Goal of the Program

The goal of the program is to support the personal and professional development of students and postdocs by providing guidance, advice, and feedback from senior professionals. The focus of the SCS Mentoring Program is on career development.

The current class runs from September 1, 2025, to July 31, 2026.
Application for the class 2026-27 will open in spring 2026.

Approach

Four regional clusters, each consisting of a managing team, mentors and mentees, will be established. Each cluster will define the activities, one per semester, at its “kick off meeting”. At the end of the year, the cluster will meet for a closing event.
 

Rooted in 4 Regions

The program is structured in four regional clusters:

• Leman Region: UniGE, EPFL Lausanne, EPFL Sion, HES-SO Sion.
• Bern Region: UniFR, UniNE, UniBE, HEIA-FR, HE-Arc, EPFL Neuchâtel
• Zürich Region: UZH, ETHZ, ZHAW, PSI, Eawag, EMPA
• Basel Region: UniBas, FHNW, PSI

Requirements to Apply as a Mentee

• Valid membership with the SCS.
• MSc or PhD student or Postdoc (or last year BSc student at a University of Applied Sciences)
• Commitment to actively participate (min 60% of attendance to get the certificate)

The application to join a respective cluster for one year has to be submitted via the online form and must include:

• a CV
• a motivation letter by the mentee
• a supporting statement by the supervisor might complete the dossier, but is not mandatory

The application for the 2025/26 classes closed on August 31, 2025.
The call for the 2026/2027 classes will open in June 2026.

Follow https://www.linkedin.com/company/youngscs/ to receive some insights in the program.

Titus Wuermeling, FHNW Muttenz
Anamarija Nikoletic, FHNW Muttenz
Nils Gerwien, University of Basel 

Marta Oggioni, Adolphe Merkle Institute, UniFR

Ghewa AlSabeh, EPFL 
Helena Sole Avila, EPFL 

Cilag Johnson&Johnson
ETH Zurich
FMC
Metrohm
Syngenta

FHNW Muttenz
Inolytix AG
Novartis
Roche
Syngenta
Zifo RnD Solutions

Adolphe Merkle Institute, UniFR
Carbogen-Amcis AG 
Monte Rosa Therapeutics
Roche
Syngenta
University of Fribourg

dsm-firmenich
Limula SA
Roche
Siegfried (Evionnaz)
University of Geneva

29.09.25: Kickoff
03.12.25: Job Interview, UZH
21.01.26: Company Visit Syngenta, Münchwilen
16.04.2026: IP and Patenting, UZH (location tbc)

04.11.25: Kickoff
02.12.25: Industry vs. Academia, FHNW
22.02.26: Start-ups?, FHNW

02.10.25: Kickoff, UniFR
20.11.25: CV Workshop, UniBE
21.01.26: Company Visit Syngenta, Münchwilen
02.03.26: Panel discussion "Careers in Science", UniNE
24.04.26: Event 5, UniFR