Strategic Initiatives

Judith Zimmermann is the head of the Strategic Initiatives Group since 2017. Befor, she worked as study coordinator and study advisor at D-INFK for over 10 years. She has a degree in Computer Science, a teacher's certificate in Computer Science, and a PhD in Educational Data Science from ETH Zurich.  

Miriam Bohli assists the Strategic Initiatives unit in administrative and organisational matters.

Hansjürg Büchi has a degree in Geology and a PhD in Environmental Sciences with focus on environmental ethics. For many years, he served as Deputy Executive Director of the Swiss Study Foundation and Head of Department at the University of Applied Sciences in Chur. From 2016 to 2022, he coordinated the Critical Thinking Initiative at ETH.

Deniz Yüzüak promotes evidence-based decision-making for educational steering committees at ETH by developing concepts and the collection and analysis of data. He brings experience in business intelligence/reporting, business analysis, and visualisation.

Barbara La Cara has a PhD in Technology and Innovation Management from ETH Zurich and expertise in innovation management and impact measurement. Based on this experience, she knows the competencies students need to develop for employability and contribute to society. As an Impact Advisor at the Student Project House, she also advises the team on the evaluation of learning in the, and impact of, SPH extra-curricular activities.

Computerisation becomes increasingly ubiquitous in all subject areas. Computational Competencies aims at strengthening both, subject-specific computational methods and technologies as well as the use of computational and data-based modelling in all study programmes at ETH.  

Michael Paulus holds a doctorate in the field of photonics from ETH Zurich and has many years of professional experience in the energy industry, education and innovation management. He leads the ETH Learning Factory Zug project.

Lucie Rejman had her own food start-up, and therefore, she knows what students need in order to turn their ideas into reality. She studied food science and has a PhD in Chocolate Process Engineering from ETH. She also holds a MAS MTEC from ETH and a leadership diploma from the University of Oxford.  

Florian Rittiner studied Mechanical Engineering at ETH Zurich and has a PhD in Technology and Innovation Management. After his research and consulting work at the interface between architecture and innovation, he returned to ETH Zurich and leads PBLabs.

Laurence Kissling studied political science and communication studies at the University of Zurich and architectural history at ETHZ. She also completed further training in innovation and marketing management. She has worked as a project manager in various industries and has many years of experience as an entrepreneur.