Dear members of the MOL

With today's mail we would like to draw your attention, among other things, to a message from the Human Resources Department regarding the contract renewal of (senior) assistants in the "Good to Know" section. Below you will also find an appeal to sign the open letter to the Federal Council "Sciences and Education need a reliable relationship with the EU". In addition, we cordially invite you to the public kick-off meeting for the advertised working groups of the MOL, which will take place on Thursday, May 6, 2021 (5-6p.m.) per ZOOM (for more information see below). We encourage further interested people to participate in the working groups / the kick-off event.

With warm regards
Your MOL Board
Monika Plozza (RF), Naemi Jacob (WF), Noemi Honegger (TF), Sandra Gratwohl (KSF), Tanya Kasper Wicki (GWM)

In this section, MOL representatives or members of the board introduce themselves in order to give an insight into the many activities in which MOL members are involved.

Today in focus: Charlotte Sieber-Gasser, senior research assistant in the Department of Public Law and MOL representative in the Senate.

"Understanding the big picture and anticipating its effects even in small details – this is part of my research and teaching in constitutional and international law, as well as part of representing MOL interests in the Senate. The Senate is where the course is set – for the entire university and and thereby also for the entire mid-level staff. It's an exciting, impactful role that I'm happy to pass on to a successor this summer!" 

Teaching situation of mid-level staff

Swissuniversities (umbrella organization of Swiss universities) has a teaching delegation in which the mid-level staff (actionuni) is represented as a permanent guest. The representative of actionuni asks us for feedback: Are there any topics, questions, concerns regarding teaching that anybody of you as a mid-level staff want to bring in/to be discussed? We will be happy to collect your input and forward it to actionuni. The actionuni representative will bundle the feedback and bring it to a next meeting of the Swissuniversities Teaching Delegation.  
Any input on our teaching situation is welcome: Please send your input latest by April 30 to Cyrill Mamin (ULEKO representative MOL): cyrill.maminremove-this.@remove-this.unilu.ch.

Kick-off event for the working groups

The new working groups of the MOL start their work! We invite you to a kick-off event on Thursday, May 6, 2021 from 5-6pm, so that all members of the working groups and interested parties as well as the MOL board members  get to know each other. Will you be there? Contact molremove-this.@remove-this.unilu.ch. We look forward to seeing you! Click here for the ZOOM invitation.

Open letter to the Federal Council

For a successful future, especially young researchers and people in education depend on regulated relations with the EU. The MOL Board has therefore co-signed the open letter to the Federal Council, which was just sent to the entire Federal Council this morning! In this letter, the Federal Council is asked to strengthen regulated and stable relations with the EU for the benefit of research and education. In the current debate about the future relationship with the EU, the prospects for trainees, students, and researchers must not be forgotten! In order for the letter to have an optimal impact, as many signatures as possible will continue to be collected online. Join us and sign the open letter here (only available in german and french).   
For social media, you are invited to use a template for a post.

Petition Academia: Update

The national petition to end precariousness at Swiss universities is making great progress: it has already collected 6989 signatures! In order to reach the goal of 8000 signatures, the committee needs further support. Commit yourself with your signature for a sustainable and dynamic science sector in Switzerland. The petition is addressed to the Federal Assembly and demands that the employment and promotion policy for young researchers be reviewed. The core demand is that a significant number of permanent academic positions be created. The aim of these reforms is to stabilize the academic mid-level faculty through permanent positions and to end the structural insecurity of the Swiss academic system.

Request for extension of employment for (senior) assistants

In the past few days, the Human Resources Department of the University of Lucerne has received requests from assistants regarding the extension of their temporary employment. Esther Tremp, Head of Human Resources, provides information on the current Corona situation.

Graduate Academy

Are you looking for networking strategies or tips on academic teaching and research? The Graduate Academy offers once again a varied and diverse range of courses in the spring semester of 2021. Click here for the course schedule.

MOL-Meetings

The MOL meets during lunch on the first Tuesday of each month to discuss current topics concerning the mid-level staff? and to coordinate future activities. All who are interested in the activities of the organization and/or have a concern for the MOL are welcome to attend. Due to the pandemic, meetings will continue to be held via ZOOM, the series link is available here. Due to the Easter break, the next MOL meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 13, 2020 (12:30pm-1:30pm).