How money and power works at the university – and what that means for postdocs

In their institutes, in the faculty, in the senate and other governing bodies, in university leadership, individual researchers are involved in developing visions and goals, strategic planning and decision making for the University of Graz. For the effective running of a university, those persons also work towards meeting strategic and externally given goals and policies. 

For your own success at this university, it's useful to understand how this complex system works, why it is designed the way it is, how performance is assessed, how money is allocated, and how you can work both with it and in it. In our May 2025 expert talk with an experienced former member of the Rectorate of our university, you get the chance to explore:

• which external and internal strategic priorities shape the university
• where the money comes from and how that affects individual research staff
• which organizations and steering processes constitute the basis for governance
• informal and formal ways of decision making
• how you can work both with and in these processes by getting involved in committees
• roles/functions of postdocs in university decision making: requirements, challenges, scope for engament and limits
• where you can get involved depending on your career phase and role
• how to plan for and balance your committee work with your career strategies to get the maximum impact for your own profile

This expert round table conversation is open for all your questions. Take the chance to talk to a highly experienced former Vice-Rector of this university and ask her everything you always wanted to know but didn't dare to ask.

About the expert: Ao.Univ-Prof. Dr. Renate Dworczak, retired professor of organic chemistry, was until 2022 special representative of the rectorate for gender equality and diversity. She has served as Vice-Rector for Staff, Staff Development and Equality for three four-year terms and prior to that was chair of the AKGL (Arbeitskreis für Gleichbehandlungsfragen/ Working Group for Equal Opportunities).

Please register until May 2, 2025: Trainings (if link doesn't work, email postdoc@uni-graz.at)

You can enter your questions here until May 5, 12pm: 2KSrGx06xU9rvpOiXg2r-keep | Riseup Pad

Location: tbc upon registration,

Reading suggestions:

• Lasser, J. et al, (Jul 22, 2024): Prekär beschäftigt die eigenen Interessen vertreten? Das spießt sich (laborjournal.de)
• Enzenhofer, B, Elisabeth Anna Guenther, Brigitte Ratzer (2021). „Unangenehm ist normaler Alltag“ – Quote und Macht in universitären Gremien am Beispiel von Technischen Fakultäten in Österreich. In: Wroblewski, A., Schmidt, A. (eds) Gleichstellungspolitiken revisted. Springer VS, Wiesbaden