Dear members of the MOL

The year is coming to an end. The MOL looks back on an eventful 2020: In the middle of the lockdown the monthly MOL meetings were still held, in the summer a new board of directors was formed and with it the first working groups were established. At this point we would like to thank all members for their great support. We are looking forward to the New Year with great anticipation: many projects are in the starting blocks and can take off in 2021 with your active participation. With this in mind: We are looking forward to your continued engagement.

We wish you a merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and all the best for 2021!

With kind regards
Your MOL board of directors

Monika Plozza (RF), Naemi Jacob (WF), 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: Cyrill Mamin, senior assistant at the Department of Philosophy and MOL representative on the Teaching and Learning Committee of the University of Lucerne (ULEKO).

"Research and teaching are two equally weighted parts of my philosophical work. In research, intuition has long preoccupied me, and now I’m interested in the linguistic-philosophical foundations of conceptual change. In teaching, I especially love the engaged discussions with students about truth, knowledge, thinking, feeling and much more. It's good that the MOL and the ULEKO exist! I like to learn about the perspectives of the mid-level faculty in these groups. Among other things the Teaching and Learning Committee supports innovative teaching projects as well as understanding the current experiences with (non-)digital teaching, which will shape our further work."

Accreditation of the University of Lucerne: Your vote counts

Between 2019 and 2021, the University of Lucerne will undergo institutional accreditation, which will examine the quality management system. For the on-site visit to the institutional accreditation, we are looking for up to 10 persons from the mid-level faculty to participate in an interview on quality management system at the University of Lucerne. The interview will take place on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 between 13.30 and 14.30 hours. The participants will be prepared for the interview in a briefing in February 2021.

Interested parties can contact us until December 20, 2020: molremove-this.@remove-this.unilu.ch

Success for the Working Group on Sustainability: Unanimous acceptance of the proposal to the Senate

At the Senate meeting of 30 November 2020, MOL representatives of the recently founded Working Group on Sustainability were able to obtain a unanimous acceptance of the proposal of the Working Group on Sustainability. The proposal calls for the University to develop a sustainability strategy in order to implement the self-imposed goal of "net zero 2030". To this end, it is establishing institutional bodies (specialist unit and commission) and will allocate the necessary resources from the 2021 budget year. The extended university executive board (EUL) will implement it with concrete measures in 2021.
* The Senate is the university’s supreme body in academic matters. 

Annual Report 2019/2020

The annual report 2019/2020 was presented and approved at the AGM on 02.11.2020. The report is publicly available here (available in German only).

Better Science Initiative: Sustainable, diverse and equal opportunity science

The Better Science Initiative of the University of Berne calls for a rethinking in the academic world towards more sustainability, diversity and equal opportunities. With a list of ten separate calls for action, the initiators draw attention to specific issues (quality over quantity, conscious prioritization, etc.) and thus create a basis for change. If you would like to learn more about the initiative and support a change with your signature, you can find more information here.

SNSF Media Courses for Researchers 2021

The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Mercator Switzerland Foundation support researchers in communicating their work to a wider public. They jointly offer German and French-language media courses for researchers. The course dates 2021 and the expanded course offering have been published, and registrations are now being accepted. All course dates remain valid and are currently being implemented online. In the one-day media training (also available as online course) you will learn how to make a convincing appearance in front of camera and microphone. You also have the opportunity to meet with writing coaches in a one- or two-day format and learn non-scientific writing techniques for an effective communication of your topics to the public. The one-day social media workshop specifically strengthens your skills for strategies and presentations in social media. In the two-day social video course, you will learn the most important steps from the idea to the finished video for social media. Further information on the SNSF media courses can be found here. (SNF media courses)

MOL-Meetings

The MOL meets during lunch on the first Tuesday of each month to discuss current topics concerning the mid-level faculty 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, 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, 5 January 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 mid-level faculty can actively support the concerns of the MOL, whether at the monthly MOL meetings or in one of the working groups (on topics such as Pandemic working conditions, Research Credit or Research Loan). Vacant positions in the board of directors or the MOL representations are publicly advertised.

This newsletter was translated into English by Kathryn Dawson Townsend. Many thanks!