STS-CH is the Swiss Association for the Studies of Science, Technology and Society (STS).
The primary purpose of STS-CH is to advance research, teaching and outreach in the academic field of Science & Technology Studies (STS).
The association aims to:
- promote scholarly networks and exchange of information between members of the Swiss STS community;
- strengthen the field of STS in Switzerland by organising meetings, conferences and events;
- attract young researchers to the field of STS;
- represent the interests of STS in the science, research and education policy contexts of Switzerland;
- propose research programmes and comment on science policy issues relevant to the STS community;
- interact with the international STS community and its professional associations;
- be represented in social science discussions and collaborate in these fields.
STS-CH is comprised of its members and coordinated by its board. It also runs the Swiss STS mailing list.
Are you interested in joining the association? Please fill in the form on the membership page.
Roles & Structure
Co-Presidents
The co-presidents represent the STS-CH association and make sure that the association is present in national STS-related discussions and in international STS networks. To this end, they form the centre of our association by fostering discussion between different board members. They propose the budget, help members of the association to raise funds for STS-CH projects and stay in close contact with Schweizerische Akademie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften (SAGW / ASSH).
Treasurer
The treasurer takes care of all financial matters of the association. This includes the accountability of STS-CH as well as the reimbursement of all expenses of board members.
Secretary
The secretary organises and documents all the internal events and supports communication within the board. Storage of information as well as the preparation of the needed infrastructures for the internal coordination are also within the tasks of the secretary.
Membership Management
The team responsible for membership management maintains a tool for the purpose. The team ensures that the association has an updated list of members and facilitates the collection of membership fees.
Webmaster
The webmaster maintains the website and keeps it up to date. They are also involved with the Communication team as to the management of mailing lists and the production of online contents.
Communication
The communication team promotes internal and external communication. Its tools include the association’s website and the mailing lists, which are managed in close collaboration with the webmaster. The communication team also shares and produces the content for other communication tool
Teaching and Mentoring
The aim of the teaching and mentoring team is to make STS teaching activities in Switzerland visible and to promote the sharing of members’ experiences and resources. This includes the posting of PhD positions and the availability of job openings. In addition, the team promotes mentorships of early career scholars within a traditional mentorship program, but also during a summer school, PhD programs and workshops.
Conferences
Every two years the association organises a STS-CH conference in Switzerland. The conference team changes depending on the university hosting the conference.
Event Facilitator
The event facilitator makes existing STS events visible and supports the conference team as well as the secretary by organising internal on-site events.
Policy
The policy team attends to science policy issues that are relevant to the association and its members. These activities include updates on science policy developments that impact the STS community, fostering STS participation in science policy matters, and entertaining a network of partners in the policy domain.
Research
The team responsible for research is promoting STS research in Switzerland. Among other things, the team establishes a new STS award for junior scholars, shares existing research calls shared among the association’s members, and facilitates the organization of panels at STS conferences.