Sponsored Childcare: a game-changing initiative at SEFI 2024

During the 2024 SEFI Annual Conference hosted by EPFL on our Lausanne campus in early September, a series of new initiatives were introduced by the organizing committee to reinforce diversity, equality and inclusion. Of these, the sponsored childcare service was a game-changer for the parents who were able to attend the event worry-free. 

“The important element in organizing such a service is that you need to do it well in advance. We announced it three months before the submission deadline so that parents and guardians could consider submitting to the conference, prepare and write a paper, knowing they would get childcare. If it had been delayed, many would not even have submitted, because they would have assumed they would be unable to attend due to childcare needs. Many universities only fund your conference expenses if you give a talk or workshop” explains Joelyn de Lima, Pedagogical Advisor at the Teaching Support Center (CAPE) who led this initiative. 

Empowering parents 

For Lisanne Roseboom, Project Manager at the TU Delft Teaching Academy, this measure was synonymous with empowerment. Mother to an eleven-months old baby at the time of the conference, she was able to immerse herself fully in the event. “This service meant that I could let go of childcare concerns. I was really happy that a work scenario didn’t influence my decision-making on breastfeeding. The whole experience was very positive. It was nicely organized; I was in contact ahead of time with the childcare organizers to share our needs and preferences on how to care for our baby and when we arrived everything was set up. 

Me and my husband were anxious as it was abroad and she (my baby) doesn’t understand French so we wondered, how that would be for her? But she loved it. She cried when we picked her up, so it gave us the confidence to go ahead and prolong the daycare to two and a half days. It definitely helped in my decision to come and that allowed me to be in the moment. I felt empowered by bringing my family with me and doing my own thing. That’s the balance of being a young mother” she shared.

“Having a child doesn’t mean we can’t keep our careers, and this helps change the minds of people” 

– Sandra Cruz, SEFI 2024 participant

A positive experience that Sandra Cruz of TU Dublin echoes. Hailing from Mexico and now living in Dublin, she does not have access to a support system which often means finding ways to make it work thanks to the help of her husband. Having access to the childcare service enabled her to be more present in the moment and make meaningful connections with other participants.

“Usually whenever I go to a conference or symposium abroad, I need to bring my husband. He is very supportive but that means we must deal with the stress that comes with him having to get off work to go with me, and we need a place to stay with our child such as an Airbnb or a hotel or even university-provided accommodation. 

Having this support means that I can be present at the conference, that my mind is at peace, that I know not only that my baby is looked after very well but also that he’s having fun, that he’s learning, that he is not having trouble finding his place because he is with other kids. So, for me, it meant I could engage, I could present my work in the session I had, and it was pretty nice. 

The fact that we were told about the details so much in advance was also a key aspect because we could plan and book our flight. The communication with Joelyn was very nice, she was fast in replying to all our questions. 

I’ve missed some conferences when the baby was very young and there weren’t any services such as this. This time I got to network, meet people and I got new ideas; when you are there and can connect, which is only possible in person, it makes a huge difference. Having a child doesn’t mean we can’t keep our careers, and this helps change the minds of people.”

A successful pilot to inspire change

The sponsored childcare service was provided by l’Ecoline, an organisation that provides bilingual (French-English) child care and meets the standards of the Swiss OAJE (Office de l’accueil de jour des enfants), and it welcomed six children during this first-ever iteration. The aim of this initiative was fully met, and many conference participants (even those who did not use the service) wrote to applaud the scheme.  

“While barriers such as childcare are faced by a minority of the conference participants, for those participants they are huge barriers. Making our community and events more inclusive and welcoming means addressing these diverse but critical aspects. I hope that the example that was set at SEFI 2024 demonstrates the need for, the feasibility of, and the benefits of offering such initiatives, and inspires future conference organizers to make our academic communities more inclusive” says Joelyn. 

Author: Julie Clerget, EPFL