Thematic priorities 2023 – 2027
The following six topics were adopted at the 179th Assembly of the Delegates (5./6.11.2022). This document provides an overview of which topics are a priority for the VSS in the longer term.
Each topic is specified by several sub-items that explain what the association envisages for each of these topics. These points are neither exhaustive nor should they be seen as a to-do list that the VSS has to work through. Numerous topics that the VSS deals with or could deal with do not appear on this list. However, this does not mean that the association will not deal with them in the future. Where a VSS position paper exists, the corresponding positions remain valid.
International
- Improving Switzerland’s integration into the European Higher Education Area.
- Guaranteeing full participation in European exchange programs for Swiss students (including Erasmus+).
- Ensuring that mobility between higher education institutions is not hampered by unnecessary formalities.
- Full participation in European higher education policy (in particular through the ESU).
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Raising awareness among Swiss politicians about student poverty
- The living conditions of students must be given greater political relevance.
- Good relations must be maintained with members of the Federal Assembly so that the Swiss Student Union has the opportunity, albeit indirectly, to influence decisions in the chambers through the various parliamentary instruments at its disposal.
- Good relations must be maintained with the various stakeholders in the Swiss higher education landscape.
Thematic priorities 2023 – 2027
Encouraging student participation
- Mobilizing and raising awareness among students for student participation.
- Improving institutional recognition for student participation.
- Supporting student organizations in their activities by providing knowledge and facilitating the exchange of experiences.
- Joint actions and events at higher education institutions, organized or coordinated by the Swiss Student Union.
- Strengthening the student voice of the Swiss Student Union at the national and international level through the integration and participation of new sections.
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Sustainability
- The Swiss Student Union is actively involved in making universities more sustainable and holding key players accountable.
- The demands of the Swiss Student Union should be made to the individual universities by the sections and implemented by the universities themselves. The Swiss Student Union supports its member sections in this process.
- The Swiss Student Union is committed to securing financial resources for the promotion of student projects in the field of sustainability at the (higher education) policy level.
- The Swiss Student Union promotes cooperation between existing student projects and the development of new projects.
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Equality
- The Swiss Student Union is committed to fighting discrimination of any kind at universities.
- The compatibility of studying with gainful employment, care responsibilities, impairments, and civic engagement should be guaranteed. The Swiss Student Union advocates for this in various (higher education) policy committees.
- The Swiss Student Union is intensively engaged with gender equality issues within the association and among students in Switzerland, taking into account intersectional perspectives. Gender equality should be understood as going beyond the previously dominant definition of “equality between men and women.”
- Accessibility at universities must be guaranteed, and the Swiss Student Union is committed to this, particularly in view of the development of digital teaching.
- The Swiss Student Union continues to support refugee students and calls on universities and cantons to take more responsibility in this area.
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Improving the social and economic situation of students
- Students should be guaranteed access to higher education regardless of their social and economic situation.
- The Swiss Student Union is committed to more affordable student housing.
- The Swiss Student Union is committed to increasing basic scholarship contributions, enforcing the scholarship agreement in all cantons, and improving access to scholarships with lower barriers through its political engagement at all levels.
- The mental health of students should be strengthened and protected through preventive measures at the systemic level. The Swiss Student Union is particularly committed to implementing these measures at the (higher education) policy level.
- The Swiss Student Union is committed to better mobility and mobility vouchers for students, which should be financed by the public sector.
- The targeted use of digital teaching, taking into account equal opportunities, remains a key issue for the Swiss Student Union in order to make everyday life easier for students.
Thematic priorities 2023 – 2027
