The WG Survey recently made public the results of the “Being a Doctoral Researcher in the Leibniz Association: 2021 Leibniz PhD Network Survey Report”, conducted by X. Delgado-Osorio, M. Gierke, J. Jaen, J. Kansiime, D. Lonken, E. Pérez-Bosch Quesada, K. Ramachandran, T. Rizzi and P. Saxena.

This report presents the results of the 3rd Leibniz PhD Survey, developed and conducted by the Leibniz PhD Network in collaboration with members of the Helmholtz Juniors and the Max Planck PhDnet.

From September until December 2021, all doctoral researchers (DRs) working at Leibniz Institutes were invited to take part in the online, anonymised survey. 829 DRs working at 81 out of 97 institutes participated in this survey. This corresponds to approximately a third of all Leibniz DRs and 85 % of Leibniz institutes. Instead of a single institute, the survey reports on the overall situation of Leibniz DRs and whether this situation differs among the five Leibniz Sections. Key variables like gender, age, affiliation to Leibniz Sections, nationality, and types of payment are in line with other Leibniz data sources, not showing any implausible distortions.

The report includes the main findings and conclusions in an Executive Summary in addition to a chapter dedicated to the method followed to conduct the anonymous survey. The subsequent chapters of the report integrate the main topics defined during the survey design process: demographics, working conditions, satisfaction, supervision, integration, career development, family, power abuse, and mental health. In addition to the main topics, this survey especially addresses how and to what extent the COVID-19 pandemic affected the DRs. In particular, the surveys focused on the effects on the mental health of the DRs, their perception of how much the security measures impacted their projects, and the effectiveness of the institutional efforts to support them.

This report will spark interest among various reader groups, like current and prospective DRs, as it provides an overview of how it is to be a doctoral researcher in the Leibniz Association. Members of the Leibniz Association, specifically the Leibniz Head Office and the management and administration of all Leibniz Institutes are another important target group, giving them insight into areas for improvement. This report, as well as reports published by partner networks working in the Max Planck Society and the Helmholtz Association, are highly relevant for the broader political sphere concerned with science policies in Germany, where efforts are being made to make Germany a lucrative destination for scientists from around the globe. The Executive Summary identifies possible interventions and we hope some of these suggestions will be actualised.  

Download the survey here.

Text adapted by Armelle Ballian from the Preamble of the survey.