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Selected projects

Soil health: key roles of soil biodiversity for sustainable organic production

Sustainable organic production is characterised by a sharp reduction in the use of plant protection products that are harmful to public health, environmental quality and biodiversity, while ensuring high quality products in an economically viable context. One of the possible alternatives to conventional agronomy is to increase soil biodiversity, which will reduce the opportunities for pathogens to develop and infect plants, and improve the availability of nutrients for plants. The aim of the project is to monitor adaptations and changes in soil biodiversity in an organic vineyard through the introduction and application of locally produced compost, in relation to vine health and wine quality and quality. The scientific aim is to understand the coalescence processes between compost and soil microbial communities, and to predict favourable changes for biodiversity.

  • UNIL partner : Jan Roelof van der Meer, Faculty of Biology and Medicine
  • Field partner: Guy Cousin, Vignoble Cousin
  • Project partners: Antoine Guisan (co-applicant, Faculty of Biology and Medicine), Sarah Pearson, Pro Natura

Reinventing care thanks to those who complain about it: a platform for gathering experience and informing the general public

The aim of this project is to develop a tool for recording and analysing complaints from patients, relatives and professionals. The aim is to enable the management team at the CHUV's Espace de médiation entre patient.es, proches et professionnel.les (EMP) to classify each dissatisfaction on the basis of a taxonomy of hundreds of indicators developed and used since 2012. This method will make it possible to use the data at different levels of the institution, to adapt care provision in line with users' needs and to communicate this information to the general public. The project is the fruit of joint reflection between the CHUV and the Swiss Patients' Federation. The involvement of the Swiss Patients' Federation will enable us to develop a tool that meets the needs and expectations of patients, particularly in terms of transparency about hospital malfunctions and the methods used to correct them.

  • Partner UNIL : Béatrice Schaad, Faculty of Biology and Medicine
  • Field partner : Joy Demeulemeester, Fédération suisse des patients
  • Project partners: Jean Louis Raisaro, Centre de la science des données biomédicales, CHUV

Planet Games

The project's interdisciplinary research team will develop an interactive terminal that will enable visitors to the exhibition “Planète Jeux” (Swiss Games Museum, 2025-2026) to measure the carbon footprint of their gaming practices, based on scientific data. A graphical interface will enable people to enter information about their gaming habits (video games and board games) to raise public awareness of the environmental impact of what are now ordinary cultural practices.

  • Partner UNIL: Yannick Rochat, Faculté des Lettres
  • Field partner: Selim Krichane, Musée Suisse du Jeu
  • Project partners: Isaac Pante (UNIL, Lettres), Johan Recordon (UNIL, CCD), Manuele Magni (HEVS)

The future of the past: 80 years of Swiss archaeology online

The association Archéologie Suisse (AS) is currently implementing a new online tool to replace the chronicles of archaeological discoveries previously published in paper format in the Annuaire déologie Suisse. This tool will provide researchers and the general public with a comprehensive documentary database that is essential to any national research programme. Although it is a powerful and innovative tool for documenting the past, it does not yet cover all the chronicles published since 1908, a shortcoming that this project aims to fill following the success of the first phase. Students in archaeology at UNIL will draw on the expertise of AnalyticBase in the field of AI and the AS scientific committee to complete the database and assess its scientific potential. Its open access format will give anyone the chance to interrogate it to find out more about their local heritage.

  • UNIL partner: Matthieu Demierre, Faculté des Lettres
  • Field partner: Ellen Thiermann, Archéologie Suisse
  • Project partners: Sylvie Barrier (UNIL, Lettres), Emmanuel Clivaz (AnalyticBase)

Every vote counts!

The aim of this partnership project is, on the one hand, to provide a better understanding of the political competence of people living with a learning disability. Secondly, it will help to improve the conditions of access to political information for this segment of the public. Through these contributions, we are contributing not only to an academic debate, but also to a public debate, emerging in Switzerland, on the inclusion of people living with a learning disability in the body politic.

  • UNIL partner: Sandrine Baume, Centre de droit public, FDCA
  • Field partner: Fondation Eben-Hézer, Lausanne
  • Project partner: Baris Can Kastas (UNIL, FDCA)

PSYCHE

The aim of this research is to document the use of psychoactive therapies by focusing on aspects of the subjective experience that have not yet been fully explored, by comparing the views of professionals and users. The aim of the project is to contribute to a better understanding of the use of psychoactive drugs in therapeutic contexts, with a view to informing recommendations for good practice, while also contributing to the restructuring and development of the association.

The project will be carried out in the context of a study on the use of psychoactive drugs in therapeutic contexts.

  • UNIL partner: Xavier Mabire, Institute of Psychology (SSP)
  • Field partner: Association Psychédelos, Genève

Use, management and regulation of courtyards in the communes of the Lausanne Region

This project focuses on the use and management of school grounds, particularly outside school hours. The main concerns are the management of these spaces, their status as public spaces, the activities that take place there, and recommendations for their renovation. The research is organised into three parts: a mapping of meadows and their public use, an analysis of the role of caretakers in their management, and a participatory process for the renovation of a meadow in a municipality. The aim of these studies is to respond to the challenges of participatory development and the enhancement of public spaces.

  • UNIL partner: Emilie Villalmonzo and Louise Curchod, Master's students in géography, FGSE
  • Field partner: Lausanne Région

Voices from Palmyra

The Collart-Palmyra project is entering a new phase called « Voices from Palmyra ». Our aim is to develop educational projects, in collaboration with local NGOs, to work with migrants and refugees, with a view to passing on cultural memory. Our ambition is to offer training workshops on new technologies, as well as history and archaeology courses on Syria and ancient Jordan, and embroidery training workshops for women living in the Lebanese Bekaa and in Syria (Azrap camp in Jordan and Idlib region in Syria). This new phase of the project is called Voices from Palmyra, as it will enable the main stakeholders to play an active part in preserving Syria's cultural heritage.

  • UNIL partner: Patrick Michel, Lettres
  • Field partner:
    • TDA (The Day After)
    • Frontliners For Change
    • CARE International Jordan 
    • ALIPH 
    • Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT Libraries 
    • NowHere Media
    • Menalab
  • Other academic partners:
    • InZone, Université de Genève
    • Swiss Institute of Rome 

Exploring people's perceptions and understanding of biodiversity and its impact on health

A growing body of scientific research demonstrates the beneficial impact of nature on health. However, the importance of biodiversity for food safety, health and climate protection still seems to be little understood by the general public, as demonstrated by the difficulties in communicating and implementing policies to protect natural areas, despite the involvement of numerous organisations working in the field. In collaboration with the MfE (Doctors for the environment) and Pro Natura, this project aims to explore the general public's understanding and perceptions of the biodiversity that surrounds them, its preservation and the links it has with their health. The project will involve carrying out a survey of 500 members of the public (using high-resolution biodiversity maps), combined with a qualitative study to identify new arguments for communicating more effectively on the health-biodiversity nexus.

The aim of the study is to identify the links between biodiversity and health.

Project supported as part of the Volteface "Santé et durabilité" call for projects, in collaboration with the Sustainability and health platform of the Faculty of Biology and Medicine and the Centre of competence for sustainability (CCD).

  • Partner UNIL: Nicolas Senn, Faculty of Biology and Medicine
  • Field partner : Mirjam Arn, Doctors for the environment (MfE)
  • Project partners : Antoine Guisan (co-applicant, Faculty of Biology and Medicine), Sarah Pearson, Pro Natura

Promoting cycling as a physical activity and sustainable transport (VELAPT)

Vehicle use offers numerous health and sustainability benefits for individuals and communities, but its use for leisure activities is still a minority practice among the Swiss population. However, cycling covers a wide range of creative sub-practices with great potential. 45% of the population cycle occasionally for leisure and mountain biking is one of the most popular sports in Switzerland (OFSPO, 2020). What potential is there for a shift from recreational to utilitarian cycling? Conversely, what opportunities are there to increase recreational cycling among utilitarian cyclists? What opportunities and obstacles exist between utilitarian and recreational cycling? These are the questions that this research aims to answer, based on two events organised by the town of Yverdon-les-Bains: the Yverdon-les-Bains Triathlon and the Rallye Cyclo Touriste.

Project supported as part of the Volteface "Santé et durabilité" call for projects, in collaboration with the Sustainability and health platform of the Faculty of Biology and Medicine and the Centre of competence for sustainability (CCD).

  • Partner UNIL: Dimitri Marincek, Faculty of Science and Environment
  • Field partner : Quentin Tonnerre, Ville d'Yverdon-les-Bains

Catering, sustainability and children's health: how can we combine the two?

Since 2014, the City of Lausanne has been committed to healthy and sustainable food for children à through an ambitious policy of sustainable collective catering (RCD). However, on the ground, the criteria of this policy are sometimes little known, and their application remains complex for the teams.
This project, developed in partnership with Unisant, aims to combine scientific expertise and field experience by following a two-stage action research approach. Firstly, a study of the needs and challenges faced by kitchen staff and supervisors in implementing the RCD plan criteria will be carried out, enabling possible courses of action to be identified. Next, a targeted intervention will be proposed, aimed at raising awareness among children through professionals, reducing food waste and guaranteeing quality meals, both nutritional and sustainable.

Project supported as part of the Volteface "Santé et durabilité" call for projects, in collaboration with the Sustainability and health platform of the Faculty of Biology and Medicine and the Centre of competence for sustainability (CCD).

  • UNIL partner: Christina Akré, Faculty of Biology and Medicine
  • Field partner: Muriel Débaz, City of Lausanne
  • Project partners: Yara Barrense-Dias (co-applicant), Wafa Badran-Amstutz (project manager), Nolvenn Gambin

Identifying eco-emotions and tackling them with children and teenagers

The fruit of collaboration between Oriane Sarrasin (Unil), the towns of La Chaux-de-Fonds and Lausanne, and the TransformAction Lab, this project focuses on "co-motions". Motions linked to environmental crises are generally linked to action by individuals, but we know that levels that are too high, for example, can also act as a brake. The aim of the project is twofold: (a) to co-produce a popularised guide to research into co-activity and interventions (events, workshops) to enable young people to express their views (b) to produce a guide to research into co-activity that is accessible to the general public; (b) to co-construct, run and evaluate an event in schools or other places frequented by children and teenagers (libraries, extracurricular activities). To achieve this, teaching materials have been co-constructed and adapted to suit the age of the participants. Seven psychology masters students are involved as part of their dissertation, and the funds will finance two internship places.

Project supported as part of the Volteface "Santé et durabilité" call for projects, in collaboration with the Sustainability and health platform of the Faculty of Biology and Medicine and the Centre of competence for sustainability (CCD).

  • Partner UNIL: Oriane Sarrasin, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (SSP)
  • Field partner : Charlotte Franck, City of Lausanne, Clotilde Delbruyère, City of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Cynthia Illi, TransformAction Lab (EPER)
  • Project partners:  Julie Wuerfel and Mathilde Captyn, City of Lausanne