The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has issued an ordinance to continue to soften the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic on early-career researchers employed on a temporary basis.
The maximum duration of the qualification periods of early-career researchers in the “Act Governing Fixed-Term Contracts in Science and Research” will be extended by a further six months. “The COVID 19 pandemic is still ongoing and continues to pose major challenges for scientists and scholars at universities and research institutions,” explains Minister of Education and Research, Anja Karliczek.
With the new regulation, the BMBF follows on from the first extension of the maximum fixed-term contract period by six months, which had already been granted in May 2020 under the Science and Student Support Act due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The original press release (in German) is available at the BMBF website.