Official opening of ETH Zurich biology training laboratory at Technopark

The lab technicians in the Department of Biology at ETH Zurich moved into the new training laboratory at Technopark Zurich in the city’s Zurich West district back in mid-January 2015. On Friday, the laboratory was officially opened by Dieter Schorno, Head of Vocational Education and Training at ETH Zurich, and the joint heads of the training laboratory, Marco Baur and Marco Andreina, in the presence of Head of Human Resources Lukas Vonesch.

"The new laboratory will give the quality of the training received by our lab technicians a further boost," said Dieter Schorno in front of around 80 invited guests from ETH Zurich, the Cantonal Office for Vocational Education and research institutions in the ETH Domain, as well as trainees, architects and construction experts.

The new biology training laboratory at Technopark comprises five laboratories: two "working laboratories", two laboratories for sterile processes and one for the weighing equipment, steriliser and dishwasher. On top of this there is a teaching room, a storeroom, a cloakroom and a laundry for washing lab coats.

The biology training laboratory has been permanently established on the fifth floor of the Einstein wing in Zurich's Technopark following a decision by the Executive Board in 2012. It forms part of the Department of Biology (D-BIOL).

This means that the biology lab technicians at ETH Zurich now have their very own laboratory. The first trainees in 1997 were based in the Institute for Plant Sciences, then from 2008 they shared the practical laboratory in the CHN Building with students from the Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS). The training laboratory is available not only to trainees at ETH but also to all those based at a vocational college in Winterthur.