Come to stay? Concepts for permanent positions at German universities

For some years now, universities in Germany have been increasingly expected to establish long-term career and employment prospects beyond the professorship. To date, however, little is known about the activities universities are pursuing to fulfill this expectation. This article addresses this gap on the basis of an exploratory study of concepts for permanent positions at universities in Germany. It shows how universities take up these demands from the public debate, which concepts for permanent positions they develop, the considerations behind them, and the challenges and problems they face in doing so.