PRIMA Kick-off Event - The future of Academic Leadership

© 2021 EPFL

© 2021 EPFL

On March 22th, 2021, PRIMA Kick-off Event organized by Swiss National Science Foundation took place virtually.


Dr. Chan Cao’s opening statement

PRIMA grants promote women researchers in Switzerland. The topic of this year is the future of academic leadership with a focus on diversity and sustainability. The former president of ERC, Professor Helga Nowotny, gave a cutting-edge keynote about the leadership challenges of academic institutions: conflicting expectations, uncertainty and robustness. During the round table, the invited speakers and prima grantees have discussed “How can we promote an academic culture that facilitates quality, diversity, sustainability and a trusting atmosphere?”

We thank the SNSF for this opportunity to meet the invited speakers, international experts and all the participants. These discussions and sharing of experiences are tremendously important. We also thank SNSF for their support in financing Dr. Chan Cao’s lab, Laboratory of Bio and Bio-inspired Nanosystems.

The invited speakers were Professor Matthias Egger (president of SNSF research council), Professor Anna Wahl (member of the SNSF Gender Equality Commission), Professor Katrin Hansen (former Vice President for academic and international affairs at Westfälische Hochschule, auditor of Stifterverband), and Martin Hilb (President of the International Board Foundation and Swiss Institute of Directors).