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Habilitation or other paths to a professorship?
Date: 27.02.2026 | Text: Laura Lehmann | Picture: MSNZ
From the traditional habilitation process to alternative paths to a professorship—experts from Hamburg, Kiel, and Lübeck shared insights into various career paths at the 7th Cancer Careers Day.
Under the title “Career in Academia: Habilitation or Other Paths?”, the 7th Cancer Careers Day on February 27, 2026, focused on career prospects in academic oncology. The joint online event organized by the Mildred Scheel Center for Young Researchers Hamburg (MSNZ) at the University Cancer Center Hamburg (UCC Hamburg) and the University Cancer Center Schleswig-Holstein (UCCSH) offered doctoral students, postdocs, and clinician-scientists an overview of qualification pathways and alternatives to the traditional habilitation.
The focus was, on the one hand, on the prerequisites and options for advancing toward a professorship. Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Boris Fehse, a member of the Habilitation Committee at the UKE’s Faculty of Medicine and Director of the Interdisciplinary Clinic and Polyclinic for Stem Cell Transplantation, kicked off the session. He explained the legal and structural framework and provided insights into review processes and evaluation criteria. It became clear that, in addition to publication output and the acquisition of external funding, teaching qualifications and scientific independence in particular are central evaluation categories.
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In the subsequent panel discussion, postdoctoral researchers and research group leaders from Kiel and Lübeck shared their personal experiences with the postdoctoral qualification process. Topics discussed included balancing research, teaching, and clinical work; strategic timing considerations; and the importance of institutional support and mentoring structures.
Another session focused on alternative paths and financial support options for those pursuing a professorship. Dr. habil. Gesche Braker (Postdoc Center, Kiel University) and Dr. rer. nat. Inga Melzer (MSNZ Hamburg) provided a systematic overview of funding streams such as W1 professorships, early-career research group funding (e.g., through the DFG’s Emmy Noether Program), and endowed professorships/professorships co-funded by the DFG/DKH or other funding agencies. They emphasized that academic careers are becoming increasingly diverse and that there are several equally valid paths to academic independence.
In a second panel discussion, researchers who have successfully implemented various models discussed their individual career paths—ranging from leading an Emmy Noether-funded junior research group to holding a Heisenberg professorship and a W1 professorship. In addition to prerequisites, the discussion also addressed personal factors such as risk-taking, mobility, family planning, and long-term research prospects. There was consensus that strategic career planning, early acquisition of external funding, and international visibility are decisive factors for success.
Particularly insightful was the realization that many researchers often perform work toward their habilitation (teaching, publications) after earning their doctorate without being directly aware of it. Here, attention was once again drawn to the importance of actively tracking and documenting such achievements in order to reach the goal of tenure-track eligibility more quickly—a goal for which the formal habilitation process is becoming an increasingly less mandatory requirement.
Cancer Careers Day once again underscored the goal of the event series: to provide transparency regarding academic career paths and to support early-career researchers in making decisions along their career journey. Twice a year, the MSNZ, in collaboration with the UCCSH, offers a forum to provide insights into various career profiles within and outside of academic research in oncology and to strengthen key competencies for sustainable career development.
Further information
The UCC Hamburg
The Hubertus Wald Tumor Center – University Cancer Center Hamburg (UCC Hamburg) brings together all clinics and institutes involved in diagnostics, therapy, and research within the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) and collaborates with numerous partners in healthcare and science in Hamburg.
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