The online magazine of the University of Bern

On the road to self-determination?

In Focus

Between the colonial past and the economic engine of the future: Africa is somewhere in between. An assessment by Chinwe Ifejika Speranza and Thomas Breu.

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University and studies

All articles about university and studies

Climate Neutrality 2030 Roadmap

New climate strategy focuses on reduction and innovation

Instead of purchasing a large number of carbon offset certificates to achieve climate neutrality by 2025, the University of Bern is, in a participatory process, working on a long-term Climate Neutrality 2030 Roadmap, explains Vice-Rector Heike Mayer in the video.

Initiative Afrique

“African expertise pushes the university forward”

Professor Margaret Owuor and Vice-Rector Hugues Abriel discuss the reasons and plans behind Initiative Afrique, a new program that aims to unite existing research expertise at the University of Bern.

Continuing education on development work

“Times of crisis require more evaluation”

Those responsible from government authorities and international organizations are learning new methods for evaluating development programs in the Global South at the University of Bern. This training is particularly valuable given current budget cuts in the field.

Welcome message from the new Rector

«Shaping the University’s future together»

In her welcome message, the new Rector Virginia Richter expresses her pleasure at assuming the leadership of the University of Bern in order to shape its future together with the employees. She emphasizes the importance of trust, dialogue, exchange and shared values.

Farewell interview

“You don’t implement any projects on your own as Rector”

Rector Christian Leumann is leaving the University of Bern at the end of the week to become Head of the Interim Management Board of the Insel Group. He has prudently led the University of Bern over the past eight years, been responsible for various developments such as “Medizin 100 plus” and strengthened international collaboration.

Dentistry

From niche to world leader: 100 years Dentistry in Bern

Founded amidst resistance in 1921, the School of Dental Medicine of the University of Bern (ZMK) is today among the most renowned centers of their kind in the world. Hendrik Meyer-Lückel, Executive Director of the ZMK, tells what makes Bernese dentistry unique.

Membrane research

When art conveys science

Researchers from the University of Bern, with students from the School of Visual Arts Bern and Biel, have created a nature trail called "Vitaport" which is open to the public and is about transport routes in the body. As a way of communicating science, art and design have a lot of potential, think scientist Valentina Rossetti and designer Juliane Wolski.

FOKUS

Africa

Research collaboration

Protecting land and water in Ethiopia

Drought and heavy rainfall are threatening livelihoods in the Ethiopian highlands. Since 1981, researchers from Bern and Ethiopia have been working with the local population to develop solutions. The approach is now being extended to other regions as part of a “Cluster for Research Excellence”.

Afrofuturism

Under the sign of Sankofa

The Djiboutian novelist Abdourahman Waberi reflects on his Dürrenmatt Guest Professorship in World Literature in Bern. Together with his students, he pondered the possibilities: Could the future be African? His vision, symbolised by a West African animal, is clear and optimistic.

Initiative Afrique

“African expertise pushes the university forward”

Professor Margaret Owuor and Vice-Rector Hugues Abriel discuss the reasons and plans behind Initiative Afrique, a new program that aims to unite existing research expertise at the University of Bern.

Intercultural knowledge

All articles about intercultural knowledge

Afrofuturism

Under the sign of Sankofa

The Djiboutian novelist Abdourahman Waberi reflects on his Dürrenmatt Guest Professorship in World Literature in Bern. Together with his students, he pondered the possibilities: Could the future be African? His vision, symbolised by a West African animal, is clear and optimistic.

Educational science

“Those who feel comfortable and belong learn better”

Motivation and emotion are two key success factors in the learning process, as educational scientists Tina Hascher and Julia Mori explain in the interview. They have organized an international conference on this topic in Bern.

Dialect research

Changing Swiss dialects

Swiss dialects are changing constantly and differ from one region to the next. Adrian Leemann and his team at the Center for the Study of Language and Society of the University of Bern have performed the first-ever large-scale analysis of the evolution of the Swiss language.

Women’s health

“There is a great lack of basic knowledge about female bodies”

Women are disadvantaged in all areas of the Swiss healthcare system. This is the conclusion of a study by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies (ICFG) at the University of Bern. An interview with two of the co-authors, Christine Bigler and Tina Büchler.

History of Architecture

Historic window glass – culturally and ecologically valuable

Flat glass in historical buildings is an example of cultural heritage and often scores highly from an ecological point of view, but often ends up in the disposal yard. The new publication Glass in Architecture examines glass and its multifaceted value for the man-made structures around us.

Gender equality

Can artificial intelligence be unbiased?

On 7 March, a symposium on biases was held at the University of Bern. Gülser Corat, former Director for Gender Equality at UNESCO, argued that the current design of artificial intelligence often promotes bias and explained how that could change.

Sustain-
ability

All articles about sustainability

Wyss Academy for Nature

Solutions for people and nature in Kenya

The Wyss Academy for Nature works on four continents with local communities, politics, business and science to improve the precarious relationship between humans and nature. Three examples from Kenya show how such “living labs” work.

Research collaboration

Protecting land and water in Ethiopia

Drought and heavy rainfall are threatening livelihoods in the Ethiopian highlands. Since 1981, researchers from Bern and Ethiopia have been working with the local population to develop solutions. The approach is now being extended to other regions as part of a “Cluster for Research Excellence”.

Thomas Stocker is given emeritus status

“Climate research in Bern is a brand”

Thomas Stocker is one of the figureheads of the University of Bern and a climate researcher of international renown. Among other things, he had a leading position on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Now, he is being given emeritus status. In this interview, he takes a look back at his career, tells us about an offer he once received from Cambridge and talks about orchids and racing bikes.

Mining in Madagascar

Side effects of ecological compensation

Researchers from the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) at the University of Bern have studied the impact of mining in Madagascar and concluded that the effects of the largest mine are much greater than previously thought.

Health and medicine

All articles about health and medicine

Cancer research

AI model generates virtual staining of cancer tissue

Researchers from Bern and Lausanne are making progress in the analysis and diagnosis of cancer. They have developed an AI model that allows virtual staining of cancer tissue, complementing experimental data.

Thanks to research partnerships

Better treatments for everyone

The research community is only slowly realizing that Africa's medical care problem begins with basic knowledge. The University of Bern is helping to remedy this shortcoming – for the benefit of both the South and the North.

Animal testing

Talking about animal experiments

During the National Information Day on Experimental Animals last weekend, researchers from the University of Bern presented their work involving animals experiments to the public in the city of Bern.

Biology

The outsider who became a powerhouse

Who knows what a mitochondrium does? Everyone (thanks to the many memes on the Internet)! But hardly anyone knows what a crazy history these cell components have. An attempted portrait.

Politics and administration

All articles about politics and administration

In focus

Can we achieve the energy transition?

Renewable energies are to be expanded, but there is resistance to specific projects. How can we achieve the energy transition by 2050? An interview with political scientist Isabelle Stadelmann, economist Doina Radulescu and Cornelia Mellenberger, CEO of Energie Wasser Bern.

Digitalization

Artificial intelligence as a legal entity?

Artificial intelligence increasingly serves as a decision-making aid. But who bears responsibility for its decisions and subsequent actions? Christoph Ammon from the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology at the Uni of Bern investigates this.

Geography

The new guest workers are digital and multi-local

Since the pandemic, many of us have found it totally normal to set up the office at the kitchen table on a daily basis. It is also popular to travel to the mountains for two or three days in order to work on issues in peace. It is still unclear how advantageous the new guest workers are for the mountain regions.

World Trade Institute

Farmers in Ukraine need confidence to produce for Africa

Improving global food security is one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine shows how trade insecurity can destroy food security. The Word Trade Institute (WTI) at the University of Bern has been monitoring Ukraine’s grain exports, which are so important for Africa, since February. Now it is formulating demands.

Matter and universe

All articles on matter and universe

Study on "ecological debt"

Heat extremes cause long-term damage to ecosystems

Ecosystems use different strategies to protect themselves from the negative effects of heat extremes. A study by the University of Bern shows: The full extent of the ecological impact only becomes apparent after the end of a heat extreme.

First electron neutrino measurement

New opportunity to explore the universe

A team including researchers from the Laboratory for High Energy Physics at the University of Bern has successfully measured the interaction rates of neutrinos at unprecedented energies using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN.

Space research

New partnership with NASA

A new network of Swiss research institutions teams up with NASA to accelerate the exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

A question for Christoph Mordasini

Will there soon be solar power plants in space?

Solar power plants in space will one day collect solar energy and send it back to Earth. But can that really work?
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