The decision to pursue a research career often means changing one's place of work and residence. This can be demanding and particularly stressful for the family and the partner. The partner's career perspective and the family's development prospects are decisive factors for a functioning work-life balance. Targeted welcome, integration and dual career services should be offered by employers to support researchers and their families in their new environment, to ensure inclusive and family-friendly staff development and the professional integration of the partner.

The dual career (DC) service supports partners and families of international key employees who are moving to Austria to pursue a professional career at a university or research organisation in Austria. Assistance is provided in particular in the area of job search for the partner.

There are several regional DC Service networks and special services for partners at Austrian universities and research institutions available:

• Five Styrian and one Carinthian universities have set up the common network DC Service Styria - Carinthia to create synergies for optimal use.
• The main purpose of the DC Service Support of the WWTF is the networking of member organisations from the research and scientific domain in the greater area of Vienna to improve the support for dual career couples. The target group for counselling are the partners of recent (or ongoing) senior research staff appointments of member organisations. This service takes place in close coordination with the DC Service Vienna - Lower Austria - Upper Austria.
• The three universities in the middle and western provinces of Austria established the DC Service Network Upper Austria - Salzburg - Tyrol (DC OOE-S-T) in 2017. The network is informal without a separate organizational structure, flexible in its approaches, fast in reacting to requests and open for new members (currently 6 members) who need to sign a letter of intent specifying the rights and duties of membership. Further information: University of Innsbruck | Johannes Kepler University Linz | University of Salzburg
• IST (Institute for Science and Technology) Austria offers individualized job search information and assistance to spouses and partners of newly appointed scientists and employees.

EURAXESS Austria was partner in the EU project EURAXESS TOP III "Making European research careers more attractive by developing new services and enhancing the current services of the EURAXESS network", Task "Career Management: The experienced researcher” (2015-2018, Gr No: 665934), funded by the EC under the Horizon 2020 programme under the task lead of the University of Copenhagen (UCPH).

The information gathered in a report has been submitted by a Dual Career and Integration Services Expert Group, encompassing of representatives from European institutions and universities from six countries: Austria, Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland.

The goal of this report is to analyse and map the landscape of DCIS in the six countries as well as exchange knowledge of best practice examples in order to develop and improve the services based on the needs of each institution. The final outcome of the report presents the expert group’s findings, as well as recommendations bearing in mind the national and local context.

Members of the Austrian DCIS Expert Group:

• Nicole Rogaunig, Vienna University of Economics and Business
• Ewa Vesely, Vienna University of Technology
• Maria Unger, Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education and Research, OeAD
• Armanda Pilinger, Graz University of Technology
• Hilde Janssens, Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Austria

For any further information please contact: Maria Unger, OeAD, maria.unger@oead.at.