“Working at D-BSSE is a great inspiration for my own work”

Cornelia, you are our new HR partner at D-BSSE since January 2022. What did you do before?

I have been a team leader for HR Consulting Services for Departments at ETH Zürich for four years which continues to be my role. In addition, I am responsible for the consulting for D-BSSE. I worked for other departments before. I think it is very important to be close to the departments and to bring in the view of the departments at discussions in Zurich. Before ETH Zurich, I was working in the private sector; I held different HR roles in different areas and different sectors, for example at Mettler Toledo, AB, IT companies. So, I consider myself as having a profound HR knowledge which helps me a lot in my current role.

What are your first impressions of the BSSE?

I was actually very happy to become your HR partner and to support you because D-BSSE is a very agile and dynamic department, it has a great size to be effective and to address issues and implement ideas right away, and to find pragmatic solutions. This is an inspiration also to my work - I personally find it very cool!

Which challenges do you see for the D-BSSE?

There are different challenges. The first one I see is the move to the new building, which is upfront on the agenda. There are other challenges and activities I learned about, and I currently want to find out where the difference is to other departments in the set-up and in processes, where can I offer support, where do I need to take care when it comes to information between ETH central facilities and BSSE, where can I help you to get closer to Zurich and vice versa. Another challenge is that you are spread across different buildings on the campus in Basel. I am therefore very happy to use the various platforms such as this Digital Campus or Zoom or Teams, which allow an immediate exchange on the different topics.

Do you already have some ideas or priorities, what needs your immediate attention?

I have a very pragmatic way of approaching issues and find solutions. In order to support you effectively I need to know you, I need to build up a certain network. I am happy to get involved at an early stage, that helps me understand the issue or the challenge and to then support you to go into the right direction. A have a regular exchange with the department coordinator, Andrea. I also met with the Scientific Staff Association VMB to understand their needs. So, I establish a lot of connections and interactions to find out where I could add value to the department.

How do you want to work with us, i.e. how do you want people to interact with you?

It should be as easy as possible! Every second week I am in Basel at the campus. I am reachable by Zoom, by Teams, by Email. I like to be approachable in a timely manner. I don’t want to be complicated, the exchanges should be as easy as possible for me - hopefully this also works best for you, you are my clients!

Many thanks, Cornelia, for participating in today’s Digital Campus. We are looking forward to working with you on the many ideas you have for the BSSE.