Diversity Award

Read more about the event, the award winner Valentina Gasser and Hochschul-Pride Zürich as well as of the finalists in Internal news.

Organizations

1st place: external page Wall of Scientists is a platform with portraits of inspiring scientists that is intended to open up a new perspective. This project promotes the visibility of diversity in science and gives scientists from different backgrounds a greater sense of belonging.

2nd place: external page MeWell is a group of students and employees from Zurich universities who are committed to improving mental well-being in the academic sector. They raise awareness of the topic of mental health with numerous events, offer a strong network of mutual support and have become the hub for all information on the topic of mental well-being on campus.

3rd place: LIMES (Ladies In Mechanical and Electrical Studies) is the women's commission of AMIV, the association for students in the departments of Mechanical and Process Engineering (D-MAVT) and Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (D-ITET). It was founded in January 2012 by women students and was the first women's network in engineering to emerge from ETH Zurich. Every semester, LIMES offers many different events for the women members of D-MAVT and D-ITET, such as LIMES Talks, Schülerinnentage or Frauenabende. Members of LIMES were the initiators of the pilot project Menstruation Station, which brought free period products to ETH Zurich.

Individuals

1st Place: Prof. Elizabeth Tilley demonstrates a strong commitment to inclusion and the advancement of underrepresented groups in science and is a tireless voice for women in engineering. With her commitment to equitable engineering education, which is evident in her numerous lectures (e.g. at the Water Summit for Global Development), in her publications and in her teaching activities (including supervising several postgraduate students at African universities), she has pushed forward the training of the next generation of engineers both in Switzerland and in the global south. Among other things, she used her inaugural lecture to focus on the work of her predominantly women and non-white young scientists.

2nd Place: Prof. Lavinia Heisenberg was nominated for second place because of her efforts to promote social justice and inclusion in science. Over the last few years she has organized many different workshops and seminars for women scientists, for example on topics such as balancing family and career. It is important to Prof. Heisenberg to awaken a fascination for space and physics in girls, which is why she often appears in public and gives inspiring lectures. In addition, in 2022 she acted as a mentor in the mentor program for the Women-in-Physics Career Symposium of the Swiss Physical Society.

3rd place: Enriqueta Vallejo-Yagüe was nominated for the founding and development of the digital platform “Wall of Scientists”, with which she shows enormous commitment to promoting the visibility of diversity in science. With Wall of Scientists, Enriqueta Vallejo-Yagüe highlights scientists from diverse backgrounds, past and present, whose scientific influence has often been overlooked.

3. Platz: Dr. Darcy Molnar kam 2005 als Gewinnerin des Marie-Heim-Vögtlin-Preises ans Institut für Umweltingenieurwissenschaften der ETH Zürich. Seit 2017 koordiniert Darcy das swissuniversities-Projekt Science Action in Schulen für nachhaltige Entwicklung (SAS4SD) mit Aktivitäten in Ghana und Kamerun. Seit 2019 ist sie Mitglied des Koordinationsteams des swissuniversities-Projekts Network for Water and Life (NEWAL) in Westafrika. Sie engagiert sich für die Förderung der Geschlechter-Gleichstellung in den Wissenschaften und gründete 2018 in Zürich die Gruppe external page 500 Women Scientists Zurich.

Organizations

1st place: The external page African Students Association of Zurich (ASAZ) was founded in 2015. The aim of the organization is to represent and promote the interests of African students at higher education institutions in Zurich. ASAZ not only wants to make integration into student life in Switzerland easier, but is also a platform for people who are interested in African culture and its diversity. The aim of ASAZ is to create more opportunities for African students in Zurich and at ETH Zurich and to implement projects between Switzerland and Africa.

2nd place: The Parity Group is a fluid group of students, assistants and professors from the Department of Architecture (D-ARCH) at ETH Zurich who meet regularly to discuss issues relating to gender and diversity. They organize the so-called Parity Talks every year.

3rd place: A joint award for those groups that strengthen women in science: LIMES (Ladies in Mechanical and Electrical Studies), WiNS (Society for Women in the Natural Sciences), SWiSH (Society for Women in the Social Sciences and humanities at ETH Zurich), external page TWIST (Towards more Women In Science and Technology) and Phimale(Commission for Equal Opportunities in the VMP).

Individuals

1st place: Dr. Chiara Decaroli is a doctoral student in the field of experimental quantum physics at ETH Zurich. Through various activities, she wants to create an environment that supports and encourages women in science. For example, she founded the “Hönggerberg Ladies Lunches” group, where doctoral students meet once a month for an informal lunch and exchange. She has also organized events for INSPIRE QSIT prize winners and worked on an NCCR women's campaign to inspire girls and young women to study STEM subjects.

2nd place: Jane Walden works as a research assistant in the Department of Glaciology at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology. Jane Walden initiated regular meetings within her research group on the topics of diversity, inclusivity and equality. These “lunch discussions” discussed topics such as awareness of implicit bias, minority representation in the geosciences, and mental health issues in science.

3rd place: Dr. Darcy Molnar came to the Institute of Environmental Engineering at ETH Zurich in 2005 as the winner of the Marie Heim Vögtlin Prize. Since 2017, Darcy has coordinated the swissuniversities project Science Action in Schools for Sustainable Development (SAS4SD) with activities in Ghana and Cameroon. Since 2019 she has been a member of the coordination team of the swissuniversities project Network for Water and Life (NEWAL) in West Africa. She is committed to promoting gender equality in science and founded the group 500 Women Scientists Zurich in 2018.