plan and the set requirements must be continuously monitored, at least once a year, for example in connection with the annual employee development interviews.

If the associate professor should wish to terminate the promotion programme, the associate professor remains in their current position. This is agreed upon with the Head of Department and the Dean is informed about the decision.

Legal framework

Statutory Instrument on the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (external link; in Danish)