Digital Platform

With its "Digital Platform," ETH Zurich launches an interactive stage on which visitors can playfully reflect on digital transformation and its societal effects.

Digital Transformation at ETH Zurich

The digital transformation affects us all. As a leading institution, ETH Zurich would like to help shape the discussion on this topic at various levels. This includes making this complex topic accessible by engaging in a dialogue with a broad public audience. Projects implemented through the medium of the "Digital Platform," provide an opportunity for members of society to experience the digital age in varioius contexts.

"Many countries are investing heavily in digitalization, and we cannot avoid this development especially if we want to maintain our social achievements. Nevertheless, it is right that you also deal with the risks. If they are not adequately discussed, this leads to controversial social problems. ETH Zurich takes the possible consequences of digitization very seriously, just think of the professorships that deal with the political, ethical, legal, and sociological consequences,” says Lothar Thiele, Delegate for Digital Transformation and the initiator of the “Digital Platform.”

By stepping onto the "Digital Platform," the digital age can be experienced step by step.

Implementation

The "Digital Platform" provides a show-case in which to display aspects of an ongoing digitalisation process. The first rendition, launched in 2018, depicted "Ethics in Healthcare." It was displayed during a Digital Health event in 2018 - an event in which opinion leaders from politics, society, business, and reasearch gathered to experience how technologies, developed at ETH Zurich are shaping the future of medicine.

Scientifica - Zurich's Science Days event attracting 25,000 visitors also featured the Digital Platform in 2019 with its display showing the digital development of robotics.

This versatile communication tool provides not only a stage, but a unique perspective and interactive experience.

Design and Construction

The platform is 7.2 × 7.6 metres in size and is wheelchair accessible. Its 35 glass plate modules create a space for installations and objects for visitors' to explore beneath their feet. Built-in microprocessors and sensors enable an interactive experience with a variety of tangible options. With its modular system, the platform provides a mobile and adaptable display making it the mobile messenger of ETH Zurich. In addition, the “Digital Platform” creates a meeting space for lectures and workshops that allow for a deeper discussion and topical exchange.