Achieving More Together

Seraina Eisele is pursuing a Master’s degree and taking an active role in university politics. (Image: Sophie Stieger)

 “When I was a Bachelor’s student, I once tutored another student in physics in the Lichthof. Later, several people who had seen us asked me which module I needed help with. They all automatically assumed that I, the woman, was the one in need of tutoring. It was experiences like this that prompted me to get in touch with the Gender Equality Commission of the University of Zurich Student Association (VSUZH) and get involved in university politics.

For me, however, equality goes beyond the issue of gender. Education for everyone, regardless of their background, is very important to me. This is one of the topics I champion as student delegate in the Extended Executive Board of the University (EUL), the Senate, the UZH Accessible steering committee and various VSUZH committees. I also co-founded the feminist philosophy collective in Zurich and am co-president of the Society for Women* in Philosophy Switzerland (SW*IP CH). I believe that taking an intersectional approach to equality is crucial, that is, considering the issue from a variety of angles, including disabilities or social background, for example.

I have a Bachelor’s degree in English language and literature and a second Bachelor’s degree in physics and philosophy. Now I’m pursuing a Master’ degree in philosophy and gender studies. Reaching this point in my academic journey was far from a given.

As a former care leaver, I’m among a very small group of people – just one percent – who successfully complete higher education. Care leavers face structural hurdles, social stigma, and often remain invisible in the system. This is something I’m committed to changing.

It’s all too easy to forget in everyday university life that our structures aren’t neutral, and that not everyone has the same opportunities. I notice this particularly when I campaign for the rights of students with disabilities. Specific suggestions that could improve educational equality here at UZH are often met with resistance. Teaching staff then often argue that ‘this is how it’s always been done’ and that things therefore shouldn’t change. But this is a logical fallacy known in philosophy as argumentum ad antiquitatem. How long something’s been in practice doesn’t necessarily say anything about the quality.

At first, I often felt out of place in university politics. Many people were unfamiliar with the issues I was raising, and people were often critical of the way I expressed my views. I’m sure this had a lot to do with my perspective – as a woman, care leaver and impaired person. It wasn’t an easy path, but I’m glad that I persevered and have been able to contribute to meaningful changes over the past few years. I have always taken criticism seriously, but I’ve also made a conscious decision to speak in my own voice and not conform on every point. I would like to encourage all students whose voices are currently still not heard enough to step up and get involved – your perspective matters!”

Andrea Farnham, data steward and scientific director of the SwissPrEPared study at the Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute. (Image: Diana Ulrich)

“Since doing my PhD, the issue of accessibility in science has been a major concern for me. One principle that’s particularly close to my heart is open data. This means that data collected for research should be as freely available and usable as possible. That’s why I’m part of the Data Stewards Network. As a data steward, I bring different teams together and support them in prepping and storing data so that it can be used across different disciplines.

My own research is an interesting example, because it shows that things that sound good in theory can be a challenge to implement in reality. I am responsible for the scientific part of the SwissPrEPared program, in which a total of around 9,000 people receive a medication called PrEP. This drug prevents infections with HIV. The program is accompanied by a study where we evaluate other information such as the health data of the participants.

This data is highly sensitive and needs to be protected, which strongly limits the options for sharing it. In the Data Stewards Network, I learned that instead of the data itself, I can prepare and share descriptive information about it, also known as meta-information. This way, other researchers can at least find out what kind of data we have, and they can submit a request to us if they would like to use it. My contacts in the Data Stewards Network have been enormously helpful in teaching me how this kind of meta-data should be structured.

I have a pragmatic view of my own role as a data steward: When I'm in contact with other groups, I point them to the available support services. Many people aren’t aware, for example, that the Science IT team within Central IT offers free consulting and advice about how to handle data.

Originally, the network met up once a month, mainly with the goal of exchanging our knowledge of what resources were available and where. Now we meet every quarter, alternating between online and live meetings. I like the in-person meetings because they offer a good opportunity to deepen relationships. Normally, as researchers, we primarily operate within our own environment. Thanks to my involvement as a data steward, I have gained insight into many areas of the university that I was not familiar with before.

For me, my involvement is also a win insofar as it has made our group work more efficiently. We no longer had to reinvent everything ourselves, but could benefit from other people’s experience and knowledge. That’s my main argument when I want to convince other groups to make their data open and accessible. At the beginning, the effort might be considerable, but in the long run, it makes your work more efficient.”