Additional stimulus for ETH Zurich

In its recently published annual report, the ETH Foundation provides details of financial contributions totalling CHF 62 million. ETH Zurich received over 3,200 donations, bequests and legacies in 2021 from private individuals, foundations and companies. Together, these facilitated over 150 projects in teaching and research, scholarships for outstanding students, funding for young entrepreneurs and start-up financing for professorships. Contributing organisations included ABB, the Albert Lück Stiftung, the Asuera Stiftung, the Baugarten Stiftung, Clariant, the Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Franke, Google, the Heidi Ras Stiftung, Hexagon, the Jacobs Foundation, Plastic Omnium, the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation and Suva – all expediting research in the fields of sustainable construction, robotics, rehabilitation, education, catalysis and artificial intelligence.

Success through strong partnerships

One successful funding project in 2021 involved the creation of a Master’s degree programme in Mechatronic Engineering, offered by Ashesi University in Ghana and ETH Zurich. Thanks to the support of private individuals, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Tarbaca Indigo Foundation, Adrian Weiss, the First Advisory Group, the Georg und Bertha Schwyzer-Winiker Stiftung, the Arthur Waser Foundation and the Louis Dreyfus Foundation, the first jointly run degree programme to train highly qualified engineers in Africa began in January 2022. Collaboration with industry partners will ensure that the programme is relevant to industrial development.

Sustainable funding since 2003

Thanks to the commitment of individuals, companies and foundations, the ETH Foundation supports exceptional talent and accelerates relevant research projects at ETH Zurich in order to strengthen Switzerland’s innovative power and to contribute to solutions to the greatest challenges of our time. Since 2003, donations to the ETH Foundation have enabled ETH Zurich to establish over 50 new professorships, award almost 1,200 scholarships, facilitate more than 800 research and teaching projects and carry out 40 infrastructure projects. “We are tremendously grateful to all of the ETH Zurich donors and partners whose support provides additional stimulus to the university,” explains Donald Tillmann, Managing Director of the ETH Foundation. “Their commitment, which ultimately benefits society as a whole, is very much appreciated and is never taken for granted.”