Early-career researchers are an integral part of the research environment at UniDistance Suisse. We support doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in developing their academic profiles and careers, and in contributing to the institution’s research activities.
The Graduate Campus serves as UniDistance Suisse's institutional framework for doctoral education, early-career researcher development and academic community-building across all five faculties. It brings together doctoral training, transferable-skills development, interdisciplinary exchange and networking opportunities, while connecting researchers to disciplinary programmes, partner institutions and research networks.
Information on admission, enrolment, doctoral regulations and available PhD positions is provided on the Doctorate page. The Graduate Campus focuses on the academic development, research environment and community activities available to doctoral and postdoctoral researchers throughout their research journey.
Doctoral training is a central element of academic development. Since 2025, UniDistance Suisse holds the right to award doctoral degrees, allowing it to supervise and support doctoral researchers within its own institutional framework.
Doctoral researchers benefit from:
UniDistance Suisse collaborates with CUSO and with other disciplinary doctoral programmes and partner institutions. These collaborations give doctoral researchers access to a broad range of subject-specific and interdisciplinary training opportunities beyond the courses offered internally. Examples include CUSO doctoral programmes and its transferable-skills programme, the Study Center Gerzensee, the Swiss Network of PhD Courses in Economics, the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, and the doctoral programme Regimes of Inequality.
UniDistance Suisse provides targeted support for early-career researchers, including:
The Graduate Campus places particular emphasis on transferable skills. Doctoral and postdoctoral researchers can participate in internal courses and workshops as well as external offers provided through CUSO and other partner programmes. The available formats cover topics such as good research practices, scientific writing, reproducible research, digital tools, research communication and grant preparation. These measures help early-career researchers strengthen their academic profiles, advance their career development, and prepare applications for competitive funding.
The Graduate Campus works closely with the Grants Office to support doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in developing competitive research profiles and accessing external funding opportunities. Researchers benefit from guidance on funding programmes, proposal development and grant preparation, complemented by dedicated institutional funding instruments for early-career researchers.
Find out more about the Grants Office
These measures support the development of independent research profiles and the acquisition of competitive funding.
Early-career researchers are embedded in a dynamic research environment across all faculties and contribute to ongoing projects and scientific output. Research activities include:
Through its participation in networks such as the Swiss Transferable Skills Network, the PRIDE Network and the European University Association Council for Doctoral Education (EUA-CDE), UniDistance Suisse also connects its institutional activities with national and European developments in doctoral education and researcher development.
To strengthen international visibility and scientific exchange, UniDistance Suisse supports early-career researchers in presenting their work at academic conferences and events. Through the UniDistance Research Visibility Grants, doctoral and postdoctoral researchers can obtain support for participation in scientific events, facilitating networking opportunities, knowledge exchange and integration into national and international research communities.
Exchange and collaboration are supported through:
These formats facilitate academic exchange and contribute to a shared research culture. A particular highlight is UNITE, the UniDistance Networking for Interdisciplinary Thematic Exchange for Early-career researchers, a cross-faculty initiative that brings together early-career researchers from all disciplines for thematic academic exchange, short research pitches and informal networking. Organised regularly during the academic semesters, UNITE combines an accessible interdisciplinary colloquium, the one-minute “Gong Show” pitching format, and time for peer exchange.
The Graduate Campus Steering Committee provides strategic guidance for the continued development, coordination and quality assurance of the Graduate Campus. It helps ensure institutional coherence while respecting the faculties’ responsibilities for discipline-specific doctoral education.
The Steering Committee brings together representatives from all five faculties, the Research Support Unit, doctoral researchers and postdoctoral researchers. It sets priorities, monitors implementation, identifies development opportunities and reports to the Rectorate. Operational and administrative responsibilities remain with the relevant faculties and services.
