Diversity & equality

Public engagement in science: how to position ourselves?

Bettina Schaefli May 30, 2024

Back of my laptop, conveying some of my values

The recent student protests against the war in Gaza reminded all of us that being a member of the academic community requires us to reflect upon our role in society. In Switzerland, the university occupations (see SwissInfo) led to several open letter-type reactions from academic staff, either supporting the protests or on the contrary, recalling that scientists should abstain from activism. This ...[Read More]

Water justice in hydrological research

Thomas Thaler November 9, 2023

Water justice has become a crucial discussion in the past decades. Some of the core aspects reflect the questions about who gets involved in the decision-making process, who has access to drinking water, or who gains from flood alleviation schemes. Many hydrologists are struggling to find an answer to these major challenges. The rise of water justice In recent decades, the question of justice in ...[Read More]

How far can we take the DORA rules?

Bettina Schaefli October 5, 2023

DORA stands for Declaration on Research Assessment, also known as the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment. The declaration was developed back in 2012 during the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco and has become a worldwide initiative since then. The country where you are currently reading this post has most probably signed the declaration (the cou ...[Read More]

Ma Terre en 180 Minutes: reducing our carbon footprint with concrete actions

Team "Ma Terre en 180 Minutes" August 31, 2023

As with all professional activities, one of the greatest challenges for us, geoscientists, is how to reduce our own CO2 emissions linked to our research activities over the coming decades. A collective of 57 researchers came together in 2021-2022 to promote awareness and concrete action to decarbonize scientific activities: it was the birth of Ma Terre en 180 Minutes, whose title is inspired by Ma ...[Read More]