Sustainability in research and education
Through its research and education, ETH Zurich provides not only the scientific and technical expertise but also the leaders for sustainable development.
Research
In addition to the broad spectrum of cutting-edge research conducted in its departments, ETH Zurich can build on the inter- and transdisciplinary expertise of its various competence centres to address society's major challenges, such as energy supply,
food security, risk, or climate change. By promoting the entrepreneurial activities of its researchers, ETH Zurich is strongly committed to knowledge transfer for the benefit of society.
Education
ETH Zurich is educating the future generation of professionals who will incorporate aspects of sustainability into their professional lives and beyond. Over the past decades, ETH Zurich has not only developed internationally recognized degree programs, courses, and other teaching formats, but also established new departments and institutes to provide its students with sustainability-specific knowledge. Another goal of ETH Zurich is to empower its students to become intellectually agile by equipping them to address socially and ethically relevant issues during their studies, in their careers, and as proactive members of society.
The School for Continuing Education offers a range of continuing education programmes, including MAS, DAS, CAS, and short courses, some of which have a direct link to sustainability. For example, the CAS ETH in Climate Innovation works with real-world case studies to equip future climate change leaders with the skills and knowledge necessary to lead the transition toward net zero emissions. And the MAS ETH in Mediation in Peace Processes provides students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and techniques to mediate violent political conflicts.
Other sustainability-related events and courses include the Energy Science Center's (ECS) Summer School 2023: Energy Technology, Policy and Politics – How to Build a Net-Zero GHG Emissions Energy System, which will take place during late summer 2023 in Ascona, Switzerland. Moreover, in the course "Umweltproblemlösen" ("solving environmental issues"), organized by the Transdisciplinarity Lab of ETH Zurich, roughly 100 students in the first year of the Bachelor of Environmental Sciences deal with selected sustainability problems of a region of Switzerland. The current case study is "Net Zero in the City of Zurich".