International mobility and career progression of European academics

The international mobility of academic researchers is a topic of sustained scholarly and policy interest. International mobility has come to be seen as something of a ‘rite of passage’ for early career researchers. Many early career grants require international visits of significant duration. In many national science systems, access to tenured positions and/or mid-career support grants requires or values previous international experience. International mobility can thus be understood as an important contributing factor in the transition to independence in academic careers. This paper uses data from surveys of the mobility of European university researchers to consider the role of international scientific mobility (job changes and long stays) in the transition to career independence. Results suggest that whilst overall mobility appears to have a positive effect on competence acquisition and career progress, this finding varies according to epistemic (disciplinary) and institutional (national system) factors, and gender.