Gold chains and patents

When Rector Sarah Springman enters the main hall for ETH Day adorned in her majestic gold chain of office, she has our Alumni Association to thank: the gold chain was in fact a present from the then association of former students of the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School (GEP for short) in honour of ETH Day in 1966. The chain was given to ETH after former Rector Walter Traupel had been repeatedly teased by his fellow rectors for being the only one amongst them not to wear a chain during public appearances.

When the GEP presented the university with this important gift, the association had already been in existence for almost 100 years. The idea for an alumni association first formed in the autumn of 1868, 13 years after the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School was founded. In spring 1869, civil engineer Andreas Harlacher set about turning this idea into a reality, together with engineering graduates Heinrich Paur and August Waldner.

They succeeded in mobilising a number of former polytechnic students and the inaugural meeting of the GEP took place on a Sunday in the summer of 1869. They passed the statutes and elected Harlacher as the association’s first president.

The GEP shakes up the teaching system

The association wished to get involved with and support the goings-on at the school, cultivate relationships between former students and support them in pursuing their professional interests. The latter two goals were met by regularly sending out address directories and association notices, as well as a dedicated employment service. The greatest contribution, however, took the form of the general meetings, usually held over the course of two days, during which there was also time for excursions, parties and networking alongside other business matters.

The GEP’s success in achieving its primary goal of supporting the school was particularly evidenced in the 1870s. Despite the fact that the school was providing its students with a solid technical education, relatively few of them were going on to secure higher-level professional positions. The GEP was convinced that the problem lay in a lack of general education among its alumni.

In response to this, in 1875, ETH alumnus Jean Meyer presented a proposal for the reorganisation of the school to attendees at the general meeting. As part of his proposal, he advocated raising the age of entry from 17 to 18 and scrapping the preliminary “crash course” that enabled applicants without the relevant qualifications to matriculate without taking exams. He also urged the cantonal schools to be further developed in order to better prepare future students for study at the Polytechnic School.

From students to ambassadors

Around the same time, the GEP was also working hard to secure a concrete place for the protection of inventions within the Swiss Federal Constitution. Despite all their efforts, the GEP’s attempt to amend the constitution failed on the first attempt. However, the association did continue to invest in educating the public with great success, with the Patents Act accepted by the public in 1887.

Seven years later, the association celebrated its 25th anniversary. Alongside its political achievements, the GEP also celebrated a number of internal successes. By this point, the number of members had increased from 185 in the first year to over 1,600, half of whom lived abroad. Specialist groups and regional branches formed, the GEP issued a number of publications in the form of its bulletin and the Schweizerische Bauzeitung (Swiss Construction Journal) and links were established with alumni associations from other universities in Paris, Rome, Berlin and Graz.

The period after the turn of the 20th century was plagued by war and a fear of technology, lending particular gravitas to the role held by the GEP members as ambassadors representing the school to the wider public. This intermediary role has persisted over the years and remains crucial to this day, particularly in the face of the increasing spread of “fake news” and the accompanying scepticism that many people show towards science.

Connecting, engaging, inspiring

That said, the GEP has also undergone some changes in recent years. Indeed, the association experienced a renaissance at the turn of the 21st century. The time-honoured association of former students of the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School has transformed itself into a modern alumni association with updated statutes. At its core, however, the association remains much the same: with its motto “Connecting – Engaging – Inspiring”, the association continues to pursue its goals of supporting its alma mater’s activities and cultivating and growing the global network of ETH alumni. “In our increasingly globalised society, creating a network spanning the entire world is becoming more and more important,” says the President of the Alumni Association, Walter Gränicher.

Today, the association has over 30,000 members across around 60 different member organisations divided according to discipline, location and area of interest. Despite these sub-associations, Gränicher still confidently affirms: “The alumni primarily identify with the three letters ‘ETH’.” As the proud voice of one of the most prestigious universities in the world, the alumni themselves make a significant contribution to the reputation of ETH Zurich.

This article appeared in the current ETH magazine "life".