ETH Zurich to host Amgen scholars

ETH Zurich joins a network of 17 top educational institutions worldwide in collaboration with the Amgen Foundation's Scholars Program. As part of this network, ETH Zurich will serve as a host institution for undergraduate students from Europe providing them with the opportunity  to broaden their understanding of a wide range of related scientific fields including medical biotechnology. Over the next two years the Amgen Scholars Program will fund 20 talented students each year for summer research internships with ETH Zurich's Department of Biology, the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Institute of Neurosciences, part of the Department of Health Sciences and Technology, and the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering – located in Basel. The summer programme offers students hands-on opportunities to work with leading scientific research teams and culminates in a regional symposium where students present their work.

"The Amgen Scholars Program supports ETH Zurich's interests in a multidisciplinary and international collaboration and exchange between engineering sciences and medicine," said ETH President Ralph Eichler. 

Through the Amgen Scholars Program the American biotech company aims to inspire the next generation of innovators by providing undergraduates with hands-on summer research opportunities at many of the world's premier educational institutions. First launched in the Unites States in 2006 and in Europe in 2008, the Amgen Scholars Program has provided financial support in the form of scholarship opportunities to 2,500 students worldwide in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) with an endowment fund of over 100 million US dollars. With this announcement, the Amgen Foundation expands the program to select leading institutions in the US, Europe, and in Asia.