VMB, Association of Scientific Staff

Verein des Mittelbaus

Overview of VMB Teams and projects
VMB logo

The VMB (Verein des Mittelbaus D-BSSE) - also called Association of Scientific Staff D-BSSE - is the official voice of both doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to actively shape life at D-BSSE. The association acts as a link between employees and department leadership and strives to make D-BSSE not only a place of academic excellence but also an attractive work environment.

We organize bi-weekly meetings where we discuss the latest happenings and important issues at D-BSSE. You are always welcome to join these meetings and raise your concerns with us!

The VMB is currently organized in the following working groups:

1. The Board
The board represents the association to the outside and organizes the smooth operation of the subgroups. Roles to be filled are President, Vice-President/Treasurer, and Secretary. These are the roles mandated by Swiss law. Additionally, there are two reviewers that check the finances. These reviewers are obligatory to have and cannot be part of the board.

2. Politics and DK Representatives
The politics team works on all issues regarding regulations, codes and ordinances governing staff life. They attend politics meetings of AVETH, draft official communications, ideas for new regulations and our stance on ETH initiatives (e.g. the new measures to enhance doctorates at ETH). The representatives attend the department conference and the occasional meeting of departmental commissions, where they vote on behalf of the association.

3. The Events Team
The events team collects ideas for new events, (co-)organizes the PhD/BSSE retreat, sports events, the Basel life science party, pub crawls, financial literacy seminars, the intradepartmental seminar series, and many more!

4. The Media & Communications Team
This team runs the association website and Twitter, creates our contributions to AVETH info material and makes sure we’re part of the DBSSE-internal marketing.

5. The Counseling Team
The counseling team coordinates with the central counseling service of AVETH to advise staff that experience emotional or professional difficulties.

The Board

Portrait of Ashley Maynard

Ashley Maynard
Co-President

Portrait of Malte Mederacke

Malte Mederacke
Co-President

Portrait of Tony Cao

Wujy (Tony) Cao
Secretary

Portrait of Johanna Haffner

Johanna Haffner
Treasurer

Politics and DK representatives

Portrait of Robert Edward Strutt

Robert Strutt
Head of Politics & DK Representative

Portrait of Ashley Maynard

Ashley Maynard
DK Representative

Portrait of Filip Bochner

Filip Bochner
DK Representative

Portrait of Antoine Zwaans

Antoine Zwaans
DK Representative

Portrait of Simona Baghai

Simona Baghai
DK Representative

Teaching Comission (UK) representatives

UK = Unterrichtkomission, where students meet with study coordinators

Portrait of Quentin Badolle

Quentin Badolle
UK Representative

Portrait of Andreas Agrafiotis

Andreas Agrafiotis
UK Representative

Counselling team

See more about the Counselling Team here.

Portrait of Xenia Ficht

Xenia Ficht
Person of Trust

Portrait of Nassim Rousset

Nassim Rousset
Person of Trust

Portrait of Elena Guido Vinzoni

Elena Guido Vinzoni
Person of Trust

Portrait of Adrian Lison

Adrian Lison
Person of Trust

Events team

See more about the events organised by VMB here.

Portrait of Johanna Haffner

Johanna Haffner
Head of Scientific Events 

Portrait of Nassim Rousset

Nassim Rousset
Head of Social Events

Media & Communications team

Portrait of Roman Vetter

Roman Vetter
Head of Media Team

Your contributions are very important and welcome! If you would like to help us organize events, welcome newcomers to the department or represent your peers at department conferences, we’re always glad to have you on board!

Every member of the VMB is invited to vote or run for office in the association’s elections, and we organize monthly meetings (see 'Meetings' tab) that you can freely attend to stay updated with the latest happenings at D-BSSE. For your peace of mind, VMB is very uncomplicated - we are all busy scientists and understand that it's very hard to make any time out of your research work. Therefore you can freely walk into a VMB meeting whenever you want!

"Am I already a member of VMB?"

You are automatically a member of the VMB if you are:

  • Doctoral or postdoctoral researcher at the D-BSSE
  • Member of the AVETH (Association of Scientific Staff ETH)

You can check if you are a member of AVETH in your payslip (the monthly contribution is usually deducted from your salary). If you are still not a member of AVETH and you would like to join, you just need to visit their website and fill in the corresponding form.

 

The seminars took place every Tuesday in the summer semester. They are paused during the semester break.

 

The VMB meets once a month (usually on Friday) to discuss all sorts of issues related to life at D-BSSE. While active members try to participate more often, everyone is welcome to join these meetings and share any concerns/ideas with all of us!

VMB meetings are happening every first Friday of the month from 12:00 - 13.30, normally in the E 54 meeting room.

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Politics Team meetings

VMB's Politics Team also hosts a monthly meeting open to everyone, where you can join and bring up topics or get involved.

Meetings are normally on the second Tuesday of the month around 12 in the Science Café (2nd floor of building 1055), but do reach out to us on Slack or via email for a specific date (or if you wish to join via Zoom).

The upcoming dates in 2024 are:

  • January 12th
  • February 2nd
  • March 1st
  • April 5th
  • May 3rd
  • June 7th
  • July 5th
  • August 2nd
  • September 6th
  • October 4th
  • November 1st

The 2024 Department's Conferences (DK), where we represent VMB's voice, will take place on the following Tuesdays:

  • February 6th
  • May 14th
  • September 17th
  • November 26nd
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