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How flexible is your way of working? And how would you like to handle this in the future? These were just some of the questions addressed in last year’s survey on the future of work, which gave all ETH employees the opportunity to share their experiences and preferences regarding the new, flexible work arrangements at ETH Zurich. The results are now in.

A newspaper article about a study conducted by the University of Zurich is currently raising a lot of questions. The article claims that women students are less ambitious than their male counterparts and consequently not interested in pursuing a career. This conclusion has alienated many in the ETH community – including Julia Dannath, who as Vice President for Personnel Development and Leadership is responsible for diversity at ETH Zurich. In this interview, she explains why.

Stefan Spiegel took office as Vice President for Finance and Controlling on the first of April. In an interview we asked him a few “this or that” questions.

Women also continue to earn less than men in Switzerland. Salary differences exist from the start of a career and are particularly pronounced among highly qualified women. ETH Zurich offers workshops on the topic.

Lab or office? Fundamentals or application? Trust or control? Christian Wolfrum has been Vice President for Research at ETH since January 2023. We ask him a series of either-or questions.

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.

Sonia Seneviratne is the new associate vice president for sustainability of the Executive Board. As of 1 January 2023, she will take over this function from Reto Knutti, who has worked meritoriously for the thematic focus for eight years.

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.

ETH mathematician Georg Anegg spent three weeks at Ashesi University in Ghana, which offers a joint master's program in Mechatronics Engineering with ETH Zurich. In an interview published by the D-MATH News, he talks about what it's like to teach in Ashesi and what motivated him to participate in the project.

The 100 best girls from the Kangaroo mathematics competition were given the opportunity to visit ETH on 9 June. Former ski racer and physicist Dominique Gisin accompanied the girls as a mentor. ETH female researchers gave an insight into their research work.

On 1 June 2022, Tanja Zimmermann became the first woman to head Empa, the research institute for materials science and technology. Like her predecessor, Gian-Luca Bona, the materials scientist also holds a dual professorship at ETH and EPFL.

Detlef Günther will be stepping down as Vice President for Research at the end of 2022 and plans to return to his former research group for the next few years. He held his VP post for a period of eight years, during which he decisively shaped research and corporate relations at ETH Zurich.

Robert Perich is stepping down as Vice President for Finance and Controlling at his own request on 31 March 2023. He will not retire entirely: at the same time, he will take on a new part-time academic position at D-MTEC. The process to recruit a new vice president will get underway in the coming weeks.

Since the first of February, Günther Dissertori is the new Rector of ETH Zurich. In an interview we asked him a few “this or that” questions: lecture or seminar? Cooking or washing up? Valais or Grisons? Dumplings or gnocchi?

As of January, all doctoral students at ETH Zurich will have at least two supervisors. In addition, they must now defend their research proposal at a colloquium in order to be definitively admitted to the doctorate. New employment regulations also apply.

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.

The VSETH student association and the AVETH association of non-faculty scientific staff have launched #speakupETH, a campaign designed to highlight instances of discrimination or disadvantage at ETH Zurich. This campaign aims to make ETH Zurich a more inclusive university. An interview with the campaign managers at VSETH.

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.

Professors at ETH Zurich are proposing Günther Dissertori, professor of physics, as successor to our current Rector, Sarah Springman. He won an absolute majority in the first round of voting at the Professors’ Conference, with 233 of the 439 votes.

The next edition of the employee survey will run from 23 March to 23 April 2021. The survey gives you, the employees of ETH Zurich, the opportunity to express your opinion and share feedback about your working situation at the university. In doing so, you can help shape the university’s development.

In her final year as Rector, Sarah Springman is aiming to draw attention to outstanding performance by women science to challenge and encourage the younger generations. She is holding a series of events on the subject of space exploration, with contributions from distinguished female scientists.

Sprint or marathon? Perfectionism or speed? Lab or meeting room? Vanessa Wood is the new ETH Vice President for Knowledge Transfer and Corporate Relations. Find out more about her in this video interview.

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.

Thomas Vogel, Professor of Structural Engineering, has greatly influenced structural engineering in Switzerland and has a well-earned reputation after serving in various capacities at ETH Zurich. After 28 years of serving the university, the passionate civil engineer is retiring.

ETH Zurich has expanded its Executive Board from five to seven domains. life presents a profile of the two new vice presidents.

The new ETH AI Center will officially open its doors on 20 October 2020. It has been headed by Executive Director Alexander Ilic since 1 October. What motivated the co-founder of ETH spin-off Dacuda and holder of two Entrepreneur of the Year awards to return to ETH Zurich?

For 13 years now, ETH Zurich has been awarding prizes to exemplary leaders. ETH members can nominate their leader for this year's ALEA Award until 16 October.

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.

The Department of Mathematics is responsible for mathematics tuition in all of the degree programmes that ETH offers. It has used the corona-related emergency operation to switch to remote teaching. Four students and lecturers tell of their experiences.

For 25 years, Marianna Berger held various administrative positions at ETH Zurich, most recently in the Department of Computer Science. Before her retirement at the end of June, she looks back on her varied career at the university.

The arrival of autumn means that annual appraisal interviews are back on the agenda. Lukas Vonesch, Head of Human Resources at ETH Zurich, sheds light on whether this management tool is still fit for purpose, how useful it is to have a graded assessment, and what constitutes a valuable interview.

Diversity, referring to the variety that exists within a group, abounds wherever many different people come together. ETH itself is very much an example of a cultural melting pot. But what does “diverse” actually mean, and how do people at ETH deal with it?

ETH supports its staff in their personal and professional development, offering a variety of opportunities for continuing education. life takes a look at what’s on offer and highlights the key points when it comes to future staff development.

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.

Forty-nine young professionals have passed their final apprenticeship exams. As part of the 2019 apprentice graduation ceremony, they celebrated completing their vocational training at ETH Zurich on Thursday.

On Friday, 15 March 2019, Joël Mesot and Sarah Springman, together with the other members of the Executive Board, held an information session for ETH employees in which they answered questions on the planned leadership measures.

11,400 people work at ETH Zurich, and 1,250 of them have a management role. However, we all have a role to play in shaping our management culture and, by extension, the success of our university.