A bad backache one Christmas Eve on a Swedish farm had Marie Bruvik Heinskou changing tack. Because even though she was awarded a coveted permanent position as associate professor in sociology, the price for working as a researcher was just too high.

Nina Grønlykke Mollerup does research and fieldwork on dictatorships, and so she has to be careful about what she writes and comments on. But as an employee on a temporary contract it is particularly difficult to talk to the university about safety.

Timing, serendipity, and networking. This was how Jakob Johan Demant — Head of Studies at the Department of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen — landed his permanent position in research. You need to know when to apply for jobs outside your network, he says. As you will not be rewarded for loyalty.

In the future we may be able to replace pregnancy with an extracorporeal, artificial, uterus. And what does mum and dad mean anyway? A research team has set out to investigate. They hope, at the same time, to challenge the ideal of the nuclear family .

Three experts offer their take on how new graduates can get a job faster, even after the corona crisis. »We are dealing with some young people who can have their careers permanently scarred unless we do something,« they say.

François was the funniest man I have ever known. With his extraordinary memory and linguistic prowess – and his talent as an actor – he always had a funny joke to tell, even when he was seriously ill.

It's tough to complete a PhD without a disability. But what’s life like as a young researcher if you are dyslexic, have an intestinal disease, or use a wheelchair?