WISER FAQs

WISER is open to students who identify as women. It is designed to support and encourage the participation of women in science and engineering fields, where they remain underrepresented. The program aims to provide an environment that fosters confidence, visibility, and access to research opportunities, helping to address structural imbalances in STEM disciplines.

WISER is not intended to exclude, but to create targeted support where it is most needed. Gender-specific initiatives such as WISER are widely used in STEM education to promote equal opportunities by addressing persistent disparities in representation and career progression.

The goal is to encourage more female students to explore research careers in science and engineering, and to provide them with tools, experience, and role models that can support their academic and professional development in these fields.

WISER is currently designed as a targeted initiative. Its structure responds to specific objectives related to representation in STEM research. A different program open to all students and also offering a research internship is the Summer in the Lab (SIL) program.

Both WISER and SIL provide a paid summer research internship. However, WISER offers additional elements specifically designed to support women who are exploring research careers.

No, this program is only open to students in their 2nd or 3rd year of a Bachelor’s degree.

Unfortunately, 1st-year Bachelor’s students are not eligible. This program is reserved for students in their 2nd or 3rd year of a Bachelor’s degree.

No, the WISER program is only open to regular EPFL students.

Yes, EPFL regular students that are in exchange may apply for the program, provided they are back in Lausanne at the agreed start date of the internship during the summer.

Yes, you need to have an overall average of 5,0/6 at the end of the 1st year of the Bachelor’s degree. If your average grade is slightly below 5,0 but your motivation to participate in the program is strong, we invite you to apply.

Yes, we accept students in this situation, as long as they pursue their Master’s degree at EPFL and not in another institution.

Yes, applications can be submitted in either French or English. However, it is recommended to submit your documents in English if the head of the selected laboratory is not French-speaking.

The internship must last exactly eight weeks. Interns may agree with their host laboratory to extend the duration beyond this period; however, the WISER scholarship remains fixed. Exceptions for shorter internships may be considered depending on the requirements of the hosting laboratory.

The start and end dates of the internship are flexible, provided they fall between June and September. These dates should be agreed upon with the host laboratory according to its availability.

Interns are entitled to four days of leave during the two-month internship period. These days must be scheduled in agreement with the host laboratory.

Yes, these components are mandatory parts of the WISER program. Participants are required to take part in the mentoring scheme and attend the workshops in person. Failure to do so will result in the non-award of the official WISER certificate of completion.

All interns are expected to attend the Research Symposium, where they will present their work. If attendance is not possible for legitimate reasons (e.g., commencing an exchange year abroad), participants will be required to submit a three-minute video presentation or a poster presenting their summer research project.