By the recent deadline, we had received 78 applications for the vacant assistant professorship (so-called tenure track post) at the department. The new tenure-track system can lead to permanent (tenured) professorships after fixed-term appointments.

Besides proving the popularity of the department, the large number of applications also shows how attractive the tenure track is. In the current system, the applications are invited in a rather limited way, from people who have defended their theses within 3-7 years, which has limited the number of applicants.

The processing of the applications takes quite a while. The committee that prepares the appointment will make a preliminary screening of the applications, and then expert reports will be invited on the best applicants. The assistant professorship should be filled within year 2012.

More details:

‘Vacancy: Assistant Professor (Tenure Track)’: http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/en/news/65750
The tenure-track system (in Finnish): http://www.helsinki.fi/rekrytointi/tenuretrack.html

Editor: Hannu Toivonen
Translator: Marina Kurtén