Bring Your Own Device in Study Programmes
On this page you will find all the information you need about Bring Your Own Device for students. An overview of the Bring Your Own Device obligation at ETH Zurich and the various information pages on this topic can be found on the BYOD overview page.
Since autumn semester 2024, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is mandatory for all students starting a new degree programme at ETH Zurich. A personal laptop meeting the recommended minimum requirements described below will be part of the basic equipment of all students starting a new degree programme at ETH Zurich.
Mandatory BYOD policy
Mobile computers are mandatory for all students starting a new degree programme since autumn semester 2024. This applies to all levels: Bachelor's degree programme, Master's degree programme, continuing education teacher training as well as special students. Students on joint Master's degree programmes, doctoral students and exchange students are also affected if they are taking courses in their study programmes for the first time. The mandatory BYOD policy also applies to students progressing to a consecutive or non-consecutive Master’s degree programme, changing degree programmes or re-entering ETH Zurich since autumn semester 2024.
The directive linked above forms the legal basis for the mandatory BYOD policy. Binding information on the specific implementation of this policy and on the applicable minimum configuration of laptops is published on this website.
Students are responsible for ensuring that their laptops meet the recommended minimum configuration and are in proper working order – including managing software updates, installing functional drivers and applications, setting up Wi-Fi, backing up data, maintaining battery health and battery life, etc.
Technical minimum requirements
The recommended minimum configuration for your laptop can be found in the table below. This minimum configuration is sufficient for your studies for ten consecutive semesters.
Minimum configuration valid since autumn semester 2024 up to and including spring semester 2029:
Warranty period: 2 years, 3 years is recommended.
You can purchase your device from any point of sale of your choice. The external page Project Neptun offers advice and equipment at special rates to many Swiss schools and universities. If needed, also consult the information about available scholarships.
Learning and technology
Many students already use a personal digital device for their studies at ETH Zurich. The introduction of the mandatory BYOD policy at ETH Zurich expands the didactic possibilities, as digital tools for communication, collaboration and organisation, online resources and specific software packages can now be planned as integral components of learning units.
Further information on the use of BYOD in teaching can be found on the Bring Your Own Device overview page.
FAQ
Download Mobile computers are mandatory (PDF, 22 KB) for all students starting a new degree programme since autumn semester 2024. This applies to all levels: Bachelor’s degree programme, Master's degree programme, continuing education and teacher training as well as special students. Students on joint Master's degree programmes, doctoral students and exchange students are also affected if they take courses in their study programmes for the first time. The mandatory BYOD policy also applies to students progressing to a consecutive or non-consecutive Master's degree programme, changing degree programmes or re-entering ETH since autumn semester 2024.
The directive linked above forms the legal basis for the mandatory BYOD policy. Binding information on the specific implementation of this policy and on the applicable minimum configuration of laptops is published on this website.
Students are responsible for ensuring that their laptops meet the recommended minimum configuration and are in proper working order – including managing software updates, installing functional drivers and applications, setting up Wi-Fi, backing up data, maintaining battery health and battery life, etc.
You can purchase your device from any point of sale of your choice. The external page Project Neptun offers advice to students at many Swiss schools and universities as well as equipment at special rates. Please take into account the recommended minimum configuration when purchasing your device.
Find out about available scholarships here.
If you are unsure whether your laptop meets the minimum requirements, please carefully read this FAQ. If you have further questions, seek advice from your trusted specialist dealer or from external page Projekt Neptun or other sales outlets.
A minimum configuration is recommended for the laptop, which will be sufficient for ten consecutive semesters. If your current device deviates downwards from the minimum requirements, this is at your own risk, and you cannot revoke to the phrase: "My laptop can't do that because ...". Any uncertainties that arise as a result of not meeting the minimum configuration requirements are part of the risk that you take on your own responsibility if your laptop deviates from the applicable minimum configuration.
Linux is a useful alternative for everyday study at ETH Zurich. Each operating system has its own range of supported software, and some lectures require either Linux or Windows-only software; a problem that can be solved either by dual-booting the two operating systems or by using a virtual machine. On Windows, you may also consider to use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) which is a built-in feature of Windows 11.
Windows To Go, the official USB installation from Microsoft, is not available with Windows 11 and is no longer supported. Windows To Go and unlicensed Windows installations on USB sticks do not meet the minimum configuration requirements.
Some exams at ETH require the external page Safe Exam Browser, which cannot be used in a virtual machine and only runs on Windows and macOS. A dual boot setup is recommended for this.
According to the minimum configuration your device must have at least seven hours of battery life while using standard applications, such as word processing and web browsing. Many lecture halls, seminar rooms, laboratories or work areas do not currently have enough power sockets to supply all seats with electricity. If you are concerned about this, you may want to consider purchasing a PowerBank (mobile battery charger) suitable for your device.
There is currently a risk that the new ARM processors are not yet fully supported on the software side and that compatibility problems may therefore occur. This may be the case in particular with specialised applications that have yet to be recompiled for the ARM processor. It is also not yet clear how well the emulation of the various x86 (specialist) applications will work.
For more information, please also consult the external page Microsoft FAQ page on ARM-based Windows PCs and the notes on potentially incompatible peripherals such as monitors, printers, mice, keyboards, etc. there. Due to the risk of incompatibilities in the area of software and peripherals that do not work due to a lack of compatible device drivers, we currently advise against purchasing a notebook with an ARM processor.
A minimum configuration is recommended for the laptop, which will be sufficient for ten consecutive semesters. Of course, devices that exceed this minimum configuration are also suitable. Please also consider the weight and power consumption of the device. Both should allow you to carry the mobile device for a whole day of study without any problems.
Basic equipment with a web browser, word processing programme, etc. is assumed. The software needed for individual courses and performance assessments is announced by the respective degree programmes or lecturers and indicated in the Course Catalogue.
We recommend that you wait until you arrive at ETH before purchasing software. ETH has negotiated special conditions with various software providers. As soon as you have received your ETH login details, you can take these first steps. Under "Software" you will see a link for setting up Microsoft 365 ) (incl. Office, Teams and other cloud services) free of charge, as well as a link for the IT-Shop.
There, under "Product Inventory", you can obtain certain other software free of charge, depending on your study programme's requirements.
We advise you to consult the respective lecturers regarding the software required for individual courses. Please also bear in mind that there are open-source alternatives for many commercial software products: external page https://thealternative.ch/
Instructions on how to connect to the WLAN and further information about the WLAN can be found here.
external page Projekt Neptun offers support at special conditions. This also applies to students who have purchased their device from other suppliers. There are also various support services on the open market that you can use. For minor or common problems, search engines on the web or your fellow students may also be helpful.
If you have any questions regarding the specific implementation of Bring Your Own Device in a course, please contact the respective lecturer.
The lecturers of your study programme will inform you about the extent to which your laptop is used in lectures and other courses and whether certain software is required. Basic equipment with a web browser, word processing programme, etc. is assumed. Please check the catalogue data in the Course Catalogue to see whether digital subject practices are an important part of a course and whether you need additional software. If you have any questions, please directly contact the lecturer of the respective course.
If your laptop is required for a performance assessment, this will be indicated in the performance assessment section of the Course Catalogue. Bring Your Own Device performance assessments are conducted on ETH premises under supervision. All exams can be carried out with the minimum device configuration.
Basic equipment with a web browser, word processing programme, etc. is assumed. Any special additional software required will be announced by the lecturers and can be seen in the catalogue data in the Course Catalogue.
Take part in any trial runs for the exam and carefully follow the instructions and guidance provided by lecturers.
Before a BYOD performance assessment, make absolutely sure that you have carried out software and system updates, correctly installed any drivers that may be required, can connect to the WLAN in the examination rooms and know any login data that may be required (e.g. for WLAN or for Moodle). Make absolutely sure that the battery of your laptop is fully charged before the performance assessment, and if necessary, bring a power bank as a spare battery.
In some BYOD performance assessments, the open-source software external page Safe Exam Browser, developed at ETH Zurich, is used to create fair conditions for all students in the exam scenario and to prevent access to unwanted resources such as websites, programmes, files or system functions during the exam.
If you have any further questions regarding BYOD performance assessments, please contact the respective lecturer.
Yes, all students entering a consecutive Master's degree programme or a non-consecutive Master's degree programme since autumn semester 2024 are subject to the BYOD obligation. This also applies to ETH students who transfer consecutively or non-consecutively from a Bachelor's degree programme to a Master's degree programme.