The Research Semester

Professors can be released from their teaching and administrative duties. The legal basis is § 40 Higher Education Act North Rhine-Westphalia (HG NRW).

Definition of Research Semester

During a research semester, a university professor may be released from teaching and administrative duties in favour of research duties or the implementation of artistic development projects. This also applies to the teaching research semester as a variant of the research semester.

Definition of practical semester off

As part of an internship semester, a leave of absence may be granted for the purpose of applying and testing artistic or scientific knowledge and methods in professional practice and for gaining or maintaining practical professional experience outside the university.

Only a research semester or a practical semester can be approved as an alternative.

Preconditions

a) At least eight semesters of teaching activity must have been completed since the start of employment as a professor at UDE or since the last leave of absence or leave of absence at UDE.

This may be deviated from in justified cases. This is particularly the case if

• a corresponding agreement has been reached for the individual case in appointment or retention negotiations, or
• a leave of absence or leave of absence brought forward by one semester is in the particular interest of optimal teaching and the corresponding lecture semester is made up and credited to the future rhythm.

b) The period of leave of absence or leave of absence applied for must be followed by at least four semesters of lectures before retirement.

c) Proper representation of the subject in teaching during the leave of absence or leave of absence must be guaranteed. When submitting the application, the substitution arrangements must be clearly set out in an overview (see application form). It must be ensured that the leave of absence or leave of absence of the applicant does not lead to an extension of study time for students.

d) The UDE should not incur any additional costs as a result of leave of absence or leave of absence.

Application Procedure and Faculty Council Vote

The application must be submitted to the Rector via the responsible Dean.
Please use the special application form for this purpose.

In the interest of orderly course planning, applications should be submitted to the Dean at least six months before the planned leave of absence or leave of absence.

Before forwarding the application documents to the Rector, a resolution of the Faculty Council must be obtained. An extract of the relevant minutes of the meeting will be attached to the application documents.

Report

After the end of the leave of absence or leave of absence, a written report on the lecture-free research or practical semester must be submitted to the Rector via the Dean. The report will be placed in the personnel file. Applications for authorisation for future research or practical semesters will only be approved if the report on the last leave of absence or leave of absence is available.