Students protest against UBS sponsorship
On Tuesday, numerous students demonstrated in front of the main building of the University of Zurich against the sponsorship agreement between the University of Zurich and the major bank UBS.
Among other things, they called for the contract to be terminated and academic freedom to be restored. The protesters marched from the university via Niederdorf towards Paradeplatz in the afternoon, as one participant told the news agency SDA. The rally was called by the Association for Critical Politics at the University and ETH Zurich (kriPo), among others. According to the association, the CHF 100 million contract confirms fears that the private sector will be granted access to teaching and research in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Zurich, as it writes in a press release. This would privatize education and subject it to profit interests.
The protest was also supported by the Juso Canton Zurich, as announced in the evening. The party is calling for "credible and comprehensive regulations for the acquisition of third-party funding at public educational institutions" at cantonal and national level. The rules should make both excessive advertising platforms and ties to research and teaching content impossible. (SDA)
On the subject: UBS has almost exclusive advertising rights at the University of Zurich
