Back to committees

DEICO

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee
PPA committees
PSI has a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEICO), at which PPA has a representative to represent all PhDs and Postdocs. Our committee aims to foster diversity and equity based on gender, origin, disabilities, health, family... The committee is involved on programs for women in science, a family flexibility grant, rules on home office, etc. We have also been working on making PSI a more inclusive workplace, through a Respect campaign, the availability of hygiene products in women’s toilets, as well as the evaluation of the needs of the employees in the new Park Innovaare building. Finally, for the past 2 years, PPA has organized a cultural diversity party in May, to celebrate all nationalities and cultures at PSI. It was financially supported by DEICO (and thus by PSI) in 2024, whereas in 2025 DEICO funded a Gay Pride event at PSI, co-organized by the LGBTQIA+ community and PPA.

See us at parties!

To ensure safe partying for everybody, some of the PPA staffers wear visible red “Point of Contact” t-shirts. This is good dissuasion against unwanted behaviors, and also gives you a person to talk to in case something is wrong.

DEICO2
DEICO1

How’s the heart?

How is your PhD life? Is something not going okay? Consider talking to a confidential advisor. As the name indicates, they are confidential, and they cannot act upon what you tell them without your consent. Some of them are specialized for PhD and Postdocs, but you can choose to talk to anyone! 

I personally recommend you to contact them if you run into difficulties during your time at PSI, whether it is with a management, a colleague, work-life balance… Confidential advisors are experienced and see your problems with a different perspective; they could solve what appears unsolvable to you.

If you are having issues and want to take it a step further, you should contact Human Resources. The persons of choice for PhD students and Postdocs are Mariusz Prus and Serdal Varol. PPA knows them personally (they attend our board meetings), and they are super nice.

Administrative role

DEICO also gives feedback on strategic documents before they are actually released. Recently, this was the case for the PSI Development plan for 2025-2028, the ETH Domain Strategic Goals 2025-2028 and the Internal Consultation regarding the change in the Perceived Taxes in the ETH Domain. Our comments are taken into account, and help orienting policies at the scale of PSI and of the ETH Domain.

Learn more about DEICO
Contact us!