Heartfelt tributes to departing Rector
Sarah Springman made a real difference as Rector and helped to improve teaching at ETH on many levels. Her passion and commitment inspired everyone she met – both inside and outside the university walls.
Sarah Springman was ETH Professor of Geotechnical Engineering for 18 years before being appointed Rector in 2015. During her seven-year tenure, she initiated or implemented teaching reforms on all levels while staying true to her motto of “students first”.
Key reforms
Two of the most striking reforms stemmed from initiatives begun by her two most recent predecessors. Under Springman, the first-year examination for most ETH degree programmes was split into two blocks, meaning that first-year Bachelor’s students now get feedback on their progress after just six months rather than a year. And, after many years of discussion, ETH finally bid farewell to attendance certificates, choosing instead to rely on students’ sense of personal responsibility and on tools that boost their intrinsic motivation.
Springman also devoted significant time and energy to the ETH doctorate. Having examined cases of disagreements between supervisors and doctoral students that occurred before and during her tenure as Rector, she understood the need for a new Ordinance on Doctoral Studies with input from all areas of ETH. The new guidelines were specifically designed to focus on good supervision and the doctoral student’s personal development.
Springman also launched a major project to establish computational competencies. They will now serve as a third pillar of learning alongside mathematics and physics in all degree programmes.
Education as a holistic experience
Springman also promoted two further projects designed to help students acquire interdisciplinary skills. The ETH Talent initiative aims to foster social skills, such as teamwork and leadership, in individual degree programmes, as well as personal skills such as creative and critical thinking.
The Student Project House gives students the chance to realise their own ideas and to run extracurricular projects together with students from other disciplines. This thinkspace and makerspace started out as a pilot project on the Hönggerberg campus in 2019. Two months ago, the Rector opened a 1,600- square-metre Project House on ETH’s Zentrum campus.
The long list of flagship projects under Springman’s tenure also includes the Youth Academy and the School for Continuing Education, the latter redefining how these programmes are presented at ETH and doubling the number of courses on offer.
“I am full of admiration for your remarkable achievements as a scientist, mentor and leader, and, on a personal level, I have benefited enormously from your mentoring skills.”Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich
Inspiring people
But these successful projects only represent one aspect of Springman’s remarkable achievements. Her tireless commitment to women and diversity at this venerable university has fuelled changes that will have an impact for many years to come.
During her time at ETH, Springman achieved tremendous gains for teaching, for the university, and for Switzerland as a whole. She received much praise for her enthusiasm, warmth and British humour, not just from students – as testified by numerous social media posts – but also from many other individuals both inside and outside the university walls.
As a result, Sarah Springman will be remembered for far more than being the second woman to hold the post of ETH Rector, after Heidi Wunderli-Allenspach. The heartfelt admiration of many of those who worked with “Sarah” shines through in the messages of thanks below.
Her new role as emeritus Rector doesn’t mean that Springman will be putting her feet up any time soon. At the beginning of February, she will take up her next post as principal of St. Hilda’s College at Oxford University.
This is how companions at ETH pay tribute to Sarah Springman
“I am full of admiration for your remarkable achievements as a scientist, mentor and leader, and, on a personal level, I have benefited enormously from your mentoring skills. I greatly value your contributions to the future of teaching and learning – and, in particular, your steadfast commitment to the important issue of diversity. Our many conversations and your valuable encouragement have given me the resolve to take the necessary steps to foster even greater diversity at ETH Zurich. We have made real progress – but there’s still a long way to go. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to you, Sarah, for your services to ETH and to Switzerland, and for your great sense of humour and enthusiasm, both of which you shared with us over so many years.”
Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich
“Working with Sarah has been a wonderful, inspiring experience. She humbly turned down our proposal to create a “Sarah Springman Prize”. So we put our heads together and came up with the idea of the Rector’s Impulse Fund, which has enabled us to support and implement many of her creative ideas over the years. We’ll never forget the private moments we shared with her at our home or over wonderful meals. We and ETH will miss Sarah greatly, but we wish her every joy and success in her new role and a safe return to British shores!”
Isabelle and Adrian Weiss, Adrian Weiss Stiftung
“Sarah Springman took the role of ETH Rector to heart, actively engaging with people in her position as leader and as a dedicated scientist. She continues to be a role model for women in the ETH community and throughout the STEM disciplines. Science needs women like Sarah Springman, because they play a vital role in boosting the appeal of our educational and research programmes now and in the future. I’m very grateful for what Sarah Springman has achieved both for ETH and for Zurich – its importance cannot be overstated.”
Corine Mauch, Mayor of Zurich
“Right from the start, I was impressed by Sarah’s commitment to students, to ETH teaching and to the university as a whole. She always took students’ concerns seriously and she played a big part in navigating ETH safely through the pandemic. Working with her taught me so much and was always a great pleasure!”
Luca Dahle, former President of VSETH
“Working so closely with Sarah was a real honour. As president of the Idea League, she guided our university alliance through the biggest challenge of its 20-year history. When the pandemic hit and tragedies began to unfold all across Europe, Sarah showed impressive leadership. She ensured that all our rectors had a safe space to share their concerns, to support each other in addressing the most pressing problems posed by the crisis, and to find ways of transforming our universities, so that we could emerge from the pandemic even stronger.”
Leslie Zachariah, Secretary General, Idea League
“Doing the right things!” was always Sarah’s philosophy in setting priorities and shaping her vision for ETH Zurich – something she also did with the keen focus she showed in her successful sporting career. She demonstrated a clear sense of trust in Academic Services and her entire team, and tirelessly provided support and encouragement to all of us. The sense of appreciation we got from her motivated us to do the right things too. Thank you, Sarah!
Dieter Wüest, long-time Head of Academic Services
“We’re on the same page!” That’s the phrase I think of when I look back at almost five years of inspiring, fulfilling work with Sarah Springman. ETH Zurich made huge strides through her dedication and openness in lending support to doctoral students and her unwavering commitment to reforming doctoral studies. The institution as a whole and every one of its undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students have much to thank Sarah for.
Antonio Togni, Vice Rector for Doctoral Studies between 2016 and 2021
I was amazed by the sheer amount of levity and fun that Sarah’s presence brought. Thanks to her, I also learned that we should always be asking ourselves: “Where are the women?”. The more famous she became, the more fan mail she got – so much so that we even ended up sending autograph cards to China and Japan! We’re both fans of Oscar Wilde, and she would sometimes recite a few passages – she was the best Lady Bracknell I’d ever heard! Sarah, I’ll miss your sense of humour!
Marianne Mandrin, assistant to Rector Springman
Sarah’s impressive professional and sporting career makes her a real role model for many young scientists. Her immense dedication to ETH Zurich was evident in more than just the teaching side: she also made significant efforts in areas far beyond this – including, importantly, the role of women. She is a shining example of what we can all achieve through hard work, enthusiasm and courage. Thank you, Sarah – it was a huge honour to work so closely with you!
Ulrike Lohmann, President of the Lecturers’ Conference
As an AVETH member, I found Sarah Springman to be a strong source of support – someone who was dedicated to helping people experiencing injustice or challenging circumstances. Later on, as AVETH President, I saw just how much attention to detail and energy she put into combating inequality. We want to thank her for setting such high standards in this respect.
Florentine Strudwick, AVETH President
As an engineer, Sarah has researched the effects of natural features on buildings, and with her sharp mind she has been able to draw parallels with learning as a Rector: Educational opportunities cannot be imposed against the nature of human thought and experience. But if you know underlying mechanisms, you can create solid foundations in harmony with nature - which is why she launched the Youth Academy for STEM learning, for example.
Elsbeth Stern, professor of Research on Learning and Instruction