Ethics & Integrity in Research

The former Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Business and Economics has been replaced with the Commission for Ethics in Research (CER-HEC). A more formalized and institutionalized structure, which became operational on 01.05.2022.

It is strongly recommended to submit to the CER-HEC any research project involving human participation, or utilizing personal and/or sensitive data. Any submission should be completed on the HEC Research Platform.

Area of activity
The CER-HEC can examine any project whose research subject concerns human beings and falls outside the scope of the federal law on research on human beings (LRH), or when an attestation of ethical compliance is requested by the researcher or student.

Projects falling within the scope of the LRH are those using personal health-related data, or collecting or using human biological material. These projects must be submitted directly to the state commission for ethics in research (CER-VD).

Where an attestation of institutional ethical conformity is required (e.g., by the funding body), the CER-HEC issues a notice and transfers the complete file to the UNIL Rectorate, through the Office of the Research Ethics Commission of UNIL (CER-UNIL). The same applies to projects with very complex ethical issues and implications.

Practical information
The CER-HEC examines the ethical aspects of projects submitted to it by HEC researchers and issues certificates of ethical compliance.

• For more information on the ethical principles applied by and the operating mode of the CER-HEC, please refer to the commission's regulation

• Researchers can submit their project via the dedicated platform. Please note that UNIL's VPN connection is required to access the platform. It is recommended to plan the submission in advance as it can take up to 3-4 weeks to receive a decision depending on the workload of the commission.

• For any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the CER-HEC (email).

Members of the CER-HEC

Representatives of the faculty members:

• Prof. Rustamdjan Hakimov
• Prof. Ulrich Hoffrage
• Prof. Mathias Humbert
• Prof. Franciska Krings

Representatives of the intermediate body:

• Marc-Olivier Boldi (MER)
• Liliane Keopraseuth (graduate assistant)

Representatives of the Dean's Office:

• Carolyn Magnani (Ex. Dir. Innovation, Quality & Research) - substitute: Prof. Valérie Chavez (Vice-dean for Research)

Representatives of the CER-HEC Office:

• Carolyn Magnani (Ex. Dir. Innovation, Quality & Research) 

Science is a key driver of progress and development for the well-being of people, society and the environment. In scientific research, integrity is a prime condition. It represents the basis of the credibility of science and also a justification for the demand for the independence of researchers. The University of Lausanne (UNIL) must ensure the integrity of its personnel. All UNIL employees and students involved with research should respect the general ethical principles:

1. Contribute to society and to human well-being;
2. Avoid harm;
3. Be independent, honest, and trustworthy;
4. Be fair and take action not to discriminate;
5. Respect the work required to produce new ideas, inventions, creative works and artefacts;
6. Respect privacy and honour confidentiality;

Maintaining scientific integrity also means fostering a respectful and inclusive environment. If you experience or witness bullying, harassment, or any form of misconduct, please refer to our support resources for confidential assistance and guidance.

Title: Good Research Practices and Research Ethics (GRP)
Credits: 3 ECTS
Teacher: Prof. Mauro Cherubini
Semester: Fall

Content overview and approach

The course will tackle three main areas of the contemporary debate on research excellence: research ethics, scientific integrity, and reproducibility. One of the aims of the instructors is to show how these topics are tightly interlinked. Another objective of this course is to provide students with practical tools and strategies to prevent experimental design mistakes, improve their scientific rigor, and conduct reproducible research.

The course will be taught using contrasting case studies: each core topic of the course will be presented through two case studies that reveal different facets of the same topic. Students will be asked to study the case studies, and prepare summaries highlighting the major ethical issues identified that will be presented and discussed.

More information here