2024 #1
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024!
ACIDE welcomes you all back to the EPFL campus after a refreshing break.
ACIDE (l’Association du Corps Intermédiaire de l’EPFL)(l’Association du Corps Intermédiaire de l’EPFL) officially represents the wider Intermediate body (Corp Intermédiare) at EPFL that comprises PhD students, Postdocs and members of the permanent scientific staff.
We are a member-driven organization that operates based on the volunteered time of its board.
Our initiatives and events are run and driven by YOU our members. So join us!
Please forward to all your colleagues and friends!
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40th GENERAL ASSEMBLY
At our 40th General Assembly held on November 8th 2023, we elected new board members and discussed important issues to rejuvenate our association! Our minutes can be reviewed here. A summary presentation is also available here.
The 5 new Board members consists of:
Kelvin Lau (President, staff scientist)
Sally Cheung (Vice-President, PhD candidate)
Guilherme Almeida (Treasurer, PostDoc)
Mehdi Gadiri (PhD candidate)
Sourabh Jafri (PhD candidate)
There were discussions about a potential merger with our partner associations Polydoc and EPDA to join forces to better represent the intermediate body as one!
It was also voted upon to lower our membership fees from 40 CHF/year to 20 CHF/year for PhD candidates and 30 CHF/year for postdocs.
Your support allows us to plan for such events as Vivapoly and our annual Welcome Event!
UPDATE : SALARIES
As some of you might be aware, APC, that represents the technical and professional staff of EPFL along with other unions negotiated for a cost of living increase that would cover the high inflation that has persisted in 2023. Unfortunately, the federal council only approved 1%. The 1% increase was then applied by the ETH board for professors and staff governed by the Personnel Ordinance. The increase was decided by EPFL direction to be extended to all PhD students and postdocs.
More information the decision can be found here:
Letter from ETH Board President
As of January 1, 2024, PhD and Postdoc salaries should be augmented as below or here
UPDATE : MENTAL HEALTH
EPFL Mental Health Focus Groups
EPFL’s Mental Health Task Force as well as HR are launching focus groups to discuss and suggest measures to improve the wellbeing of all members on campus. It is seeking representatives of EPFL that can discuss both short-term fixes and system changes to make our campus a healthier and more vibrant place to be.
More info here: EPFL Mental Health Action Plan
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Researcher Mental Health (ReMO) Survey (https://projects.tib.eu/remo/)
The survey is aimed at researchers working in Europe, including Switzerland. With this survey, the project team aims to create the largest benchmark ever carried out on the well-being and mental health of researchers in the workplace.
The project was presented to the members of the EPFL’s Mental Health Task Force, who expressed an interest in transferring the survey to the EPFL researcher community.
UPDATE : EPFL POLITICS
Consultation on EPFL Strategic Plan for the period 2025-2028
EPFL has launched an important strategic plan review and has asked members of the intermediate body (thats you!) their opinions. This strategic plan sets out specific challenges and ambitions EPFL hopes to achieve in the coming years! It can be reviewed here. Please also consider joining this information session
Wednesday, January 17, 2024, from 12:15 to 1:15 PM
Zoom: https://epfl.zoom.us/j/63151279634
Please feel free to direct your feedback and concerns to [email protected] (by March 20, 2024) and ACIDE will communicate directly your feedback to the EPFL direction.