Your first days at ETH Zurich

Welcome to ETH Zurich! ETH Zurich draws on a long tradition of research and teaching and is proud to consistently rank among the world's leading technical universities thanks to dedicated employees like you. We are convinced that with your talent and passion you will make a significant contribution to further our mission of excellence in education, research and innovation.

We have compiled some useful information for a successful start:

Personal details on ETHIS

ETHIS (ETH Information and Support System) is now available to you. Register once on ethis.ethz.ch to view your contractual data, keep your personal data up to date and record your working time and absences.

Please note: ETHIS can only be accessed with authorisation and within the ETH Zurich network or via VPN. ETHIS Support will help you with registration.

Please note the following about ETHIS:

Please keep your personal data up to date. Tell us your current home, delivery and office address. You can enter or change your salary account details here.
Please report any outside employment.
If you have children, you can apply for family allowances. We recommend submitting your application as soon as possible.
If you are subject to withholding tax, you will receive an e-mail to enter your data on ETHIS.

Offers and benefits

Childcare, SBB train tickets, car sharing and more – ETH Zurich offers its employees a range of offers and benefits designed to make work and life easier.

IT services

Service Desk is the gateway to IT services. This unit provides information on all IT services and their "operating status". Each department also has an protected pageIT Support.

You will find an overview of all services of the IT Services sorted by category in the IT Service catalogue as well as an overview of many useful applications and links for your work at ETH.

A couple of tips to get you started:

You can change your password and adjust service settings in the Web Centre.
For more information on IT services and detailed step-by-step instructions, visit the IT knowledge base.

eLearning and courses

We have three recommendations for you regarding e-learning programmes:

You are asked to complete two e-learning courses as part of the Respect Programme: Dealing with sexual harassment and Unconscious bias. Both reinforce the ETH values and offer you the opportunity to strengthen your "Living Inclusion" skills.
ETH owes its good reputation not only to the outstanding achievements of all ETH members, but also to the values to which we are committed. With your correct behaviour, you make an important contribution to a good working atmosphere at ETH Zurich and help to strengthen independent action at all levels: e-Learning Compliance.
The Lifelong Learning Hub, or L3H for short, supports ETH employees in integrating continual learning in their daily work, strengthening their social and leaderships competencies and maximising their potential.

Questions and support

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your employment at ETH, please do not hesitate to reach out to the HR Counselling and HR Administration teams of the Vice-Presidency for Personnel Development and Leadership.

If you need further consulting, help or support, the specialist offices offer professional and confidential counselling, support and coaching to all employees.

Magazines and newsletters

Stay up to date on the latest internal news relevant to all ETH members with the internal news.
Visit Staffnet, the information portal for ETH employees, regularly – and set it up as your browser homepage (more information here).
Life – the magazine for the ETH community is also addressed to all ETH employees and is published quarterly.
The ETH newsletter provides up-to-date information on the latest ETH news (including media releases) as well as articles from Zukunftsblog and from «Globe» magazine.

FAQ

An ETH card is issued to all members of ETH Zurich and people who are closely associated with the university. It serves as a visual identity card, a library identity card and an electronic identity card.

You should receive your ETH card shortly before your first day of work at ETH Zurich by post, if you had sent your picture to HR already. If you still have no ETH card, please contact HR Payroll:

There are over a dozen canteens and cafés offering lunchtime meals as well as a variety of snacks and refreshments. ETH Zurich members benefit from discounted prices, proof of identity with your ETH card will be required.

Gastronomy Zentrum
Gastronomy Hönggerberg
Gastronomy Oerlikon
Gastronomy Basel

Finding a healthy work/life balance matters greatly to ETH Zurich. Our employees with children have access to a broad and flexible range of services in the areas of maternity, childcare and offers for families.

Have your personal details changed? I.e. has your residential address or salary account changed? Please remember to inform us of this in good time on ethis.ethz.ch.

There are site maps and a list of buildings available to help you find your way around ETH Zurich.

Access to buildings is controlled, depending on the particular building, by a mechanical lock with a key/cylinder or by an electronic door opening system operated using your ETH card.

The ETH Science City Link shuttle bus runs between the Zentrum and Hönggerberg campuses every 20 minutes from Monday to Friday: Downloadtimetable (German) (PDF, 451 KB). This service is free for ETH Zurich staff.

ETH offers a wide range of products and services through webshops (via ETHIS, with authorisation rights), e.g. office supplies, furniture, print material, laboratory material & chemical products.

With the welcome letter from Publica, you will receive an orange payment slip for the transfer of vested benefits in your first month of employment at ETH. You must send this orange payment slip to your former pension fund so that your vested benefits can be transferred to Publica. If you would like a corresponding payment slip before joining, this can be requested from Publica. Find more information external pageon Publica's website.

There is an introductory programme for new doctoral students. «Postdocs welcome!» is an orientation event for new postdocs. The ETH Start course is the suitable introductory event for employees in support functions. Additional training modules are available for administrative staff to get started in the new role.

Sustainability has a long tradition at ETH Zurich, not only in research and education, but in all aspects of university life. We are working to significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions until 2030. ETH Net Zero is a task for which we are jointly responsible. ETH Zurich is convinced that universities have not only a great opportunity, but also a responsibility towards society to develop innovative solutions for the challenges facing humankind. They support the transformations towards sustainable development of present and future generations. You can find more information at ETH Net-Zero and ETH and the 2030 Agenda. (Links: https://ethz.ch/en/the-eth-zurich/sustainability/net-zero.html and https://ethz.ch/en/the-eth-zurich/sustainability/2030-agenda.html)

Please refer to Employment and work for information about employment at ETH Zurich. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your employment at ETH, please do not hesitate to reach out to the HR Counselling and HR Administration teams of the Vice-Presidency for Personnel Development and Leadership.

Academic Association of Scientific Staff at ETH Zurich

The Academic Association of Scientific Staff at ETH Zurich (AVETH) represents the interests of research assistants, doctoral students, senior assistants, postdocs and higher-level scientific staff.

The AVETH Survival Guide for Scientific Staff offers useful tips and advice on starting your doctoral studies and life at ETH Zurich.