rETHink - Organizational development project
Background and goals
ETH President Joël Mesot initiated the rETHink project shortly after taking office in 2019 in order to set the course for the organisational development of ETH Zurich and ensure its long-term sustainability.
Analysis and solution development
In the analysis phase, which began in 2020, five workstreams examined the various institutional levels of ETH. A sixth, overarching workstream was dedicated to the culture at ETH. In the solution development phase, the members of the existing workstreams developed concrete solution proposals for the fields of action. For topics that did not only affect one organisational level, but had to be looked at across ETH, a corresponding working group was formed, in which members from all six existing workstreams participated.
Overview on analysis and solution development
The findings of the analysis phase and the proposed solutions are summarised on the following pages:
- Workstream 1: Executive Board, basic architecture & boards
- Workstream 2: Professorships
- Workstream 3: Support of professors
- Workstream 4: Academic Departments
- Workstream 5: Central Administrative Units
- Workstream 6: Culture development
- Working group: "Big Topics" (WG BT)
The solution development phase formally ended in the first quarter of 2023 with rETHink switch (switch from solution development to solution implementation), even though solution proposals had already been submitted to the organisation on an ongoing basis - or had already been implemented.
Results
By the end of 2023, solutions for the prioritised areas of action had been implemented or the process for doing so had been initiated. The project organisation was thus completely dissolved and the project formally concluded.