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Margrit Leuthold has been ombudswoman at ETH since 2018 and is stepping down next year. She talks to us about why listening is so important, some beautiful moments she has had in this confidential role, and what qualities an ombudsperson needs.

In November 2021, the President of ETH Zurich, Joel Mesot, and the Vice President for Personnel Development and Leadership, Julia Dannath, appointed seven professors to investigate the current situation of women faculty at ETH Zurich. The aim is to gain an insight into how things stand today.

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.

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.

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.

On Friday, 3 June 2022, Sarah Springman will be giving her farewell lecture. Before the lecture, people who have worked closely with her will also be expressing their appreciation for her work at ETH, including ETH President Joël Mesot. The event is open to the public. Advance registration is requested.

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.

Four years ago, we wrote profiles of couples who met at ETH. We’re now looking for friends who also got to know each other at our university. Tell your story in the next edition of the ETH employee magazine “life”!

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.

From March 2022, the Singapore ETH Centre welcomes Thomas Meyer as the new managing director, replacing Mr Thomas Rufener.

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.

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.

Julia Dannath-Schuh has been serving as Vice President for Personnel Development and Leadership (VPPL) since November 2020 and has headed up the VPPL staff unit since its creation one month later. We inquired about how the set-up phase is going.

The ETH LunchLottery has been growing in popularity over the past three months. Now the LunchLottery drawing will be held once per month instead of every two weeks. This gives the three participants more time to find a meeting slot that works for everyone.

Employees are currently being asked to give their opinion on the work situation and on internal communication. The fact that these two surveys are taking place almost simultaneously has raised some questions.  

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.

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.

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.

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 Executive Board has decided to embed computational thinking and modelling in all study programmes at ETH Zurich. In addition, a new continuing education course will be launched in robotics. Finally, a new platform for clinical studies will be created for ETH researchers in the health sector.

VSETH has elected its new president, with Luca Dahle (23) from the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering chosen to succeed Thierry Hörmann. Coming to his new role as VSETH president in the midst of a pandemic, Dahle would like to raise awareness of the issue of student mental health.

The Executive Board has given the green light to a large-scale project for improving accessibility throughout all areas of the university. Moreover, Manfred Sigrist has been named Vice Rector for Doctoral Studies, and the Board has taken the decision to hold ETH Week through at least 2025.

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?

A revised Personnel Ordinance was implemented by the ETH Board on 1 October. Lukas Vonesch, Head of Human Resources at ETH Zurich, explains what the changes mean for employees and discusses how these changes came about.

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.

The Executive Board tasked an investigative committee with reviewing allegations of scientific misconduct against a professor at the beginning of 2019. The results of the investigation and the decision of the Executive Board are now available.

For 27 years, Wolfram Uhlig and his assistants have delighted their audience with barking "Chemical Dogs", flash fires of burning oil, and meter-high fountains of beer foam. Uhlig combined entertaining experiments with theoretical background in his shows. Now, he retires.

We now know who will head the two new Executive Board domains. ETH Zurich President Joël Mesot explains what this move means for professors, staff and the Executive Board.

The Executive Board is giving the green light for further measures to improve the work situation and to encourage people to treat one another with respect: the Board has defined a procedure for cases of inappropriate behaviour and is also launching a regular survey of the scientific staff. 

On 8 August the WSL Director and Professor of Climate and Cryosphere died in an accident while working in Greenland. His ETH colleagues remind us of a man and scientist who leaves an enormous gap.

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 exceptional situation we find ourselves in is extremely challenging for most people, both in their professional and private lives. The Human Resources department offers full support: from practical tips on preventing infection to personal advice for individual employees.

While the main issue concerning new staff from Switzerland is whether it is possible for them to complete the introduction process while working remotely from home, the hiring of staff from abroad is being hindered by legal obstacles to the recruitment process, namely restrictions on admission to the country imposed by the federal government.

Dr. Hermann Lehner is appointed new head of the Academic Services. He takes over from Dr. Dieter Wüest on July 1, 2020, who has served in this important position for 15 years and has provided invaluable service to ETH Zurich.

In its last four meetings, the Executive Board revamped several Master’s programmes, re-elected the President’s delegates and gave the green light for the 2020 employee survey.

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?

Future admission arrangements for the ETH master’s programme, the composition of the ETH Zurich Research Commission for the next few years, and new uses for the space under the dome of the ETH main building: these were some of the most important items on the agenda for recent meetings of the Executive Board.

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.

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.

At a recent retreat, the Executive Board set the course for the further development of ETH Zurich’s organisational structure. The initial strategic direction was established for the Executive Board’s future composition, the university’s core values and the enhancement of ETH’s leadership culture.

In the first series of meetings chaired by the new President, Joël Mesot, ETH Zurich’s Executive Board made provisions for ten new professorships. It also concluded the project to optimise occupancy of the ETH Main Building and created a more permanent structure for the Critical Thinking Initiative.

As President of the Staff Commission (PeKo), André Blanchard focused on dialogue and achieved good results for employees. What strategies will his successor Christopher Sauder be pursuing and what are his aims?

ETH Zurich is the proud recipient of a new research funding instrument called “ETH+ Grants” with which ETH aims to fund major interdisciplinary research projects. In addition to this, ETH Zurich hopes to significantly reduce flight emissions. After making these decisions, the Executive Board of ETH Zurich will now take its leave for the holidays.

More than 2,000 ETH members attended the ETH Executive Board’s Christmas drinks reception this year. The event focused on the end of Lino Guzzella’s term as President of ETH Zurich.

Eight new professorships through ETH+, an improved introductory programme for professors, a new laboratory building for architecture and a Forest Lab on Hönggerberg: those were the key decisions taken by the Executive Board at its most recent meetings.

Dr. Gerd Kortemeyer is the new head of the Administrative Department Educational Development and Technology (LET). He takes over from Dr. Daniel Halter, who is moving to the University of Applied Sciences, Northwestern Switzerland.

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.

Hans Heinrich Hauri, President of ETH Zurich from 1968 to 1973, passed away on 1 October at the age of 95.

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.

The Executive Board has approved the function description of the departmental delegates for good scientific practice and has also decided to develop online communication channels step by step, to award a prize for young innovators to mark the 200th birthday of Alfred Escher in 2019, and to put childcare on a new footing.

After a long illness, Willy Krek passed away on 29 August at the age of 56. The biology professor was a key figure in the development of molecular health sciences and personalised medicine at ETH Zurich. The university has lost a passionate researcher and supporter.

The last meetings of the Executive Board were devoted mainly to numerous construction and infrastructure projects. Decisions were taken, inter alia, on the construction of the new physics building on the Hönggerberg and the future occupancy of the Main Building. The offices of the Vice President for Human Resources and Infrastructure will move into a leased building in Oerlikon.

In its last session, the Executive Board confirmed its deep commitment to the Singapore site, strengthened the position of the Animal Welfare Officer, and approved a new institute for the Department of Computer Science along with the new procurement strategy of the Facility Management department. It also secured financing for the Student Project House for 2019.

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.

Good scientific practice, management of ETH’s finances, setting up the new School for Continuing Education, information security, procurement, catering and the salary system for doctoral students: ETH Zurich’s Executive Board passed resolutions on all these topics during its most recent sessions. Another matter that was discussed was the annual report from the Associate Vice President for Sustainability.

ETH professor Wilfred van Gunsteren’s term of office as an ombudsman has come to an end, and the Executive Board has selected two prominent individuals to replace him: ETH professor Gerhard Tröster and Hugo Bretscher, ETH’s former Secretary General.

Does the election of Donald Trump impact the faculty recruitment at ETH Zurich?

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

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.

Dieter Schorno has been Head of Vocational Education and Training for 18 years, and will be retiring at the end of June. Fabienne Jaquet took over his role on 1 June 2016.

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).

Katharina Poiger Ruloff will take over as ETH Zurich Secretary General from 1 October 2016. The Executive Board has announced her as the successor to the current Secretary General, Hugo Bretscher.

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

Ulrich Weidmann has been Vice President of Human Resources and Infrastructure since January. On a visit to the Staff Commission, he looked back on his first three months on the Executive Board.

An evaluation of the New Salary System (NSS) that has been in place since 2006 has shown that it meets overall requirements and should be retained. Areas for improvement include the role profiles and the information provided to managers on the use of the system.

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 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.

At its meeting the ETH Board discussed the grants initiative, the research infrastructure projects of national significance and further refined its succession planning for the EPFL presidency.

Walter Kaufmann, Full Professor of Structural Engineering since 2014, talks about why he came back to ETH Zurich and the fascination that bridges still hold for him. He will be giving his inaugural lecture at 5.15 p.m. on 21 May in the Audimax hall.

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

On 1 May, Professor Paolo Ermanni (pictured on the far left) will be taking up his new post as Prorector for Continuing Education. Three other prorectors have been re-elected for a further term.

ETH Zurich says farewell to Franz Schmithüsen. The emeritus professor for forestry policy and forestry economy formed an entire generation of forestry experts. He died on 14 April 2015 at the age of 75.

For 35 years, Alain Geiger has been dedicating his efforts to measuring the Earth and its atmosphere at the Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry. He has discovered that Switzerland is gradually growing in height.

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.

ETH Zurich bids farewell to Computer Science professor Jiří Matoušek. A leading light in discrete and algorithmic geometry, he died on 9 March 2015, a day before his 52nd birthday.

Walter Karlen has been professor for mobile health systems since October 2014. In a short interview he explains why he chose his field of research and what it has in common with the Starship Enterprise.