This presentation is based on the PhD project in Sociology that I am developing at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto. The aim of the project is to understand and analyze the main transformations in the working conditions and career paths of academics, driven by public policies aimed at the higher education (HE) sector, as well as by european and national educational reforms. Based on a literature review and the results of exploratory interviews with key informants, we aim to highlight the main problems and challenges currently facing higher education institutions (HEIs) and the working conditions and careers of academic professionals.

The institutional reconfigurations of the HE and their impact on working conditions, professional trajectories and academic careers is an object of study that has not yet been widely explored, but which is of relevant scientific interest and for which sociological research is highly relevant.

The literature shows that public policies and educational reforms in HE, such as the New Public Management (NPM), the Bologna Process and the Legal Regime for Higher Education Institutions (RJIES in portuguese), have had a significant influence on HEIs. NPM, characterized by the introduction of business management practices in the public sector, often results in cuts in public funding and a reduction in democratic representation in the governing bodies of HEIs. In addition, the Bologna Process, with its curriculum reforms, has increased the workload of teachers, contributing to more strenuous working conditions. The RJIES imposed new requirements that intensified the precariousness of hiring academic professionals, accentuating insecurity and professional instability. Thus, the institutional reconfigurations driven by these policies have generated a scenario of growing precariousness and wear and tear in the working conditions and career paths of academics, underlining the need for a critical eye and interventions supported by sociological research.

The results of the interviews with key informants suggest precisely that the main dilemmas currently facing HEIs are related to their public underfunding and the loss of democracy and representativeness in their governing bodies. As far as academic professionals are concerned, the dilemmas mentioned by the interviewees relate to the increasing precariousness of their employment and unpleasant working conditions. According to the interviewees, the causes of these problems lie in the NGP, the Bologna Process and the RJIES. The NGP has promoted a more entrepreneurial management of HEIs, resulting in cuts in public funding and a consequent reduction in the democratic and representative nature of governing bodies. The Bologna Process, in turn, has brought curricular reforms that have increased the workload of teachers. The RJIES imposed new requirements that intensified the precariousness of hiring academic professionals and deteriorated their working conditions.

Keywords: Higher education institutions, academic professionals, public policies, educational reforms.