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The Association of Scientific Staff (AVETH) and ETH Diversity granted the Diversity Award for the third time. In a ceremony held in the main building of ETH Zurich, individuals and organizations that are committed to the principles of diversity and inclusion were honoured.

On 3 and 24 November, the Ukrainian Association of Students and Academics will be holding a collection campaign for the people in Ukraine. Your humanitarian donations will be accepted on these days on the Hönggerberg campus and at the ETH Zentrum.

Since October 2022, biochemist Dorota Pfizenmaier and chemical engineer Charles Ledoux have been Vice-President and President of the Academic Association of Scientific Staff at ETH Zurich (AVETH). In an interview with Internal news they describe what it was like coming to ETH Zurich during the lockdown and which university policy challenges they intend to address.

In contrast to other ETH Zurich employees, it is still unclear for doctoral students whether and when they will receive a cost-of-living adjustment and how this will be financed. The Executive Board is unhappy with this situation. A working group will seek a solution in early 2023.

Finally: after three years, the employees of ETH Zurich celebrated on Friday at the staff party on the Hönggerberg - and the staff commission (PeKo) was in the middle of it!

The PeKo, as a participatory body for the staff, will also be there. Come by and visit us in the greenhouse on Friday, 08/26/2022. Bar with the PeKo from 19:00 to 22:00. We look forward to meeting you!

The Personnel Commission has four new members: a laboratory technician from the Department of Earth Sciences, a PR and communications specialist from ID, a business developer from the Campus Services staff unit and a project controller from the Finance Department will be championing the interests of ETH Zurich staff from this June. Christopher Sauder Engeler has been confirmed for a second term as PeKo President and André Blanchard is a new PeKo Honorary Member.

rETHink seems to have quieted down in recent months – but appearances can be deceiving. The project’s six workstreams have been hard at work fleshing out solutions for the future of the university. Smaller projects have already been implemented, and decisions have been made regarding the trajectory of bigger changes, says President Joël Mesot.

Gerhard Tröster, a retired professor of electronics, served as an ombudsperson at ETH for the past four years. His term of office came to an end in March. In this interview we learned about his reflections on his time in office, what memories will stick with him and where he sees room for improvement.

No evidence of dereliction of duty or wilful misconduct; potential for improvement in existing rules. This is the conclusion of the independent report commissioned by the ETH Board concerning the preliminary evaluations of suspected scientific misconduct at ETH Zurich.

During their General Conference, ETH Zurich lecturers voted in Mirko Meboldt to become the new President of the Lecturers’ Conference (KdL). He will be taking over the position from Professor Ulrike Lohmann in early August.

The pandemic has changed many things - including the ways scientific staff communicate with each other. The "zoom-isation" of exchange opportunities has expanded networking and integration possibilities and supported a cultural change, say Rosa Visscher, Linda Wehner, Florentine Veenstra and Konstantinos Voulpiotis of the Scientific Staff Association AVETH.

On May 21st, the Association of Scientific Staff at ETH (AVETH) and Equal! presented the first AVETH Diversity Award. The joint first prize went to the African Student Association Zurich (ASAZ) and the physicist and doctoral student Chiara Decaroli.

The ETH Zurich Executive Board has decided to continue running the Energy Science Center and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from business trips. Additionally, the full scope of Zoom functionality is now available to everyone in the ETH community.

For 50 years now, the ETH Zurich Staff Commission (PeKo) has championed the concerns of the administrative and technical staff. The milestone for co-determination at our university was laid in 1971, and is as important today as ever. Here we take a look back – and a look forward.

New rules will apply to those starting their doctoral studies at ETH in the autumn. After two extensive consultation rounds, the ETH Executive Board passed the revised version of the Ordinance on Doctoral Studies on 26 January 2021. The new guidelines make it compulsory for doctoral students to have a second supervisor and stipulate more precise rules for collaboration between professors and doctoral students.

VIScon Digital is set to take place in ETH’s main building from 5 to 10 October, and will be streamed online. All ETH employees are invited to attend. The talks, presentations and events will offer insights into current trends in and around the field of computer science, including developments relating to the coronavirus pandemic.

Atmospheric physicist Ulrike Lohmann will take over from Edoardo Mazza as President of the Lecturers’ Conference (KdL). To further develop hybrid learning, the new president aims to focus on the tried and tested peer review process in teaching.

The new campaign "Guard your treasures" informs about risks in digital everyday life and provides practical IT security tip.

ETH Zurich promotes a culture of empowerment. This only works if everyone adheres to high ethical and moral standards and performs their duties strictly within the defined rules. A bespoke e-learning programme now allows you to familiarise yourself with these rules by means of case studies.

In the last few weeks, the University Assembly (UA) has expressed its opinion to the Executive Board and the ETH Board on a number of subjects.

At its last meeting the Executive Board decided to strengthen the ombudspersons and specialist support units, setting up more contact points and advisory services. It also discussed the feedback from the consultation process for the development of the doctoral programme, and passed a corresponding package of measures with a number of changes.

ETH Zurich is launching a comprehensive research initiative in a previously overlooked field of medicine, namely the medium and long-term rehabilitation of patients. The last Executive Board meetings also covered the election of two new ombudspersons, the annual gender monitoring report and the new Financial Regulations.

The University Assembly was able to nominate two new ombudspersons for the first time: Margrit Leuthold and Peter Frischknecht, who were subsequently elected by the Executive Board. The widely supported process will strengthen the office, says Werner Wegscheider, University Assembly President and Professor of Experimental Physics.

Thomas Hengartner, Director of the Collegium Helveticum, died on 10 May at the age of just 57. He had taken over management of the joint ETH, UZH and ZHdK think-tank in 2016.

According to a survey conducted by the Academic Association of Scientific Staff (AVETH), ETH doctoral students are on balance satisfied with the supervision they receive from professors. But a number of inadequacies were also clear to see. The supervision is now set to be optimised.

For the upcoming 2018–2021 term, the ETH Zurich Staff Commission is looking for motivated members of ETH’s administrative and technical departments who want to represent the interests of the staff.

AVETH, the association of scientific staff, has a new president: Martin Roszkowski. The doctoral student in neuroscience replaces physics doctoral student Arik Jung.

Alongside research and teaching, the transfer of knowledge and technological expertise is one of the key tasks for ETH Zurich. ETH transfer helps researchers to share their findings from the lab with the world of business.

E-bikes are an effective way for ETH Zurich to reduce the carbon footprint of its operations. This summer, the university will be testing out several models that will allow ETH students and employees to use e-bikes. Currently, 100 people are needed to test an app-based lending system.

The Network of Women in Computer Science is relaunching its name and logo. On Wednesday, 2nd of November, 5pm at CAB G51, all ETH members are invited to join.

Delegates to the pension provider Publica will be elected at the end of November. ETH staff interested in becoming a delegate have until the end of September to submit their candidacy and supporting nominations.

The Collegium Helveticum's Board of Trustees has elected seven professors as fellows.

Starting this autumn, refugees who have started or completed a degree in a technical or scientific field in their home country will be able to attend lectures at ETH Zurich.

In the general election of the ETH Board for the 2017-2020 period, the Federal Council elected three new members and confirmed all of the incumbents who stood for re-election. The president of the ETH Board, Fritz Schiesser, was re-elected for another term.

In early June, Peter Widmayer led his last University Assembly meeting as president. As a token of appreciation for his services, the University Assembly presented the avid gardener with a fig tree.

The Lecturers’ Conference has a new President: Edoardo Mazza, a Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, will be taking over from Felicitas Pauss (D-PHYS).

The Women Professors Forum at ETH Zurich (WPF) has a clear objective: to substantially improve career opportunities for women in science and engineering. Founded in 2011, the women’s network is now welcoming a new chairwoman. Women professors at ETH Zurich will also be working more closely with their counterparts at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).

The ETH Zurich University Assembly has a new president: Physicist Werner Wegscheider is to take over the position from computer scientist Peter Widmayer.

The Polymesse will take place in the ETH Zurich main building from 12 to 14 April 2016. The fair enables students to get in contact with many companies.

On 27 April 2016 the KITE Award for “Key Innovation in Teaching at ETH” will be presented for the first time. KdL-President Felicitas Pauss has written a column about the significance of the new award in the latest issue of “life” magazine.

Arik Jung is the new president of AVETH. On Wednesday, members of the scientific staff association chose the physics doctoral student to succeed Florian Thöle.

The Swiss Federal Council today appointed Professor Martin Vetterli as the new President of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), thus following the recommendation of the ETH Board. He will take office on 1 January 2017. Martin Vetterli succeeds Patrick Aebischer.

An ETH Professor has recently taken on a key role in Swiss scientific policy: since January 2016, Gerd Folkers has been President of the Swiss Science and Innovation Council (SSIC).

On the second anniversary of the vote on the mass immigration initiative, Swiss universities are warning of the consequences of the enforcement initiative and publishing a joint manifesto on the position of Swiss education and research. The repercussions are far-reaching – Switzerland's economy and prosperity are at stake too.

With a view to the new term of office of 2016–2019, at its meeting of 2/3 December 2015 the ETH-Board appointed the ETH Appeals Commission.

A delegate from the University Assembly represents the staff and students of EPFL and ETH Zurich on the ETH Board. More information will be provided on the role at ETH Zurich on 16 November.

The close proximity of the University Hospital Zurich, the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich in the Zurich city university district offers a great opportunity for research, teaching and medical care. Further information on the development of university medicine can be found on the Berthold website.

In autumn 2016, the SNSF will introduce changes to project funding: the maximum duration of projects will be raised from three to four years and grants can be used more flexibly. Researchers are encouraged to focus as much as possible on a single research project.

Rector Sarah Springman recently met with the Staff Commission (PeKo). She discussed the challenges of being responsible for teaching at ETH Zurich.

Change at the top for the Department of Physics (D-PHYS): Simon Lilly succeeds Tilman Esslinger as the new Head of Department.

The Federal Council is proposing a global credit of 173.4 million francs to Parliament for the ETH Domain’s 2016 construction programme. There will be no new large-scale projects next year.

The Staff Commission (PeKo) of ETH Zurich has chosen its Executive Board for the term running from 2015 to 2018. It has also welcomed two new members and launched a new website.

ETH Zurich’s 2014 Annual Report is now available, featuring the most significant achievements, developments and events of the past year.

The Ethics Commission met for the first time this week following last month's staffing change. The Commission welcomes three new members to its ranks.

The Polymesse will take place in the ETH Zurich main building from 21 to 23 April 2015. Many companies will also introduce themselves in “Polyvorträge” before and throughout the fair.

The Executive Board has appointed four professors to the Research Commission. Meanwhile, one professor is embarking on a second term in office and three are stepping down. 

The University Assembly (UA) is the main member participation committee at ETH Zurich. On 12 March 2015, it discussed, among other things, the draft for a new ETH mission statement and a new Master's degree programme focussing on policy.

The Association for Retired Members of ETH Zurich can look back on a good year in 2014, with 15 walks and four other events organised. The AGM was held in Zurich on 5 March 2015.

The ETH Board has defined the principles of the preparatory procedure for appointing a new President for the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and has initiated the appointment process.

The ETH Board has decided upon the allocation of funding to the institutions for 2016. The Board is concerned that further cutbacks for the ETH Domain are under consideration.

Florian Thöle has been named as the new President of AVETH, the Academic Association of Scientific Staff at ETH Zurich. On Tuesday, the members of AVETH voted him in to succeed the outgoing President Lars Büthe.

The AVETHnews 2015, the annual brochure of the representation of scientific staff at ETH, was published last week. It informs about the ongoing activities of AVETH.

The end of the newspaper era: As of September 2014, Polykum, the periodical of the student association of ETH Zurich, is published as a magazine.

Master's ceremonies are high points in students' lives. That's why VSETH (Student Union) President Julia Wysling is pleading in her column for Master's ceremonies that really fill students with pride.

The variety of nationalities at ETH is a major gain in both the social and scientific contexts. That is why it is necessary to fight for the variety at ETH to be maintained, writes VSETH President Julia Wysling.

The referendum on limiting immigration abruptly added a new item to the political agenda of Swiss students. VSETH President Julia Wysling has seen the effects first hand.

Columnist Arnaud Monnard sees the new Swiss national law for joining universities as something positive.