News
(Translated from the Hungarian article published on mta.hu.)
Following nearly one year of preparatory work, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) and the Hungarian Young Academy (HYA) have launched a joint survey to explore the situation of researchers based in or linket to Hungary and assess their opinions, among others, on their expectations regarding MTA, their workplace situation, level of satisfaction, problems, academic and grant opportunities and performance, as well as their international cooperations and their plans to work abroad.
President Tamás Freund’s letter accompanying the questionnaire was sent to more than 40,000 researchers, including not only the 19,000 members of the public association of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, but also researchers registered with at least 10 publications in the Hungarian Science Bibliography (MTMT), and/or published at least one work in the course of the past two years. In addition to these two major categories, Hungarian researchers currently working abroad have also been contacted. Relying on these pools, the Academy is capable of reaching the majority of researchers in Hungary or related to Hungary.
The questionnaire is entirely anonymous; the information provided by respondents will be made available only to the members of the research team, without any personal data. Once the responses have been processed, the results of the survey will be made public by MTA and HYA.
The head of the research project is Júlia Koltai, research professor of HUN-REN Research Centre for Social Sciences, associate professor of ELTE Faculty of Social Sciences, and member of the Hungarian Young Academy. The preparatory work was coordinated by MTA Secretary-General László Kollár and MTA Deputy Secretary-General Anna Erdei.
The current research was preceded by a questionnaire survey in 2021 conducted by the members of the Hungarian Young Academy (and another one in 2018 before HYA was founded) among Hungarian researchers and academics aged 45 or younger holding a PhD. The aim of the surveys was to assess the employment situation and career development possibilities of early career researchers in academia.
The first questionnaire was completed by 1779 respondents, the second by 1135. The latter data was unique in that it included details on the level and composition of incomes, and 89% of respondents actually agreed to have their publication data (registered in the Hungarian Science Bibliography) anonymously linked to their responses.
In addition to providing insights into the working conditions, career prospects and incomes of young researchers in Hungary, the survey results also revealed the fundamental inequalities in the system. Both studies showed that the main obstacles to the retention of young researchers in academia are debasingly low salaries, the lack of research funding and unpredictable and random scientific career paths. In addition, ever-growing but unappreciated teaching and administrative burden, and unequal opportunities for women and researchers with young children also contribute to burn-out, career drop-out and the lack of new generations in science.
As a result of the first survey, and based on the suggestions of respondents, the Hungarian Young Academy was established in 2019. Aspiring to be the voice of young researchers, HYA has been doing its best to reduce perceived inequalities in science, promote the professional development of young researchers, stimulate and sustain interest in science, and strengthen the relationship between researchers and society. Following both surveys, HYA members made recommendations to policy makers on how to improve the career prospects of young researchers, and in particular on the need for increasing salaries, but also on improving the grant scheme, ensuring equal opportunities and developing a stable career model.
Those eligible researchers who have not received an invitation to complete the questionnaire, but wish to participate in this research are kindly asked to contact the staff of the Academic Data Repository (AAT) and the Hungarian Science Bibliography to have their data updated.
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