Junjie Tian

Junjie Tian

March 31, 2026

Universities, Young faculty, Career development.

Against the backdrop of increasingly intense global competition in higher education, young university faculty, as the future backbone of the academic community, have seen the quality of their career development become a critical factor determining the core competitiveness of universities. Compared to the prevalent challenges of "involution", time anxiety, and "up-or-out" pressure faced by young faculty in China, developed countries represented by the United States, Germany, and Japan have established relatively mature and distinctive support systems for young faculty’s career development. Building upon a review of domestic relevant research, this paper systematically analyzes the core concepts and practical experiences of typical foreign models in institutional design, cultural cultivation, and pathway support. The study finds that their common strength lies in providing young faculty with clear developmental pathways and sustained momentum from post-recruitment adaptation to independent academic growth through structural institutional reforms, systematic professional support, refined career guidance, and the cultivation of academic community culture. These experiences offer valuable insights for China to address the practical predicament of young faculty development and construct a localized support ecosystem characterized by greater humanistic care, academic rationality, and sustainability.

© 2026, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license