Digital and interactive: ETH Zurich’s Annual Report 2022 is now available!

Our university engages in research, teaching, continuing education and knowledge transfer not only as an end in itself, but in the service of society. We firmly believe that research and science are drivers for positive change.

Our report gives a tour of our research labs and teaching facilities. Soak up the creative energy of our students who have been testing their inspired ideas in the Student Project House (SPH) over the past year! As with the SPH, not everything works immediately in research. Scientific investigation entails a constant search for knowledge that must stand the test of time. This is a side of scientific endeavour that is often not fully recognised by the general public.

As key players in Switzerland’s academic community, ETH researchers have constantly pushed the barriers of knowledge over the last year, passing the findings on to our students and sharing them with public authorities and the general population. Their expertise is channelled into advisory bodies and is reflected in studies on the energy transition, security policy analyses and epidemiological investigations. The start-ups founded by our graduates also have a noticeable impact: 26 new spin-offs were added in 2022. Another statistic I find particularly impressive: the venture capital raised by ETH spin-offs has passed the one-billion-Swiss-franc mark for the first time. Such a large sum shows investors are becoming increasingly comfortable backing the innovative strength of the ETH brand.

Given it is home to some 25,000 students and over 10,500 employees, ETH Zurich is obviously not immune to political, economic and social developments. University life has therefore inevitably been affected by the recent spate of crises in quick succession. While the pandemic and its fall-out were still being felt at the start of 2022, the invasion of Ukraine, compounded by the energy crisis and deteriorating federal finances, created a volatile situation requiring immediate measures and a change of direction in planning.

All this made 2022 another challenging year, particularly since full association to the European research network “Horizon Europe – which is so important for ETH Zurich and for Swiss universities in general – still appears to be a long time coming. We have strengthened our bilateral contacts wherever possible and expanded our international network, for example, by joining the European ENHANCE Alliance. The purpose of this alliance is to promote the international mobility of students and lecturers. In Switzerland, we expanded the opportunities for dialogue with policymakers and public authorities. For example, a meeting with the Social Democratic (SP) Parliamentary Group took place in the Zurich Innovation Park, and the university was honoured to receive a visit from two European heads of state as guests of President of the Swiss Confederation Cassis.

Science thrives on a risk culture – it needs freedom to develop and to create the greatest possible benefit for society in the long term. ETH Zurich is fortunate to be able count on the support and trust of the Swiss people. I would therefore like to extend my sincere thanks to all our partners in politics and industry, and especially our friends and sponsors. I would also like to thank our employees whose tireless commitment plays such a vital role in the university’s success. It is mostly their hard work that has led to ETH Zurich being named yet again as one of the world’s top universities in 2022 and means we can look back on another successful year. But why not find out more for yourself?”