Emilie Jäger Prize
The Emilie Jäger Prize is awarded annually to individuals who have made a special contribution to diversity, inclusion and gender equality policy in the context of science, university and education. Emilie Jäger (1926-2011) was a geologist and the first female professor at the Faculty of Science at the University of Bern. The prize is awarded by the Faculty's Equal Opportunities Commission and serves as a platform for discussing challenges in equal opportunities and diversity in an academic context.
On this occasion, you will meet this year's awardee Dr. Mihaela Falub, presented in an interview format by Prof. Paola Luciani.
Emilie Jäger Prize Awardee 2026: Mihaela Falub
Dr. Mihaela Falub is a distinguished academic leader and advocate for gender equality in higher education whose work has significantly advanced inclusive leadership and equal opportunities across Swiss universities. She currently serves as Program Manager of the High Potential University Leaders Identity & Skills Training Program (H.I.T. Program), a leadership initiative established at the Center for Higher Education and Science Studies (CHESS) at the University of Zurich (UZH). The program is open to women professors from all Swiss universities.
A defining focus of Dr. Falub's work is motivating and supporting women researchers to advance into academic leadership roles. She has co-designed and managed programs specifically for female professors and early-career researchers, with the aim of increasing women's representation in top leadership. In addition, she has contributed to other collaborative projects, including FemSpin, Promoting spin-off activities of female academics and FemInno, Female Innovation and Career Development in Sciences.
Before taking on her current role at CHESS in 2024, Dr. Falub spent more than six years in the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Office at UZH, leading several projects supporting career funding and advancement for women researchers, promoting open science, inclusive academic recruitment practices, and a positive research culture. Prior to this, she coordinated the FLP Program, a career development initiative for female early-career scientists across the ETH Domain.
Dr. Falub's international academic and professional career, underpinned by her expertise in physics, spans several leading research and higher education institutions, including the University of Osnabrück, Delft University of Technology, the Paul Scherrer Institute, EPFL, and ETH Zurich.
Besides her extensive leadership experience, Dr. Falub completed in 2023 the "Women in Leadership: Becoming an Agent of Change" program at MIT. She brings this perspective to her work by combining evidence-based leadership development with a strong commitment to diversity, equity, innovation, and institutional transformation.
Session moderated by Paola Luciani
Dr. Paola Luciani is Full Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Bern and Director of Studies of the Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Sciences. She holds a MSc and PhD in Chemical Sciences from the University of Rome La Sapienza, held research positions at the University of Florence and ETH Zurich and was associate professor at the University of Jena. Prof. Luciani is Vice-President Science of the Swiss Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences and serves in various national and international boards and acts as expert in Swiss and European regulatory bodies.
She has repeatedly advocated for gender equality in academic positions and has been active on several committees addressing this topic. Prof. Luciani has been a faculty member of the Equal Opportunities Commission (2021-2024), a role she formerly also had at the University of Jena (2016- 2019). She has longstanding experience as a mentor for female students, PhDs and postdocs (online STEM mentoring platforms for female pupils Cybermentor.de (2018-2019), SCS Swiss Women in Chemistry Mentorship Program (2020-2024), EPSA (European Pharmaceutical Students Association) Mentoring Project (2022-2024) CRS Young Scientist Committee Mentoring Program (2023-present).