Women in science – Female pioneers at ETH Zurich
A new release from the ETH Zurich Tours app is online! Join our second tour; discover the Hönggerberg campus for yourself, and learn all about the role women played in the 160-year history of the science university.
It was a long while before women could take up their rightful place at ETH Zurich. The first few appeared in the 19th century, and were “scientific refugees” from other countries. Why did the women back then have such a hard time? What are the everyday problems that women encounter today at the university? The tour entertainingly covers various aspects of the Women in Science topic. At the same time, it reveals what lies behind the façades of the complex built on the Hönggerberg in the 1960s: a childcare centre, for example, that makes everyday life much easier for many women at the university.
For some time now, ETH Zurich has been seeking to increase the number of women at the university. “In our ‘ETH Unterwegs’ programme (ETH on the road), we go out to grammar schools to show prospective students all that ETH Zurich has to offer. We often make these visits with female ETH students, so that the young people see just what’s possible. Our endeavour has led to an increase in the number of female students.” The words of ETH Rector Professor Sarah Springman illustrate just how committed ETH Zurich is to an equal opportunities environment. On the tour, you‘ll get to know Sarah Springman and a number of other women who found the path they were looking for at ETH Zurich and forged ahead.
The pioneers
The new app tour leads you through the campus to 14 different stops, where you meet the female pioneers who helped shape ETH Zurich. First and foremost is Nadina Smetzky, the first female student to enrol at ETH Zurich in 1871, who laid the groundwork for the women who followed. Among these were the German Marie Baum and the Serb Mileva Marić, who met her future husband Albert Einstein here.
And, talking of Albert Einstein, you can follow in his footsteps through the main building on the first tour of our ETH Zurich Tours App. All that you’ll need here is keen curiosity, a smartphone, headphones, the app, and 60 minutes free time! The tour comes in either German or English, and you can follow it on foot or on wheels. Download the app now from either the external pageApp Store or external pageGoogle Play.