KIRD moves to improve conditions for science and engineering postdoctoral researchers

The Korea Institute of Research and Development for Science and Technology (KIRD) is moving to establish standard guidelines to improve the research environment and support career development for postdoctoral researchers in science and engineering.

KIRD announced it will hold an information session on the "Standard Guidelines for Supporting Science and Engineering Postdoctoral Researchers" on Thursday at the Severance Building conference room at Yonsei University in Seoul. The session will bring together postdoctoral researchers, universities and research institutions.

The session will introduce a draft of the standard guidelines drawn up in June and gather feedback on improvements needed for practical application in the field. KIRD plans to incorporate the input to strengthen the guidelines and broaden their acceptance across institutions.

Postdoctoral researchers are scholars who, after earning a doctorate in science or engineering, take up positions at domestic or overseas universities or research institutions for a set period to build original research experience and grow into professional researchers. Systematic support is considered critical at this stage, as it represents both the most productive period of a researcher's career and the early phase of their path toward becoming an independent researcher.

Many postdoctoral researchers have long worked in non-regular employment, leaving their status and working conditions as independent researchers inadequately protected. The absence of a dedicated support system has drawn repeated criticism that research environment improvements, better treatment and career development assistance have fallen into a policy blind spot.

To address these shortcomings, the government in December last year codified a legal basis for supporting postdoctoral researchers in the Special Act on Support for Science and Engineering to Strengthen National Science and Technology Competitiveness. The revision also established a legal foundation allowing universities and research institutions to receive standard guidelines on postdoctoral researcher support.

KIRD, working with the Ministry of Science and ICT, began drafting the standard guidelines based on the amended enforcement decree of the science and engineering support act. A draft reflecting input from the research community was completed in June.

Bae Tae-min, president of KIRD, said postdoctoral researchers in science and engineering are "core contributors to scientific, technological and industrial advancement at universities, government-funded research institutes and other frontline research settings." He added that "it is vital to build a foundation in research environment and career development so that those who play a central role in research innovation can grow into outstanding scientists and engineers." Bae said KIRD would "actively listen to voices from the research field through this session and reflect them in the guideline development process," and pledged to "do its utmost to lay the groundwork for postdoctoral researchers to grow into independent researchers."