Dear members of the MOL,

The time has come: Our newsletter appears in a new look! Every month we report on current activities, events, courses and interesting facts about the Scientific Staff.

We wish you a good read and remain with best regards,
Your MOL board of directors

Monika Plozza (RF), Naemi Jacob (WF), Sandra Gratwohl (KSF), Tanya Kasper Wicki (GWM)

About the MOL

The MOL represents the doctoral students, the assistants, the scientific staff as well as the teaching and research assistants of the University of Lucerne in their scientific and professional interests. We are committed to ensure that the Scientific Staff is granted the position it deserves at the University with appropriate participation rights in research, teaching, services and academic self-governance. It represents its members vis-à-vis the committees of the university as a whole and promotes the exchange of information between its members and the elected representatives of the assistants.

Who are we?

In this column MOL representatives or members of the executive committee introduce themselves, in order to give an insight into the various field of activity of the organization.

Today in focus: Katharina Bursztyn, PhD student at the History Department and MOL representative on the Equal Opportunity Commission of the University of Lucerne.

"As a historian I am interested in social and everyday history. What is happening in the present, however, grabs me just as much and especially the topic of equal opportunities and equality in all its facets. It is therefore important to me to be able to work on these issues at my workplace. The opportunity to participate in the Equal Opportunity Commission via the MOL provides the basis for this."

AG: "(Pandemic) Working Conditions, Research Credit".

The WG "(Pandemic) Working Conditions, Research Credit" initiates short-term (pandemic) and longer-term improvements concerning the working and employment conditions of the Scientific Staff, as well as improvements in the distribution of the research credit. Interested members of the MOL are asked to contact philipp.blumremove-this.@remove-this.unilu.ch.

General Assembly of 02.11.2020

The general assembly of the MOL took place on 2 November 2020. At this point we would like to thank the MOL members for their numerous appearances and active participation. Highlights were the outlook on the activities in 2021 and the foundation of a new working group (see above for further information).

Guidelines for before, during and after the doctorate

How do I organize and finance my doctoral project? What can I expect from my supervisors? Or: What happens after the doctorate? These guidelines provide helpful answers to these and other questions that are repeatedly raised in the MOL. Members of the University of Lucerne can obtain the German-language publications free of charge as a printed version from the Office of Equal Opportunities (Office 3.A24).

Petition Academia

The MOL is a supporter of the national petition to end precarity at Swiss universities. The Petitions Committee calls on the Federal Assembly to take concrete measures to protect the health and private life of academic staff, to improve their working conditions and to guarantee the quality of academic teaching and research. It calls for the increased creation of permanent positions for researchers and teachers after the doctorate. The MOL recommends the petition for signature and forwarding.

Graduate Academy

The MOL is happy to draw attention to the courses of the Graduate Academy. The offer is a supra-faculty addition, which supports (post-) doctoral students on their way to their promotion, respectively in their academic and extra-academic career. The offer of subject-specific and interdisciplinary courses is intended to give (post-) doctoral students the opportunity to acquire additional skills for the academic and non-academic job market, to complement their research with generic skills courses, and to network and exchange ideas with other young researchers. The MOL is in close exchange with the Graduate Academy: Ideas and requests regarding the course offerings can be submitted at any time at molremove-this.@remove-this.unilu.ch.

MOL-Meetings

The MOL meets for lunch on the first Tuesday of each month to discuss current topics of the MOL and to coordinate future actions. Invited are all who are interested in the activities of the organization and/or have a concern for the MOL. Due to the pandemic, the meetings will take place via ZOOM for the time being, the serial link can be found here. The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 1, 2020 (12.30-13.30).

Suggestions and questions can be submitted to the Board of Directors at any time at molremove-this.@remove-this.unilu.ch. All members of the MOL can actively support the concerns of the MOL, be it at the monthly MOL meetings or in one of the working groups (like the WG: "Sustainability"). Vacant positions in the board of directors or the MOL representatives are advertised publicly.

*Translated with DeepL