Exploring the effects of mobility and foreign nationality on internal career progression in universities

Abstract This article explores how organizational mobility and foreign nationality affect a researcher’s chances of an internal career promotion in university systems that do not have rules preventing inbreeding where teaching occurs mostly English but local language. As case study, we examined the Flemish system, Dutch speaking part Belgium, developed expectations on for mobile researchers compared to non-mobile nationals. We use data all postdoctoral professorial staff between 1991 2017, total 14,135 scientists. calculated with competing risk model take time into account disentangle probability two mutually exclusive events: leaving university. The results show international reduced same university, scientists were also more likely leave any given These effects particularly strong at early stage: study period, 21.9% national postdocs became professor just 1.2% internationally foreigners. would suggest struggle advance universities lack little opportunity teach English.