“Our freely available reserves will be exhausted by the end of 2025 at the latest”

What does that mean for our internal budget planning process 2025?
Stefan Spiegel: Unlike the two previous years, we will not be imposing any wide-ranging cost-cutting measures. The cuts totalling around 60 million Swiss francs that we made in last year’s budget planning will continue to benefit us in subsequent years. However, it is clear that we need to continue reviewing our expenses in a targeted way, increasing efficiency and prioritising our service provision in the medium term.

So that should help you move onto a more stable footing?
Stefan Spiegel: Unfortunately not. We can handle the short-term cuts, but what concerns us is the mid- to long-term outlook. The federal financial contribution, for example, has not kept pace with the growth in student numbers for some time. The annual rate of budget growth of 1.2% proposed in the 2025-2028 ERI Dispatch means this gap will continue to widen. Unless it takes additional measures, ETH Zurich could already be unable to manage exceptional expenditures such as compensating for inflation in 2022 and 2023. In addition, it would no longer be possible to fully meet internal obligations – for example, in the area of approved research projects and initiatives – from 2026 onwards. And by the end of 2028, all the university’s reserves – including those already dedicated – will be exhausted. ETH’s financial position will therefore continue to deteriorate in the coming years. Of course, we also lack the reserves needed for bigger investment projects or to smooth out any budget fluctuations.

Joël Mesot, is that why you’ve called a press briefing today?
Joël Mesot: Yes, I see it as our duty to make the public aware of the consequences that the current ERI Dispatch will have for our university. We’ve reached the point where we can no longer accommodate continuous growth in student numbers with stagnant federal funding in real terms without compromising the quality of our teaching and research. I’m also concerned about Switzerland’s future. There seems to be a general lack of awareness of the vital contribution research and education makes to our overall prosperity. Switzerland is one of the world’s most innovative countries. We will lose this position if research and education are underfunded.

You’ve warned you may need to consider drastic measures such as introducing a restriction in student places. That would break a taboo.
Joël Mesot: It certainly would. But we’ve reached a point where we need to consider all possible options. If we are not prepared to compromise quality, then accommodating more students with a stagnant budget is simply not feasible. However, we have yet to discuss the specific details of how such a restriction in student places could be implemented.

Some people are also calling for a raise in tuition fees. Why have you not proposed this measure?
Joël Mesot: Like my fellow Executive Board members, I believe this would be a wrong step. Access to a course at ETH is based on performance and intellectual potential. Raising tuition fees would shift the focus onto economic aspects and undermines our guiding principle of equal opportunities. It would mean that ETH would attract wealthy students instead of the best ones. This would be devastating for social mobility in Switzerland.

You also mention a “targeted freeze on new appointments”. What do you mean by that?
Joël Mesot: Indirectly, this would be a reduction in jobs through staff turnover – you can’t gloss over that. However, we want to do this specifically in areas where we would have to decide in favour of a reduction in services due to the financial situation. It is now required that all new appointments in the central administrative units receive approval from the responsible member of the ETH Executive Board. We are very selective in this process.

You also talk about discontinuing certain research areas and study programmes. Which are you thinking of specifically?
Joël Mesot: As I said, we are talking about potential measures here that we would need to take if the planned budget growth does not change. Our specific deliberations on this are therefore not yet concrete. But yes, if we can no longer balance our spending and revenues in the longer term, we will need to consider which research areas and study programmes we would have to do without.

So what’s the next step, and do you think there’s a chance that budget growth will be revised upwards in the ERI Dispatch?
Joël Mesot: Parliament can still amend the ERI Dispatch. Today we’ve outlined the financial consequences and possible countermeasures. In addition, we, along with the ETH Board, are in close consultation with policymakers. Together, we are trying to convince parliament that Switzerland, a nation built on consensus and knowledge, needs to invest in its single, most precious resource.

Savings have topped the ETH agenda for some time. How do we prevent this from undermining the university’s power of innovation?
Joël Mesot: Savings are obviously a topic dominating the public debate and are very much on everyone’s mind. But we should not forget that ETH essentially still has access to very generous financial resources and an excellent infrastructure. When I look back on the past year, I see that we still excel in terms of our output, research and contribution to society. Another notable feature of the past year has been our growing success in attracting donations, an area where we intend to step up our efforts. Overall, I am confident that we still have plenty of advantages and will work together to make our university even more competitive in the future.