Strategic action areas
Expanding scientific expertise and passing it on to the next generation is the raison d’être of our university. For this reason, we are continually developing the diversity of our research and teaching activities while at the same time keeping our focus on a few core areas that are of particular importance for the future of Switzerland.
Basic research is the foundation for the success of ETH as a whole and particularly for mission-oriented research targeted at solving global challenges. Interdisciplinary collaboration will be strengthened in all strategic action areas, thereby promoting the translation of research results into real-world applications and teaching.
ETH Zurich’s strategic areas of action for 2021-2024 are:
Data and information
Our society has been permeated by digitalisation, social networks, artificial intelligence and other IT-based innovations. The consequences of these disruptions – for instance, changes in the working world, or issues surrounding security and privacy – are fundamental in nature and closely linked to technological developments.
Health and medicine
Ageing societies in industrialised countries require technological solutions for prevention, diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation. These solutions must be affordable and sustainable across generations. Similar solutions can and should be used to open up access to medical services for all. New medical approaches are being developed with the help of data science, digitalisation, and new technologies in engineering and the life sciences.
Materials and manufacturing
New sustainable, resource-saving materials and production technologies are of great importance to the economy and the prosperity of Switzerland and around the world. Digitalisation is fundamentally transforming the landscape when it comes to material development, constructive design and manufacturing technologies, and the reuse and recycling of materials. These developments are leading to more flexibility, productivity and quality.
Responsibility and sustainability
The scope and complexity of the urgent challenges of our time require a holistic, interdisciplinary approach that calls for open cooperation between people who think and act critically. According to the ETH Act, teaching and research are guided by respect for human dignity, responsibility in the use of natural resources and the environment together with an evaluation of the consequences of technological applications. In order to live up to these principles, we integrate sustainability into our research activities and our daily actions. We promote responsibility, cooperation, and a culture of critical and constructive thinking, and we engage in dialogue with the general public.