Sustainable Careers in Academia
By Jos Akkermans (VU) and Beatrice van der Heijden (Radboud University)

This session contained four parts:

  1. Do we talk about career too much? (15 minutes/Jos)
  • What is a career?
  • The academic ladder: example of a highly traditional career?
  • Evolution of research on careers and career development
  • Paradox of contemporary career: how we emphasized complexity yet focus solely on the individual in career studies and practice
  1. Sustainable Career (15 minutes/Beatrice)
  • Process model of sustainable careers
  • Characteristics: Dynamic, systemic, idiosyncratic
  • Research shows there are significant challenges for achieving career sustainability in academia, yet there is hope! That’s the discussion we want to start today.
  1. Discussion: How can we enhance sustainability in academia? (20 minutes/all participants)
  • Best practices, Things to change, Creative ideas
  1. Discussion and summary (10 minutes/Speakers and participants)