On Tuesday, 14 April, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the package of amendments to the academic career regulation proposed by the Ministry of Education and Science, covering the Law on Higher Education Institutions, the Vocational Education Law, and the Scientific Activity Law. The amendments introduce a new academic career framework in higher education, professional higher education, and scientific activity, aimed at promoting the recruitment of highly qualified academic and research personnel.
The new academic career framework improves employment conditions for academic and research staff, including the possibility to conclude open‑ended employment contracts and to introduce tenure‑track and tenure positions. As a result of the reform, academic and research careers will become more attractive, facilitating the recruitment of highly qualified personnel. It will also expand opportunities to involve professionals with significant practical experience in the relevant field in academic and research activities, thereby strengthening the renewal of academic and research staff. Until now, academic and research careers were regulated separately, position structures were not aligned, employment conditions were more strictly regulated, and they were not linked to a unified career framework, limiting career continuity and staff mobility between institutions.
The aim of the amendments is to introduce a new academic career framework that defines the stages of academic and research careers, the corresponding academic and research staff positions, as well as the principles for recruitment, employment, and performance evaluation. The new framework will strengthen the competitiveness of higher education and research institutions and promote Latvia’s integration into the international academic and research environment.
Minister for Education and Science Dace Melbārde emphasizes: “The new academic career framework will enable institutions to plan human resources in the long term. This is essential for attracting and retaining highly qualified specialists. The amendments provide a stable foundation for the development of academic and research staff and create the prerequisites for higher‑quality higher education and scientific activity.”
To ensure more meaningful engagement in academic or research work and to support long‑term strategic human resource planning, the amendments stipulate that academic staff must have their primary employment at one higher education institution or college, while research staff must have their primary employment at one research institution. At the same time, it remains possible to carry out academic or research work at other institutions as visiting academic staff or in visiting academic positions, allowing institutions to engage personnel for specific tasks for a fixed period. Higher education institutions and research institutes will be able to introduce a tenure model—predictable progression from a lower to a higher position—ensuring academic freedom in research. This approach will expand institutions’ ability to build academic and research careers in line with international best practice and will support the attraction and retention of highly qualified personnel.
The amendment package has been developed on the basis of the Cabinet‑approved conceptual report “On the Introduction of a New Academic Career Framework in Latvia.” More than 50 representatives of the higher education and research sector participated in drafting the amendments, including representatives of universities, students, trade unions, and employer organizations. Most provisions are planned to enter into force on 1 December 2026, including those related to the introduction of academic and research career stages, improvements to the position structure, clarification of recruitment and appointment procedures, the introduction of the tenure model, the engagement of visiting academic staff and visiting academic positions, as well as improvements to data‑tracking regulations. As of 1 January 2029, provisions on performance evaluation, related procedures for termination of employment, and employment conditions—including primary employment at one institution—will enter into force. As of 1 January 2031, enhanced qualification requirements will apply, including the mandatory doctoral degree requirement for the position of researcher. Related Cabinet regulations will be developed in parallel.
The package of draft laws approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 14 April 2026 [LV] - “Grozījumi Augstskolu likumā”, “Grozījumi Profesionālās izglītības likumā” and “Grozījumi Zinātniskās darbības likumā”
