Cross-sectional audit of secondary occupations with a focus on conflicts of interest
Additional transfer of knowledge takes often place through the secondary occupations of professors and other scientific employees. The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) examined whether the sufficient measures had been taken to prevent financial or reputational damage. In addition, the SFAO assessed whether the applicable rules allow for sufficient knowledge transfer. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) together employ almost 900 professors, about one third of whom have declared at least one secondary occupation. Secondary employment is much less common among other staff. Around 150 ongoing secondary occupations were recorded for the approximately 4,200 research institute employees.
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