How are the students at ETH Zurich doing?

Last week, ETH Zurich presented measures aimed at improving the supervision of doctoral students. The VSETH student association is now launching a survey involving all Bachelor and Master students. A coincidence? "Absolutely," says VSETH president Lewin Könemann, and explains: "The survey goes back to the Council of Members our association held in autumn 2017, at which a group of delegates suggested creating a working group to tackle issues related to discrimination and inequality."

Today's VSETH president Könemann and vice-president Joy Schuurmans Stekhoven began to look in some detail at the topic, only to realise that they lacked the necessary basis to initiate any measures. "We hear from time to time about disrespectful behaviour or behaviour perceived to be discriminatory, and we also know that there are students who struggle with psychological problems", says Schuurmans Stekhoven. But this anecdotal evidence did not provide grounds for considering measures to improve the situation of students.

An informed survey

The deeper the two looked into the topic, the more wide-ranging the questions and more complex the venture: many of these questions take place against the background that studying at ETH is a challenge in terms of subject matter – most students perceive it as something of a burden.  "We sought advice from sociologists, psychologists and psychiatrists in a bid to develop an informed questionnaire", says Könemann. In addition, know-how from various ETH entities, including Equal! (the equal opportunities unit) and Human Resources, has been incorporated into the project.

The result is a questionnaire which polls the general state of being of the students, but also asks whether anyone at ETH has experienced discrimination – for example on the basis of origin, gender or sexual orientation. It also explores other experiences of inappropriate behaviour. To ensure the professionalism of the survey and safeguard the anonymity of the respondents, VSETH has decided to entrust the survey to market research institute gfs-zürich.

Collaboration with the Rectorate

The ambitious project has been supported by the Rectorate from the start. "The well-being of our students is of immense concern to us," explains Rector Sarah Springman, recalling the Respect campaign with which ETH raised awareness of its code of conduct two years ago. While that campaign clearly postulated that the university would not tolerate disrespect, the VSETH survey will now show what life really is like for students at ETH. The Rector is interested in the findings: "We will join with the VSETH in evaluating the results of the survey and – if necessary – take appropriate action." Right now, though, she is adding her voice to that of the VSETH in calling on all students to take part in the survey so that the picture is as representative as possible.