Applications should be sent to manuel.cubero-castan@epfl.ch and will be considered on a rolling basis starting December 1, 2025. To apply, please submit a curriculum vitae and a personal statement (maximum 1 page) describing your strategy to achieve the objective of one of the two project parts described below. The preferred start date is any time from February 2026 onward, with June 2026 as the latest possible start date to ensure the position concludes by early 2027. The preferred duration is 6-12 months.
Mission
As part of UNIL’s CAP2037 transition strategy to strengthen its sustainability leadership and EPFL’s Sustainable IT strategy that supports research excellence, UNIL and EPFL seek to understand how academic institutions could shape research practices to better integrate sustainability, particularly around issues related to the usage of digital technology (storage, computing, AI, and IT equipment, for example).
Both institutions wish to better understand the specific challenges faced by funding agencies to contribute to a coherent integration of sustainability into research. We are therefore seeking a motivated candidate to contribute to this project and enable EPFL and UNIL, together with the sustainability team at the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), to propose levers for action to reduce the environmental footprint of IT in research.
Project Description
The project has two main phases (each lasting approximately 5-6 months):
1. Mapping actors and frameworks: You will map, in close collaboration with the SNSF, the key actors involved in the lifecycle of research funding in Switzerland, from call design to project evaluation and reporting. You will review current initiatives at the European level, identify decision-makers and leverage points for integrating sustainability criteria, and examine the legal and regulatory framework to propose feasible options aligned with the Swiss Confederation’s objectives.
2. Co-designing a steering framework: You will design and facilitate workshops bringing together the identified actors (UNIL, EPFL, SNSF, and other stakeholders) to co-design a steering framework for sustainable research computing. You will gather and structure participants’ contributions in a final report that presents the proposed measures and provides recommendations for their potential integration into the funding lifecycle.
You will work within both institutions as part of the ∂3AWN research team at UNIL (FGSE) with Tom Beucler, in the SYSTEMF laboratory at EPFL with Clément Pit-Claudel, and in the sustainability team of the Vice Presidency for Strategic Initiatives (VPS) with Manuel Cubero-Castan and Julia Paolini.
Your Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree, ideally in sustainability/environmental science, computer science or social sciences
- Strong interest in co-design approaches and participatory processes
- Strong interest in sustainability issues in the field of research and IT
- Working proficiency in both English and French; German is an asset
- Ability to conduct documentary research, critical analysis and synthesis
- Good writing and communication skills
- Autonomy, rigor and initiative
- Collaborative spirit and ability to adapt
We offer
- The opportunity to develop insight into the Swiss research system including stakeholders and mechanisms that underpin research (funding) activities, providing a work experience relevant for strategic roles in academia and sustainability.
- The opportunity to work in collaboration with both UNIL and EPFL, develop cross-disciplinary skills, and discover the link between theory and practice.