NewsETH Board appoints 12 new professors in the ETH Domain
Quality in teaching and top research the supreme imperative
Basel, 30 June 2010 (MB/FM) – At its meeting of 28/29 June 2010, the ETH Board, the strategic management and supervisory body of the ETH Domain, appointed 12 professors at the ETH Zurich and at the EPF Lausanne, and debated the perspectives of the ETH Domain in the course of a retreat.
At its meeting, the ETH Board appointed a total of 12 professors at the ETH Zurich and at the EPF Lausanne and two associate professors at the EPFL, and extended the appointment of two professors at the ETH Zurich. These professorships cover interdisciplinary fields in basic and applied research such as construction engineering, high-power electronics, energy research, computer sciences, quantum research and the scientific cornerstones of biomedicine.
The ETH Board´s planning work for the imminent discussion of the Confederation’s subsidies policy for education, research and innovation in 2012 and 2013-2016 is expected to be concluded in the autumn. "In this context, top-quality teaching and a first-rate learning environment are the highest priority for the ETH Board," said Fritz Schiesser, the President of the ETH Board. "Proximity to research at the universities and in the research institutes is a clear trump in the ETH Domain. To continue to play it to advantage and to keep Switzerland internationally attractive as a centre of research, this country will also have to continue to invest in research infrastructure," he added.
In the course of its annual retreat, the ETH Board debated issues such as diversity and equal opportunities, future focal issues, risk management and funding strategies, both in general terms and with a view to the period beyond 2016. Naturally, this was an exercise in reflection, and no resolutions were adopted.
Federal Council elects Joël Mesot to the ETH Board
18 June 2010 - The Federal Council has elected Professor Dr. Joël Mesot, the Swiss solid-state physicist and Director of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), as a new member of the ETH Board. Born in 1964, Joël Mesot succeeds the American environmental chemist Professor Dr. Janet Hering on the strategic management body of the ETH Domain. The Federal Council has re-elected Janet Hering, who was born in 1958, for a second term as Director of Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology.
By electing Professor Dr. Joël Mesot, the Federal Council has followed the submission of the ETH Board and the joint recommendation of the Directors of the four federal research institutes within the ETH Domain. Joël Mesot has been elected until 2011 and will represent the federal research institutes on the ETH Board. He will take up his post on 1 July 2010. The physicist and professor at ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne has been Director of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) since August 2008.
In response to another submission of the ETH Board, the Federal Council has re-elected Professor Dr. Janet Hering as Director of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) for a second term of office lasting until 2014. Janet Hering has been Director of the ETH Domain’s aquatic research institute since the beginning of 2007 and has held a dual professorship at ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne since May 2010. She is stepping down from the ETH Board at her own request to concentrate on her dual professorship and her tasks as Director of Eawag.
ETH Board works on strategic planning
ETH Domain: Enabling growth despite uncertain times
Lausanne, 20 May 2010 (MB) – At its meeting on 18 and 19 May 2010, the ETH Board worked on its strategic planning for 2012-2016 against a backdrop of uncertainty about its future funding. It also provisionnally allocated its budget for 2011 and spoke out on the importance of animal research for the ETH Domain. In addition, it appointed a total of 38 professors and appointed Prof. Dr. Janet Hering, the Director of Eawag and professor at ETH Zurich, also to a professorship at ETH Zurich and EPFL.
The ETH Board, the strategic leadership and oversight body of the ETH Domain, met in Lausanne on 18 and 19 May 2010 and further developed its strategic planning document for the performance periods 2012 and 2013-2016. The ETH Board is drafting this document in close cooperation with the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology and the four research institutes of the ETH Domain. The document forms a vital basis for the forthcoming Federal Council messages on education, research and innovation (ERI message). However, uncertainty about federal government funding is overshadowing the planning process.
Threatened cuts demand priority setting: teaching and reputation must not be jeopardized
As part of the strategic planning process, the Board considered what its priorities should be in difficult times. "The ETH Board was unanimous in according teaching, that is training the next generation, a high priority," says the Board President, Dr Fritz Schiesser. At the same time, however, the ETH Board warned against making cutbacks to research. The ETH Board therefore finds it all the more objectionable that the success of the ETH Domain in raising research funds (e.g. from Swiss National Science Founda-tion, CTI projects, European research funding and private sources) is now used as an argument for cut-ting the basic funding provided by the government. "The focus areas for research set within the individual institutions and for the ETH Domain as a whole and the three major projects of high-performance computing (HPCN), free-electron lasers (SwissFEL) and Blue Brain are crucial to achieving the goal set by national politics, which is to remain at the forefront of international research. These projects also are an important contribution of Switzerland to the Europe as a location for research " says Prof. Dr. Ralph Eichler, President of ETH Zurich. "The ETH Domain as a whole has proved to be very successful across Switzerland in terms of both research and transferring knowledge to the economy; it is precisely when times are tough that this success must not be penalized," says Prof. Dr Patrick Aebischer, President of EPFL. He continues: "Every day I see companies seeking to form closer ties with our universities and re-search institutes because they are an important engine for the economy."
The austerity measures as they are currently proposed would cost the ETH Domain CHF 66.6 million in 2011 and over CHF 200 million by 2014. On top of that would presumably come substantial indirect cuts (i.e. via SNF, research mandates triggered by federal administration). This was the background against which the ETH Board had to allocate into account the increasing costs faced by the institutions and in the aim of guaranteeing continued high-quality teaching, reasearch and knowledge transfer, the ETH Board intends to maintain a minimal budget increase of 1%.
In order to be able to honour simultaneous contingent obligations to the state pension fund, PUBLICA, the ETH Board has to reduce its contribution to the Swiss University Conference’s (SUC) national cooperation and innovation projects. In 2011 it has therefore decided to cut its contribution by 3%. The most important SUC projects are the two national research initiatives for systems biology, SystemsX.ch, and for engineering sciences and information technologies, Nano-Tera.ch. For the years 2012-2016 the ETH Board has mandated its President to enter into negotiations about the further funding of these initiatives.
Following the earlier decisions on the funding scenarios for the three competence centres CCEM, CCES and CCMX in connection with the preliminary work on the strategic plan for 2012-2016, the ETH Board has now agreed on its contributions to the National Competence Center in Biomedical Imaging (NCCBI) for the years 2012-2015, following the positive assessment of the NCCBI, subject to any cuts in the budget for the ETH Domain.
Animal testing: Switzerland´s position as a centre for education and research must not be weakened
The ETH Board further addresses the increasing significance of animal testing in the ETH Domain and has approved a new Fact Sheet on this topic. Diseases such as Alzheimer´s, Parkinson´s, multiple scle-rosis and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are on the increase, not least as a result of in-creasing life expectancy worldwide. Life sciences research and medical technology, both key areas of the ETH Domain, deliver the essential fundamentals for understanding these complex diseases and developing differentiated treatments and tools. "While many experiments can now be conducted in cell cultures and models, animal research is still essential, and even becomes increasingly important in certain innovative areas. The research sector attaches great importance to animal welfare and carries out its experiments in accordance with strict ethical and statutory rules", explains Dr Markus Stauffacher, Member of the ETH Board and also a researcher in the fields of animal ethology and animal protection. The ETH Board highly values the correct husbandry and care of laboratory animals and their respectful and responsible handling. This includes strict compliance with legal requirements, which stipulate the need for an advance consideration of interests when testing on vertebrates. This procedure was also followed in the now publicly known case of the primate tests at the University and the ETH Zurich. In this case however, the cantonal animal testing commission considered the potential knowledge gain for basic research to be minimal. Commenting on this verdict, Prof. Dr Paul Herrling, Vice-President of the ETH Board says: "Whereas the Swiss Animal Protection Ordinance is clear and bases the evaluation of adverse effects on scientific parameters, the rather vague constitutional phrase on the ´dignity´ of the creature´ can some-times be interpreted in extreme ways. If findings of basic research are no longer considered as important, this jeopardizes Switzerland´s position as a centre for research. News of this case has spread through the research community worldwide faster than we would have liked."
Eawag Director appointed dual professor at ETH Zurich and EPFL
The ETH Board also appointed or reappointed a total of 38 professors at ETH Zurich and ETH Lausanne (EPFL). Eight professors are specifically designed for cooperation between the individual institutions of the ETH Domain and for collaboration with research partners both at home (CERN) and abroad (Ras Al Khaimah). In addition, the ETH Board appointed Prof. Dr Janet Hering, the Director of Eawag and professor at ETH Zurich to an additional post as professor of environmental chemistry at EPFL. Dr. Fritz Schiesser comments: "Cooperation in the ETH Domain is growing, particularly between EPFL and Eawag. Janet Hering´s new dual professorship is not only a good sign, but also a strong foundation on which to build further cooperation."
Increase in competition from abroad – ETH Domain needs sound financing
ETH Domain: International leader, national driver of innovation
Berne, 22 April 2010 (MB/FM) – With the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne and four research institutions (PSI, WSL, Empa and Eawag), the ETH Domain contributes to Switzerland`s standing and success in many different ways. To the benefit of the Swiss labour market, the number of students at the two Federal Institutes of Technology rose by 7.1% in 2009, and by almost 10% in the IT and engineering disciplines. With new platforms at ETH Zurich and in-house incubators at EPFL, Empa and Eawag, knowledge and technology transfer was strengthened in 2009. International rankings, success in research competitions and prestigious awards confirm our success in fulfilling our mandate of extending the leadership position of the ETH Domain in the research field. In light of the massive investments being made in education, research and technology in Europe and Asia however, Switzerland cannot let itself fall behind now.
At the annual media conference of the ETH Board (the strategic management and supervisory body of the ETH Domain), Board President Dr Fritz Schiesser demonstrated the many different contributions made by the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne and the four ETH research facilities (PSI, WSL, Empa and Eawag) to the quality of life, education and business in Switzerland. In 2009, ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne recorded an overall student growth rate in excess of 7% for the second year in succession. This and the marked growth in new admissions in the fields of Engineering (+13.6%) and Information and Communication Technology (+21.8%) is a good match for the needs of the Swiss labour market. "In view of the high level of demand for ETH graduates, the ETH Board feels that a strategy of controlled growth is the way forward", said Fritz Schiesser. In order to manage their growth and maintain their profile, the two Federal Institutes of Technology are deliberately refraining from lowering the standards required of their students. At the same time, the two institutions are investing in the quality of their teaching and the teacher-student ratio: for example, raising the number of professorships by 5.8% to a total of 670 in 2009, a move which, however, was only made possible by the successful acquisition of third-party funding. The four research facilities gave a total of 15,713 hours of lectures in 2009 and supervised 420 Bachelor`s, Master`s or diploma theses and 620 dissertations. "With this work, the research institutions also made a substantial contribution to teaching, both within the ETH Domain and at other Swiss universities", said Fritz Schiesser.
Relevant results for living and doing business in Switzerland
Thanks to these outstanding positions, the ETH Domain is a genuine driver of innovation within Switzerland. Both the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology and the four research facilities have further intensified their efforts in the area of knowledge and technology transfer: their service offering has been expanded, not least by some highly visible elements such as EPFL`s "Innovation District" or the glaTec business incubator at Empa and Eawag, as well as initiatives such as ETH Zurich`s ETH Production Technologies. Lively start-up activity continued with 45 spin-offs (long-term average: 27) despite the muted economic backdrop. At the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), the synchrotron light source is providing important services to Swiss universities, industry and the medical diagnostics sector. The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) played a crucial role in the prevention of natural hazards and, for example, created a flood warning platform (River Sihl) for the new underground station in Zurich. Empa projects with a high degree of public relevance included, for example, an environmental performance analysis of biofuels and the damage assessment report for the St Gallen gymnasium collapse. Eawag worked closely with the Federal Office for the Environment and the Federal Office of Public Health, among others, in 2009 on the development of a new drinking water strategy for Switzerland.
International leadership position extended – key political mandate fulfilled
Both Federal Institutes of Technology were able to further extend their leading positions in the international rankings in 2009: in the university rankings published by the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES), ETH Zurich is now at number 20 (previous year: 24). EPFL consolidated its position as one of the top 50 universities, advancing to number 42 (previous year: 50). As in previous years, ETH Zurich also reaffirmed its position as the best continental European university within the research rankings compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China), placing 23rd (previous year: 24th). In the "Engineering/Technology and Computer Sciences" field, both Institutes are now top of the rankings for continental European universities. EPFL has even gained the highest ranking in the whole of Europe in this research field, placing 15th in the world. An impressive array of top international awards for researchers from both universities and their great success in competing for the acquisition of European subsidies (ERC grants) underline this leadership position.
The four research institutions tell a similar story: over 2,000 researchers from all over the world use the PSI as a major research laboratory, including the winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, who is conducting part of his research there. Other fields of worldwide interest in which the PSI is playing a pioneering role include the treatment of cancer by proton therapy, the production of synthetic natural gas from wood, and a research partnership for the development of a fuel cell. The WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research has strengthened its international position on all fronts and, working with numerous partners, has developed a highly regarded, energy-saving snow gun. Empa emerged as one of the top ten non-university research institutions in Europe in a study carried out by the University of St Gallen (HSG) and the Innovation Promotion Agency (CTI). The quality provided by Eawag was confirmed in a formal review carried out by an international panel of experts.
New international perspectives – pressing research questions
As ETH Board member Dr Barbara Haering explained at the media conference, despite all these successes, Switzerland – and by extension the ETH Domain – is still faced with increasing international competition. As a member of the European Research Area Board, Dr Haering revealed where and how new Europe-wide priorities are being set: "Research has been upgraded from a political project to a political goal. Accordingly, the conditions for research promotion have been considerably improved and the EU is currently working on an innovation strategy." Asia is also seeing a marked expansion in research and development: for example, between 2000 and 2007, gross expenditure on research and development in GDP terms increased in Japan (from 3.04% to 3.40%), South Korea (from 2.39% to 3.22%) and China (from 0.9% to 1.22%) (source: EU Research DG). For Barbara Haering, the situation is therefore clear: "Switzerland cannot afford to rest on its laurels today. It must remain attractive to the EU, especially in terms of its scientific policy, if it is to continue to be included in European deliberations on scientific development."
Can we afford to economize on scientific excellence?
Against this backdrop, according to Fritz Schiesser, the ETH Board is concerned to see new internal disputes on the distribution of funding looming within Switzerland: the austerity measures announced by the federal government (consolidation programme and remit review) could each cost the ETH Domain over CHF 50 million in the next few years. However, the ETH Domain should be urgently investing in student supervision; its leadership in the international rankings in this area is already starting to slip today. In addition, there are several important research infrastructure projects of national interest in the pipeline, such as the implementation of the national strategy for high-performance computing (HPCN) at ETH Zurich in Ticino, which made good progress in 2009, the new X-ray Free Electron Laser (SwissFEL) at the PSI and the Blue Brain neuroinformatics project at EPFL. In the ETH Domain, deliberations are currently under way concerning a strengthening of its joint presence: "We should be working abroad to help highlight the significance of Switzerland as a centre for education, research and innovation. At home, we need to emphasize more strongly that international excellence is the prerequisite for allowing the ETH Domain to act as a driver of innovation within Switzerland."
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