We Over Me – AVETH’s leadership team unveiled

For them, it is important that researchers’ work is recognised both by the university and the general public. “We as a presidency advocate for tangible improvements in everyday life, for example, regarding cafeteria prices, salaries and ASVZ sports programmes for psychological and physical recovery,” they say, adding: “Our goal is for scientific staff to receive the resources and support they need for an academic career.”

Team spirit built on three pillars

With their varied academic and personal backgrounds, the three heads of AVETH bring diverse perspectives to address challenges and question each other’s views. They focus on building bridges between different stakeholders. Each of them contributes their expertise and knowledge to shape and reinforce every part of the connection they build together.

Cara Sickinger studied biology in Munich before starting her doctorate in Switzerland. For the past four years, she has been working as a doctoral researcher in Nicola Aceto’s Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, investigating the process of metastasis and characterising circulating tumour cells in skin cancer.

During her studies, she actively participated in the student council for several years, gaining valuable insights into university structures and the benefits of active involvement. That’s why she aims, as co-president, to build bridges between the departmental scientific staff associations (DAs) and AVETH as an umbrella organisation while continuously strengthening trust between scientific staff and the ETH Executive Board. Furthermore, she is dedicated to maintaining clear and effective communication between ETH bodies and the scientific staff, facilitating open and transparent exchange.

Anastasiia Shynkarenko is a postdoctoral fellow at the Swiss Seismological Service (SED). She works in the field of engineering seismology with a focus on earthquake-induced phenomena and local seismic hazard assessment. She joined the AVETH board in 2021 while doing her doctorate at ETH. After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, she became more actively involved in AVETH and co-founded the Ukrainian Association of Students and Academics in Zurich (UASAZ).

As vice president, she focuses on building bridges within the ETH community via the departmental associations and within AVETH working groups, which constitute an essential part of AVETH. Being directly affected by the geopolitical situation, she knows the importance of the university as an open space for exchange with the community and of the support academic staff might need for acquiring information and resources.

Arturo Bjørklund Winters is working as a doctoral researcher in the Soft Materials group of the Vice Rector for Curriculum Development, Jan Vermant. There he studies the microscopic dynamics of soft materials such as jellies and shampoos. Winters, who has roots in various European countries, has been at the forefront of SPD (German Social Democrats) European politics in Berlin. To him, social democracy has shown that opposition and serious debate lead to major reforms when paired with respect for institutions and compromises across all interest groups.

This has led to his current efforts to build bridges between AVETH and the Swiss and European scientific staff associations as well as with the labour unions: “We are part of society and engage with it. The recent politically driven budget cuts show that academics have not been able to communicate how important their work is: we create knowledge, skilled labour forces and innovative drivers for economic growth.”

What moved AVETH in 2024?

The AVETH team, which consists of several working groups and commissions coordinated by the presidency, does its best to represent and advocate the needs of the scientific staff while maintaining open communication with the Executive Board. The recent years were full of challenges, which AVETH had to face and react to. Below are some of the recent university policy matters in which AVETH has been actively involved:

• Export control and admission security screenings: For the three AVETH leaders, science must be open and accessible. Therefore, transparency and clear rules for admission to ETH are important to avoid speculations and discrimination. “The more we allow a lack of transparency, the more we open the door to discrimination, which is why we appreciate that ETH is maintaining dialogue and publishing a set of guidelines. In autumn, we co-initiated the information event on export control for the whole ETH community to clarify open questions. We will further encourage and support ETH’s effort to spread information about security checks,” the three specify.
• Salaries and inflation adjustments: AVETH appreciates that the ETH Executive Board has recently taken into account the stance of AVETH and the trade unions on salary conditions and inflation compensation. The last adjustment at the beginning of 2025 aims to compensate for inflation for everybody but yet accounts for the particularly low purchasing power of those earning low salary rates. AVETH’s guiding principle in its compensation policy is “equal pay for equal work” – accordingly, the salary rates at ETH could still be made more straightforward and equitable.
• Mental well-being and career development: In 2024, AVETH and VSETH organised “WiegETHs?” – a questionnaire aimed at assessing the well-being of students and scientific staff at ETH. Although most scientific staff are satisfied with their working conditions, issues such as wage inequality, temporary contracts, discriminatory behaviour and the geopolitical situation can affect their mental well-being. While AVETH recognises the professional opportunities available at ETH, they advocate for more secure employment conditions and structured career development. To this end, they also work with the doctoral administration and Vice Presidency for Personnel Development and Leadership team to offer workshops and seminars for guidance on career paths.
• University as a public space: The three presidents share a unified vision of the university’s role in current times: “The tense worldwide situation, marked by a rise in armed conflicts and the erosion of international law, affects us as an institution that thrives on the exchange of ideas, approaches and data. As the world shrinks back behind national borders, we advocate for the university to remain a public space where society can exchange, develop and create opinions and ideas.”

As the meeting draws to a close, the three emphasise: “We strive to make ETH not just a workplace but a place where people can grow and thrive. To achieve this, we appreciate every helping hand we can get. Everyone is warmly invited to actively participate in AVETH. We look forward to your support!”