Results

Motivation
In Switzerland, a high percentage of mid-level staff researchers face precarity, making them particularly vulnerable to harassment, unequal treatment compared to their colleagues (e.g. different statutes for PhD students) and other forms of implicit or explicit pressure in their workplace. At the University of Lausanne (UNIL), this is especially true for certain faculties, where many PhD students work without a contract, as well as for foreign researchers. Specifically, last year two distinct problems were brought to our attention. Firstly, we learned that several PhD students were carrying out their work on scholarships (granted either by their home country or by the Swiss Federal Council) that don't allow for a dignified life in Switzerland. Secondly, the two statutes that UNIL offers for PhD students under contract display a strong discrepancy in salary, work conditions and teaching obligations.

Action
With respect to these two points, we:

1. negotiated with the directorate of the university that the PhD students who were affected by these low stipends either had to be given a complementary contract or an additional scholarship to provide a liveable income.

2. launched a petition to guarantee equal treatment of all PhD students employed by UNIL, in the long run striving for a single PhD status with a stable 4- or 5-year contract, equal pay, baseline employment at 100% and at least 70% of their time dedicated to work related to their thesis. We are currently following up with the directorate at UNIL and are actively working together to put pressure on the SNSF and other funding sources to adjust their salary scales and contract conditions.

Furthermore, we regularly organize events that aim at supporting early-career researchers in navigating administrative issues, such as work permits, unemployment benefits or contract conditions. Another main initiative ACIDUL takes is individual support: Last year, we offered guidance to more than 50 affected researchers and provided them with a space of confidentiality as well as suggestions for solutions to their specific cases. Lastly, ACIDUL provides one-time financial support to PhD students affected by extraordinary precarity through our dedicated solidarity fund. Last year, we supported 17 PhD students, for a total of 12’750 francs.

Learning
Navigating university politics requires all involved stakeholders to show the willingness to move things ahead. At UNIL, we are in a very fortunate situation, given that our directorate has so far had an open ear for our ideas and complaints. We have so far been treated eye to eye and have been actively approached for feedback and to provide impulses. This is not only true for the directorate, but also the majority of commissions that we represent mid-level staff in, ranging from equality, diversity and inclusion to career development, sustainability, as well as everyday issues, such as access to the library and canteen infrastructures. One major hurdle to overcome as a university-wide association is the large diversity between faculties - with respect to working conditions, culture and needs. We therefore seek frequent exchange with faculty-specific associations in order to take all different viewpoints into account.

Contact
University of Lausanne
Philipp Walch, Kelly Harrison
Webpage: https://wp.unil.ch/acidul/
Email: acidul@unil.ch

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Motivation
The scientific environment puts a lot of pressure on young researchers. While resources are being developed by many universities, the networking between doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers, as well as their career development remains of high importance. Building these connections between PhD students and postdocs is an aspect that cannot be fully addressed by the academic institution, and we see hence our main motivation in creating a vibrant social space that allows for exchange, building friendships and sharing ideas. In addition to that, specific topics, such as mental health, harassment, failure or detours along the scientific career are not given sufficient visibility, despite these questions being of utmost priority for many young scientists.

Action
To better connect young scientists at UNIL and beyond, ADAS is organizing various events, which generally focus on a specific topic at hand: We give PhD students and postdoctoral researchers the opportunity to present their work at a recurring 1-day symposium and strongly encourage junior researchers to profit from the career development provided by the Graduate Campus at UNIL. Furthermore, we organize a mental health day each year to raise awareness of the impact of pressure in academic research. We also launched a series of events called "Growing Up In Science", where we invite professors, and non-academic professionals to discuss detours and failures along their career path. We thereby strive to better visibilize that non-linear professional trajectories are common and can be enriching. In addition to these events, as well as providing various networking opportunities (yearly barbecue, a pubquiz every semester, networking apéros), we represent PhD students and postdocs in university commissions and advocate for their rights and better work conditions.

Learning
Representing a group as diverse as the collective of junior researchers can be challenging and requires compromise. Additionally, the initiatives we offer live from the dedication and motivation of our active members, who contribute all their energy in addition to their research, thesis and teaching obligations. We are therefore constantly striving to make ADAS more visible to attract new ideas, impulses and motivated members.

Contact
University of Lausanne, Faculty of Biology and Medicine
Ali Hallaj, Marta Vilademunt, Harold Nicholay Diaz Ardila
Webpage: https://wp.unil.ch/adas/

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Motivation
The path to an appointment to a professorship always requires strategic consideration and decisions about priorities:

• What kind of position is attractive to me and what does that mean for the development of my academic profile?

• How can I balance different requirements, e.g. in teaching and research?

• What should I consider when building my individual research profile?

• How important is participation in academic (self-)administration and what kind of committees are useful?

• What kind of networks do I need and how much time and energy do I invest in building and maintaining them?

Action
The moderated peer coaching format offers the opportunity to discuss questions and issues that are important to postdocs with colleagues at a similar career stage. Throughout the whole process, participating postdocs are supported by an experienced academic coach.The framework for the coaching is formed by two in-person meetings at the beginning and the end. In between, participants meet as self-organized peer groups (suggest at least once per month). Additionally, participants receive inputs and impulses in digital form from the coach.

Learning
The combination of expert input, individual coaching, and peer coaching has thus far been well-received by participants and has led to professorial appointments. That said, there are inherent challenges, in terms of peer coaching, of bringing together researchers with varying degrees of experience and differing research fields. Though, for the most part, the interdisciplinary constitution of participants is a benefit for all, I would perhaps consider offering multiple courses aimed at different research areas. Also, it is difficult for one coach to have enough knowledge and insight into different appointment procedures on a global scale, perhaps having input from multiple experts with different expertise might be interesting.  

Contact Person
University of Zurich, Graduate Campus
Eric Alms
Webpage: https://www.grc.uzh.ch/en/skills.html
Email: eric.alms@uzh.ch

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Motivation
The University of Fribourg already had various offers for doctoral students, but they were all organised decentrally in the faculties, departments, and various offices. There were also major differences in how the supervision of doctoral students was organised. Satisfaction surveys among doctoral students and doctoral supervisors revealed potential for improvement in this area.

Action
The aim of the Graduate Campus is, on the one hand, to provide a platform for the existing programme for doctoral students and, on the other hand, to expand the programme for doctoral students to improve the framework conditions for doctoral studies. Various events and workshops for doctoral students and supervisors have been created for this purpose.

The Best Practices for Doctoral Studies were adopted by the Rectorate at the end of 2023 and clarify the framework conditions for doctoral studies and the supervision of doctoral students. They are divided into different chapters and cover all phases of doctoral studies, from recruitment and actual supervision to defence and further career planning. In addition to the best practices, further guiding documents (some of which are still in the pipeline) have been developed, such as an example of a doctoral agreement, a guide to employment and labour rights and obligations in a doctoral relationship.

Learning
The needs and experiences of all stakeholders must be considered. At the Graduate Campus of the UniFR, we worked closely with the faculties and departments and conducted satisfaction surveys to obtain the opinions of enrolled and exmatriculated doctoral students as well as active doctoral supervisors. The best practices were sent out for consultation in a multi-stage process and the feedback from the various stakeholders was incorporated.

Contact
Graduate Campus UniFr
Mirjam Andexlinger
Webpage: www.unifr.ch/graduatecampus
Email: graduatecampus@unifr.ch

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Motivation
Funding available to early career researchers for their own research project. With the GRC Career Grant we support postdocs and advanced doctoral researchers in situations where unforeseen costs or structural obstacles complicate a promising academic career.

Action
Projects can be applied for individually or as a group. The application volume is between CHF 5,000 and CHF 15,000. One repetition for the same project is possible in principle, but first-time applications are given priority. The call for applications for the GRC Career Grants is made twice a year. The format of eligible activities is deliberately kept open to accommodate the widest possible range of academic projects. The core objective of the GRC Career Grant is to ensure both an added value of the activity for the individual academic career of the grantee and ecologically and socially sustainable project planning. A necessary condition for funding through a GRC Career Grant is that the project cannot be funded through other means. In the award process, it is therefore checked whether other funding options are available.

Learning
A prerequisite for the submission of an application is a completed counseling interview with a Graduate Campus officer. This was implemented for two reasons: First, we use it as an artificial bottleneck to manage the applicants’ demand and expectations and to save resources on both sides. Second, it seemed to be necessary to be able to properly test eligibility and actual needs. The mechanism proved to be successful, yet it is time-intensive and cannot be automatized.

Contact Person
University of Zurich, Graduate Campus
Marco Toscano
Webpage: https://www.grc.uzh.ch/en/funding/grc-new-grants.html
Email: grants@grc.uzh.ch

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Motivation
Funding available to early career researchers for their own research project. With the GRC Short Grant we support postdocs and advanced doctoral researchers in situations where unforeseen costs or structural obstacles complicate a promising academic career.

Action
Projects can be applied for individually or as a group. The application volume is between CHF 500 and CHF 5,000. Repeated submissions for the same project are not possible. The call for GRC Short Grants is open continuously and applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. The submission date must be 3 months prior to the start of the activity. The format of eligible activities is deliberately kept open to accommodate the widest possible range of academic projects. The core objective of the GRC Short Grant is both to ensure an added value of the activity for the individual academic career of the grantee and ecologically and socially sustainable project planning. A necessary condition for funding through a GRC Short Grant is that the project cannot be funded through other means, we therefore rely heavily on a principle of matching-funds to incentivize other stakeholders (like collaborating groups, chairs, institutes and/or faculties) to live up to their responsibilities.

Learning
Assessing the degree to which the Short Grant scheme is used by other stakeholders to externalize costs has proven challenging and difficult to operationalize. Collecting more background information from supervisors and/or institutes through the applications might help but will have to be backed by the faculties and is not straightforwardly operationalized in a process general enough to cover all our target groups.

Contact Person
University of Zurich, Graduate Campus
Marco Toscano
Webpage: https://www.grc.uzh.ch/en/funding/grc-new-grants.html
Email: grants@grc.uzh.ch

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Motivation
Through the GRC Travel Grants, UZH Graduate Campus supports postdocs and doctoral researchers of UZH in situations where academic mobility can make a decisive contribution to a promising academic career. The support is explicitly intended as a supplement to the existing measures of UZH. The core aim of the GRC Travel Grants is both an added value of the activity for the individual academic career of the grantee and ecologically and socially sustainable project planning.

Action
The possible time frame of the funded activities is between 1 and 180 days. GRC Travel Grants are announced twice a year. The list of activities supported includes field study / data collection; research; academic meetings / conferences; Summer / Winter schools; research stay; research exchange with industry.

Learning
Due to overwhelming demand, the submission window had to be limited to 100 applications and closes automatically after the count of 100 submissions is reached. As a process, this is not optimal as it puts a premium on being fast instead of being thorough. Ultimately, this is an effect of the trade-off between basing decisions on collecting substantial information through the applications on the one hand and the high volume of travelling in current academic careers on the other. The small differences in quality between applications near the budget line, which separates accepted from rejected projects, suggest the idea of using a lottery for decision-making instead of relying on detailed evaluations.

Contact Person
University of Zurich, Graduate Campus
Marco Toscano
Webpage: https://www.grc.uzh.ch/en/funding/grc-new-grants.html
Email: grants@grc.uzh.ch

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Motivation
In 2024 the University of St.Gallen (HSG) launched funding for a “Paper Development Workshop”. The grant, which is designed to promote young researchers, enables HSG faculty to jointly develop publications or conference papers together with their PhD students and at the same time to promote (inter-)disciplinary exchange and networking between PhD students, postdocs, and faculty.

Action
Already running for the last 2 years now is the CHI writing retreat. The HSG School of Computer Science has since hosted the CHI writing retreat which brings researchers together for two and a half weeks directly prior to the CHI deadline. While many of these researchers are experienced CHI authors, some are engaging in this process for the first time. During the inaugural writing retreat held in 2022, attendees submitted a total of a dozen papers. The idea behind the retreat was to help participants collaborate efficiently and manage the stressful phase before the deadline in the company of like-minded people; and then to celebrate their submissions. Hoping to reiterate and build on this success, this year the computer science department at St. Gallen invited 21 researchers to come together, physically, and collaboratively, in the run-up to the deadline for CHI 2024.
Further details and experiences can be found in the blogpost “Doing CHI together: the benefits of a writing retreat for early-career HCI researchers”.

Contact
University of St.Gallen - Vice Presidents Board of Research and Faculty
Sabrina Helmer
Webage: Early Career Programme (Paper Development Workshop)
Email: fd@unisg.ch 

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Motivation
A closer look at the PhD endeavour revealed that this journey may at times be strenuous and a somewhat lonely path. Students tend to underestimate the time required to actually sit down and write and are at times somewhat lost. Writing is a core business in science and also a practice. Yet, students simply feel stuck at times when it comes to structure, content, argumentation, time management, balancing family life and writing time. A kind of writer`s block may even pop up and that`s when things become a bit bumpy. When they come to realise, it might be a little late, but far from too late, and writing may become an intense endeavour that can induce both stress and discomfort. This is a spell that can be broken. In recent years HSG has taken measures to support students toward their PhD.

Action
Everything started off with an online training called "Online Writing Retreat" when it became clear that a secured time away from everyday life as well as expert support on "how" to write are of great benefit for phd students. The idea of a PhD Writing Retreat came up and was launched for the first time in 2021. Groups of PhD Students (3-5) were invited to formally apply for funding. Successful applicants were given the opportunity to spend 5-7 days away on a Writing Retreat. During the retreat the group had to dedicate their time exclusively to writing papers or chapters that are part of their thesis. Selection criteria included, amongst others, the progress of the dissertation, how individuals and the group are expected to benefit from the retreat, the diversity of the group members, the destiny as well as environmental sustainability aspects.

Prior to leaving for the retreat, successful groups are asked to arrange a kick-off meeting with a writing coach to jointly develop a weekly structure and learn about productivity methods. In addition, every group member has the option of booking an individual coaching session during the retreat to overcome possible difficulties (i.e. writing blocks) in one’s own writing process. Every PhD student made use of this.

Upon finishing the retreat, groups have to hand in a detailed report about the output achieved as well as activities during the retreat.

Up until now we had a total of 31 groups (121 PhD students) applying and the funding to let 12 Groups (44 Phd Students) go on a writing retreat within the DACHL Region.

Overall, the writing retreat is a great success for all participants, and we are excited to continue to support more HSG PhD students in the years to come.

Quotes from participants:

• “This unique week during our PhD at the University of St. Gallen will remain a special memory for us. We would like to thank you very much for all your valuable support.”

• “We can all say with the utmost satisfaction that we were able to achieve a significant jump in our writing during “Writing Retreat”.

• “Thanks to our favorable and constructive team dynamics, we were not only successful in making great progress in our individual papers, but we also gained long-term motivation for the continuation of our dissertations.”

• "Our joint time away allowed us to make dedicated progress on our individual projects, exchange ideas on each other’s work and take a break from the daily tasks at our respective chairs. We are very grateful for having been selected for the grant."

Contact
University of St.Gallen - Vice Presidents Board of Research and Faculty
Sabrina Helmer
Webpage: HSG Early Career Programme (Writing Retreat for HSG PhD Students)
Email: fd@unisg.ch

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Motivation
The doctorate and the post-doctorate can be particularly challenging. While stress often peaks towards the end, significant difficulties can also arise during earlier stages. Stress resilience and frustration tolerance may suddenly decline, leading to uncertainty and anxiety about next steps. In such situations, coaching can be invaluable, helping postdocs and doctoral candidates manage challenges, successfully complete their qualification and prepare for their next career move. Even highly successful early career researchers can benefit decisively from coaching by receiving targeted support to advance their academic career, including progression toward or obtaining a professorship.

Action
The coaching program at the University of Zurich offers postdocs and (advanced) doctoral candidates professional support from experienced coaches specialized in the academic field. Through up to 5 sessions, participants follow a process-oriented approach to analyze their situation, enhance self-reflection, and develop personalized action plans. The goal is to empower early career researchers to move forward with clarity and confidence. Interested candidates arrange a preliminary meeting to clarify their individual situation and coaching needs. All inquiries are treated confidentially. To ensure comprehensive support and efficient use of resources, other services may also be considered as alternatives or supplements to coaching. Coaching topics are varied and often include personal, professional, and academic challenges. Typical requests range from career planning and transitions, over self-management and productivity, to conflict resolution. They also include support with appointment procedures, grants and job interviews as well as writing research proposals.

Learning
The coaching program, established by the UZH Graduate Campus in 2019, has shown clear demand, but it takes time to become widely known. Participants are informed through internal communication and peer recommendations, while some are actively seeking coaching during times of significant stress. The coaching service requires financial and human resources, including a network of suitable and experienced coaches. Expanding the coach pool to address the wide range of concerns is essential for meeting divers coaching requests. Not all applicants require (full) coaching; sometimes, a comprehensive preliminary consultation is sufficient. The full cost coverage of the coaching increases the low threshold, an alternative would be a cost-sharing model.

Contact Person
University of Zurich, Graduate Campus
Claudia Vorheyer
Webpage: https://www.grc.uzh.ch/en/counseling/coaching.html
Email: claudia.vorheyer@grc.uzh.ch

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Motivation
The University of Zurich hosts a variety of contact points and advice centers that address different concerns and target groups, which brings both benefits and potential challenges. The Network of Conflict Mediators was established not only to celebrate the diversity of these contact points but also to address the structural and everyday challenges faced by their members. It aims to connect individuals involved in counseling and conflict management, fostering better communication and collaboration among them. Additionally, the network strengthens its members in their roles by providing opportunities for knowledge exchange, support, and shared good practices. It also offers a platform for introducing new and existing advice centers or measures and discussing the effectiveness of current conflict prevention and management strategies.

Action
The Network of Conflict Mediators is designed for individuals engaged in counseling tasks and responsible for conflict prevention or management at UZH. This includes, among others, coordinators of doctoral programs and graduate schools, university-wide ombudspersons for research integrity, members of the Office for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, as well as professionals from the Employee Assistance Office and Psychological Counseling Services. Additionally, it encompasses employees from the Office of Human Resources and contact persons for advice and support concerning sexual harassment.

The network is overseen by the Coordination Office of the Graduate Campus and is shaped by a steering committee of professionals and semi-professionals with relevant experience and expertise. Networking meetings are held twice a year, inviting members to participate in discussions about current topics and initiatives. Each meeting includes both a formal agenda and an informal part, allowing members to exchange experiences and ideas freely. To support network members in their roles, steering committee professionals or other experts can offer inputs and workshops on topics such as communication skills and boundary-setting with advisees.

Learning
Establishing the network and organizing networking meetings is a valuable initiative, as it has become clear that contact persons and support centers are not always fully aware of each other. Additionally, personal interactions facilitate connections, exchanges, and triage in daily work. It has been observed that each networking meeting should ideally focus on a single topic, allowing sufficient time for discussion and exploration of its application and implications, as requested by the members. While it is challenging to make definitive statements about the anticipated outcomes of the network and its meetings, they contribute to raising awareness of new relevant topics and initiatives, as well as facilitating collaboration and connections among members. However, coordinating the network and the steering committee involves administrative and organizational efforts that require dedicated personnel resources.

Contact Person
University of Zurich, Graduate Campus
Claudine Leysinger
Webpage: https://www.grc.uzh.ch/en/grc/network-conflict.html
Email: claudine.leysinger@grc.uzh.ch

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Motivation
Supervision quality is vital for the success of doctoral researchers, directly affecting their academic progress and well-being. However, inconsistencies in supervision practices can lead to varying experiences: some receive strong support for their research and career development, while others might face insufficient guidance, unclear expectations, or experiencing conflicts with their supervisors. Due to dependency relationships, doctoral candidates commonly hesitate to address issues or assert their rights. By allowing protected, anonymous feedback, this project aims to identify strengths and weaknesses in supervision practices and contribute to the professionalization of doctoral supervision.

Action
In Fall 2024, the University of Zurich launched a pilot project to monitor the quality of doctoral supervision through a standardized, anonymous online survey. Conducted annually, the survey allows doctoral candidates to voluntarily provide personalized feedback on their supervision and research environment, specifically addressing their supervisors or superiors. The second part of the survey, which does not refer to specific individuals, focuses on broader experiences at UZH, including issues such as discrimination, sexual harassment, or scientific misconduct – this setting is essential for legal reasons. Data protection for both doctoral candidates and supervisors is a top priority. Supervisors’ data is pseudonymized, with feedback only used if a minimum response threshold is met or after a moratorium period. Aggregated feedback is discussed with supervisors during faculty management meetings hold by the deans, aiming to reinforce positive supervision practices and address potential issues. Additionally, the survey informs doctoral candidates about their rights and obligations, such as the doctoral agreement, annual career discussions, employment conditions, and conflict management – areas of which they are not always fully aware, as experience has shown.

Learning
It has been important and helpful to involve key stakeholders in the development process of this measure. Additionally, the support and decisiveness of university leadership are crucial for its implementation. Finally, the trust of doctoral candidates and their response rate to the survey is critical to its effectiveness. The same applies to the openness of the supervisors with regard to the feedback received and their willingness to engage in learning processes based on this feedback. At this stage, it is too early to comment on the measure’s implementation, results, or impact, and the associated learnings are yet to be determined.

Contact Person
University of Zurich, Graduate Campus
Claudia Vorheyer
Webpage: https://www.monitoring-doc.uzh.ch/en.html
Email: claudia.vorheyer@grc.uzh.ch

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Motivation
An academic career track is an ultramarathon that is often attempted to be run as a sprint. This approach tends to leave researchers with little time or energy for life outside of work and very few resources to cope when faced with challenges. However, a healthier approach to research is possible and is essential if researchers are to build a sustainable career in academia. Despite increasing diversity, researchers tend to harbor a common chorus of voices in their heads. Voices that demand perfection, or that tell them they aren’t good enough and they don’t belong here; voices that have driven them to excel, but that also charge a high tax. A tax on their emotional, mental, and physical health.

Action
We have introduced a wide range of courses on mental health, especially over the last several years. Though we have had courses on dealing with stress and time management for over a decade, more recently we have addressed mental resilience and well-being. The courses enable participants to:

• Identify the common challenges facing early career researchers and normalize the experience for what it often is – a rollercoaster of highs and lows, wins and losses, and hard work.

• Identify ineffective coping strategies (e.g. procrastination) and learn how to approach challenging or unenjoyable tasks through a different lens.

• Learn how shifting one's mindset can help reframe thoughts, feelings, and outcomes using a range of psychological tools, including mindfulness practices.

• Begin to understand the concept of self-compassion and how they can benefit from a kinder voice in their head.

• Reduce stressors and strains and focus on their career.

• Learn to observe stress and challenges (e.g. decision-making or navigating conflict) from a perspective of mindfulness and how they can be dealt with skillfully.

Learning
It is certainly a challenge to facilitate courses on mental health that can address the broad range of concerns affecting researchers. Expectation management in the course descriptions is thus important, to avoid what kind of issues can and cannot be tackled. The focus of such courses is less on solving problems and far more on preventing them – which means researchers should be encouraged to join at an early stage in their academic career and not wait until issues have manifested. Thus, in the future, I would explore how to better reach early academic researchers at the earlier stage in their careers.    

Contact Person
University of Zurich, Graduate Campus
Eric Alms
Webpage: https://www.grc.uzh.ch/en/skills.html
Email: eric.alms@uzh.ch

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