Archive internal news
All stories by Michael Walther
We need to enable our students to cope with rapid change
- Institutional
- Internal news
What is needed in future for teaching at ETH to remain successful? Rector Günther Dissertori talks in an interview about the vision for teaching that the Executive Board approved this summer.
New guidelines for the use of generative AI in education
- Institutional
- Internal news
ETH encourages students and lecturers to engage with GenAI and appeals for responsibility, transparency and fairness.
Automated math exercises
- Honours and prizes
- Internal news
On May 15, ETH Zurich will honor particularly innovative teaching projects with the KITE Award for the fifth time. In a short series, we present the three projects that made it to the final.
Knowledge made tangible: medical students build exoskeletons
- Honours and prizes
- Internal news
On May 15, ETH Zurich will honor particularly innovative teaching projects with the KITE Award for the fith time. In a short series, we present the three projects that made it to the final.
The ETH chatbot Ethel also corrects exercises
- Teaching
- Internal news
- For lecturers
Chatbots are already serving as digital mentors in lectures. Gerd Kortemeyer, a specialist in AI in teaching, explains what they can do – and soon will be able to.
Project-based education is the standard here
- Honours and prizes
- Internal news
On May 15, ETH Zurich will honor particularly innovative teaching projects with the KITE Award for the fifth time. In a short series, we present the three projects that made it to the final.
PAKETH teaching reform submitted for consultation
- Institutional
- Campus
- Internal news
- For lecturers
The concept for the major teaching reform has been drawn up. The consultation period will run until 14 June.
Students use language models primarily for programming
- Teaching
- Community
- Campus
- Internal news
A broad survey of students at ETH Zurich shows: Language models are still rarely used in the classroom, but they are used frequently and creatively as learning aids.
More freedom for students
- Teaching
- Internal news
At the beginning of the year, Rector Günther Dissertori initiated a project to free up time in the academic calendar for students and to simplify the examination system. In this interview, he talks about the project’s initial findings and scenarios.
Rapid and concrete feedback on teaching
- For lecturers
- Teaching
- The Executive Board reports
ETH has recently launched a scheme for arranging mutual classroom visits. This should encourage peer feedback to become an established part of teaching practice.
How ETH Zurich plans to deal with the growth in student numbers
- Institutional
- Internal news
Rector Günther Dissertori explains how ETH Zurich plans to change its rules on admission and why numerus clausus restrictions are currently not on the table. The Executive Board approved a new admissions strategy in March.
This or that? Stefan Spiegel in a video interview
- Institutional
- Internal news
Stefan Spiegel took office as Vice President for Finance and Controlling on the first of April. In an interview we asked him a few “this or that” questions.
Interview: How ChatGPT is changing teaching and assessments
- Institutional
- For lecturers
- Internal news
Language models like ChatGPT will change a lot more than just assessments at ETH Zurich. In this interview, education experts Gerd Kortemeyer and Manuel Sudau discuss the consequences of the language model for teaching staff and students.
This or that? Christian Wolfrum in a video interview
- Institutional
- Internal news
Lab or office? Fundamentals or application? Trust or control? Christian Wolfrum has been Vice President for Research at ETH since January 2023. We ask him a series of either-or questions.
Ulrike Lohmann takes up her post as Vice Rector for Doctoral Studies
- Institutional
- Internal news
Ulrike Lohmann is taking over the position from Manfred Sigrist, who drove forward the implementation of the new Ordinance on the Doctorate.
Why continuing education makes ETH’s ideas faster
- Working at ETH
- SCE
- In person
- Internal news
On 1 August, Paolo Ermanni handed over the office of Vice Rector for Continuing Education to Stefano Brusoni. In this interview, the two of them discuss how to measure success in continuing education and how research can benefit from it.
“Streaming should not become the standard”
- For lecturers
- Internal news
Rector Günther Dissertori has sent out a communication to lecturers calling on them to discontinue holding fully online courses. He explains why below.
Holograms at the touch of a button
For researchers
A new ETH laboratory makes high-resolution 3D recordings possible, enabling researchers to animate avatars or train robots, for example.
Physics experiments at home
Internal news
On 4 May, ETH Zurich is presenting the KITE Award to honour particularly innovative teaching projects and initiatives. In a short series, we present the three projects that made it to the final. All of them were created in the semesters of distance learning.
This or that? Video interview with ETH Rector Günther Dissertori
Internal news
Since the first of February, Günther Dissertori is the new Rector of ETH Zurich. In an interview we asked him a few “this or that” questions: lecture or seminar? Cooking or washing up? Valais or Grisons? Dumplings or gnocchi?
New regulations will soon apply for the doctorate
Internal news
As of January, all doctoral students at ETH Zurich will have at least two supervisors. In addition, they must now defend their research proposal at a colloquium in order to be definitively admitted to the doctorate. New employment regulations also apply.
Isolation is tough for students
Internal news
During the pandemic, ETH students have been struggling with motivation and miss social contact with their fellow students. These were the findings of an ad-hoc student survey carried out in December. On the positive side, remote teaching has been a big success.
Video interview with ETH Vice President Vanessa Wood
Internal news
Sprint or marathon? Perfectionism or speed? Lab or meeting room? Vanessa Wood is the new ETH Vice President for Knowledge Transfer and Corporate Relations. Find out more about her in this video interview.
Guidelines for good working relationships
Internal news
New rules will apply to those starting their doctoral studies at ETH in the autumn. After two extensive consultation rounds, the ETH Executive Board passed the revised version of the Ordinance on Doctoral Studies on 26 January 2021. The new guidelines make it compulsory for doctoral students to have a second supervisor and stipulate more precise rules for collaboration between professors and doctoral students.
“We mustn’t stop in our tracks”
Internal news
We now know who will head the two new Executive Board domains. ETH Zurich President Joël Mesot explains what this move means for professors, staff and the Executive Board.
«Many students need guidance»
- life
- Internal news
After 16 years as head of Academic Services, Dieter Wüest recently handed over leadership of the department to Hermann Lehner, previously a senior scientist with a focus on education in the Department of Computer Science. We spoke to both of them about the impact of the coronavirus crisis on teaching, and about their specific projects and visions for the future.