We are currently looking for candidates for a co-president position (unpaid). Please find the call here. The deadline to apply is November 15th.
REFLEKT’s article on the abuse of power in Swiss academia
“«Have you experienced abuse of power at your university?» we asked in a nationwide survey. Within a very short time, 180 people responded. Their accounts reveal a structural problem in academia.”
We are well aware of this and have been fighting against it for years, yet we can never become accustomed to the sheer scale of abuse of power in academia.
Recherche-Team REFLEKT’s investigation has given our colleagues a voice and thoroughly investigated the causes of this widespread abuse of power, for which we are extremely grateful.
These are not isolated cases, but rather systemic dysfunction that allows a few people to destroy others with complete impunity, and it must stop!
You can find the article in English and German on REFLEKT’s website.
Action Day – thank you
We would like to thank everyone that took part in the action day on October 1st, be it in Bern or in their place of residence. Together, we expressed a clear no to the budget cuts!
Our board was present on the demonstration in Bern. Our co-presidents, Laure Piguet and Joanna Haupt, delivered a speech in French and German, respectively. In case you missed it, you can find the text of the speech here.
Action day – October 1st
From 2026, the Swiss Federal Council plans to slash federal contributions by 460 million francs per year in universities, the ETH domain, universities of applied sciences, and funding bodies such as the SNSF
If Parliament accepts these cuts, the consequences will be devastating:
- More job insecurity – disappearance of 1,500 SNSF positions and 500 projects
- Higher tuition fees – education is a right, not a privilege
- Lower education quality – fewer resources, overworked lecturers
- Weaker research – erosion of the reputation of Swiss higher education institutions
We urge politicians to reconsider these cuts and protect funding to preserve academic excellence, high-quality research and teaching, and accessible education for all!
actionuni and its member organisations are organising an action day to protest against these planned budget cuts on October 1st. The national event will take place in Bern. We will meet at 17:00 on 01.10.2025 at the Federal Square. Please join us and say no to budget cuts!
If you want to take part in the protest in your city, please visit the website or contact your local mid-level staff association: see our member organisations. If you want to spread the word, please feel free to share our flyers available in different language versions:
actionuni has a fresh new look!
If you spot our new logo out in the wild, don’t worry – your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you! We have given ourselves a much-needed makeover with a brand new logo and corporate identity.
But rest assured, behind the shiny new look, we are still the same actionuni you know: fighting for the rights of mid-level academic staff at research institutions across Switzerland.
Call for delegates
We are currently looking for new delegates to represent actionuni in the Swiss Accreditation Council, Eurodoc and in the area of Open Science. Please find the details for each position below.
Call for a delegate to the Swiss Accreditation Council
Call for a delegate for Open Science
Call for a delegate to Eurodoc
THE CALL FOR THE OPEN SCIENCE AND EURODOC POSITIONS IS CURRENTLY CLOSED.
Response to the austerity measures consultation
Actionuni has responded to the consultation on the federal government’s austerity measures. We strongly reject these unfair and counterproductive cuts, which threaten the Swiss higher education and research system. There is no justification for such drastic spending cuts: Switzerland’s finances are healthy, and now is time to invest in the future. The rationale given by the report’s authors as to why certain areas have been targeted appear arbitrary, and their arguments are flawed. If we do not push back, these unfair cuts will fall entirely on the precarious mid-level staff and students. Please find actionuni’s response in the links below:
Press release: 27.02.25
Anti-austerity meeting
The Federal Council confirmed today it will proceed with the plans for the major federal budget cuts (approximately 500 million per year). These reductions will significantly impact (among others):
– The ETH
– The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), affecting future doctoral candidates, postdocs, and Ambizione fellows
– The students, by affecting the teaching quality and student mobility funding
Today, actionuni and Swiss universities’ mid-level staff associations held their first meeting to address these austerity measures. More information will follow.
Swiss-wide Mental Health Survey Among Mid-level Staff
Mental health is crucial, especially in the high-pressure environments of higher education. As we do not know exactly how mid-level academic staff in Switzerland is doing and what could be done to improve the situation, we established this survey to uncover challenges and opportunities for improvement both locally and nationally.
Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/SWiMS24
We invite you to share your thoughts and experiences regarding your work environment. Your input is essential for us to work towards enhancing the well-being of members of the Swiss research community.
For any questions or further information about the survey, please contact us at survey@actionuni.ch.
Your survey team, Neele Heiser, Rachel Demolis, Timon Elmer, Zoran Kovacevic and Patricia Eiche