Anyone work in a German University?

[Booboostwo]

I have the possibility of applying for an academic post in a German University. I used to be a lecturer in England and I am familiar with that system but have no idea of what things are like in Germany.

I know about the ever increasing admin loads, QA assessments, REF pressures and the endless search for research grants, but is that similar in Germany?

Anyone?

Booboo, dh works in research (medical) in Germany.
His position has just been made permenant so the pressure is off but before that he had to constantly worry about funding and getting the next contract. He applied for several research grants a year to make sure that atleast one made it to the department.
I have no way to compare the systems but if you have any specific questions I can ask dh.

Just wrote a reply and it vanished!

Thank you. I am applying for a w2 position in the humanities. If you could ask him:

Is there a perceived distinction between research and teaching and is research considered more important?

Is there a pressing need to apply for research grants in the humanities?

What is the hiring/promotions system like, that is, I know the basics of how it works in principle but is it meritocratic and open to international candidates in practice?

Also just wrote a long reply which vanished.
I did my PhD and a bit of teaching in the UK, DH is a professor here in Germany.

Caveat: my department in the UK had a lot of problems and came very close to being shut down altogether. So my basis of comparison may be a bit off.

Admin. Considerably less than the UK.
Research considered better than teaching as able to bring in more money through research grants. But teaching not looked as down upon in comparison as it was in the UK IME.

Need to apply for research grants: Yes, constantly, even when tenured.

Lots of time wasted on Excellence Initiatives and the like.

Hiring can be meritocratic. DH, for example, is non-EU and did his PhD at a non-EU uni, but got here nonetheless.

But whether meritocratic or not probably depends greatly on the actual place you are applying to, rather than being something across the board for all of Germany.

One thing to know is that, depending on the uni, the hiring process can be much more drawn out than other countries. Lots of international applicants end up not coming here because they got a job somewhere else while the decision here hadn't yet been made.

That's extremely helpful thank you very much. The department I am applying to is relatively young, interdisciplinary and has a few international members already so here's to hoping!

Dh basically said exactly what anzu wrote! Especially
the bit about the constant need to apply for research grants even when tenured.

His department has two people employed to concentrate on applying for grants and going to endless meetings for Excellence Initiatives and the like, one is a W2 professor. He still has to do a couple a year though. He's one level below W2 (Privatdozent).
Wishing you good luck with the application!

Thank you! Shame about the grants, very similar to the UK system and very often a complete waste of time!