News archive International Institutional Affairs

New unit "ETH Global"

As of 1 August 2012, the Office of International Institutional Affairs (IIA) will merge with the North-South Centre into a new unit "ETH Global".

The new unit will be led by Professor Gerhard Schmitt as "Senior Vice-President ETH Global". The merger will support the identification of new strategic priorities with added-value for ETH Zurich and allow for consistent communication on international affairs.

ETH Global will be part of the President’s office. Consequently, the activities related to developing countries will receive increased strategic relevance and visibility.

The Ballbot "Rezero" visits India

During the last week of January the "Rezero" student team visited the technology festival „Techkriti“ at IIT Kanpur in India. Every year students from IIT Kanpur organise „Techkriti“ for interested students in the region. Competitions, scientific talks and technical exhibitions take place during the festival. During this year's exhibition the "Rezero" team had the chance to present the robot, which they designed as their focus project. The Indian students and media representatives were highly interested in the ballbot. Read and watch yourself, which effect the robot had on the exhibition visitors.

Newspaper articles:

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/Now-a-moving-robot-sans-limbs/articleshow/11694975.cms

www.wowdelhi.com/citylife/CityNewsView.asp?newsid=9811&NewsType=DelhiNews

TV Show: economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-now/tech/technoholik-robots-on-display-at-techkriti-2012/videoshow/11763865.cms

[27 Feb 2012]

First ETH-Japan Symposium on Academic Exchanges, 7–9 March 2012

Together with 9 leading Japanese partner institutions ETH Zurich and EMPA are organizing a symposium to promote the exchange between students and researchers from key areas in science and engineering, and to open opportunities for cooperation. Apart from scientific sessions the symposium includes talks on funding opportunities and success factors and presents the Japanese institutions to students in an information market. See Poster

For more information and registration: http://www.ifor.math.ethz.ch/~fukuda/conf/ethjapan/EJ1/e0.html [25 Jan 2012]

Tutorial for International Knowledge Base now online

If you are interested in using the International Knowledge Base (www.ikb.ethz.ch), but have not quite dared to try it out by yourself yet, you can learn more about its content and use in an online tutorial session: http://www.multimedia.ethz.ch/misc/2011/ikb [20 Oct 2011]

Public Lecture: "Science in Brazil: Never too late"

Sergio Rezende

The former Brazilian Science and Technology Minister, Prof. Sergio Rezende, will be giving a public lecture in the Aula of ETH Zurich on Monday, 21 November 2011, at 17:15. Prof. Rezende will review the historical development of science and
technology in Brazil and show where it stands in the world in view of
the progress made in the last decade. 

»» Full programme.

The lecture is open to everyone, but a registration is required, please contact rahel.byland@sl.ethz.ch. [13 Oct. 2011]

International Data of ETH Zurich now online available

A new database which collects all information about international collaborations of ETH Zurich is going life on 4 October 2011. It supports the ETH members in their work dealing with international questions or students interested to study abroad. Check the new platform yourself: www.ikb.ethz.ch If you wish to get a deeper insight into the database and want to find out how to use it best, sign up for on of the two public trainings in the doodle.

Wanted: Pavilion Guides for the Expo 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea

Do you have an open personality, like working with people and are fluent in English, a Swiss national language and may be even Korean? If you can answer these questions with yes, then Presence Switzerland can offer you the ideal 3-month summer job in Korea. For the Swiss Pavilion at the Expo 2012 in Yeosu they are looking for guides to take care of tours, VIPs and events. You can find the full job advertisement here. Applications have to be sent directly to Presence Switzerland. [31. Aug. 2011]

"Sabbaticals for Staff" - New Openings 2011/2012

Since 2009 ETH Zurich has been offering sabbatical opportunities at institutions in Switzerland or abroad to experienced employees in management, staff or support functions. Such a sabbatical can for example take place at one of the five swissnex (Switzerlands's outposts for science, technology and culture in Boston, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore and Bangalore, www.swissnex.ch) or at an IARU-partner university (www.iaru.ethz.ch). Please find the respective advertisement and the regulations (German only). Applications and inquiries should be addressed to Dr. Margrit Leuthold, Director International Institutional Affairs (margrit.leuthold@sl.ethz.ch; Tel 22507). [31 Aug. 2011]

Internship at swissnex Boston, San Francisco or Singapore

Are you looking for a change and are you interested in project management in an international team? Do you have a motivated and cosmopolitan personality? Are you interested in Science and Technology? Did you ever want to live and work in Boston, San Francisco or Singapore? If yes, then an internship at swissnex, the Switzerland's worldwide Knowledge Network, would be exactly the right thing for you. Further information you can find in the official job advertisement.

EPFL-ETH Zurich-Tokyo Tech Joint Symposium: Chemistry, Bioscience & Biomaterials for Bio-Eco and Bio-Med Technology

To strengthen their long standing academic ties and foster the exchange of PhD students, Tokyo Institute of Technology, EPFL and ETH Zurich organized a joint symposium in Lausanne on 9./10. June 2011. The symposium brought together professors and students from all three institutions for excellent scientific talks in chemistry and biosciences and a poster session. The students had the opportunity to present their home institution from their own point of view and motivate their fellows for an exchange in Switzerland or Japan respectively. Vivid scientific discussions and networking also took place during an evening cruise on lake Geneva, which also gave the Japanese guests a glimpse of beautiful Switzerland. The positive feedback of participants encouraged the organizers to think about a repetition of the symposium may be also with other partner institutions. [15. June 2011]

Global Tech Workshop Sub-Saharan Africa and Presidents' Meeting in Addis Ababa

The members of the Global Tech Alliance met from 23.-25. May 2011 in Addis Ababa for a workshop dealing with case studies on Sub-Saharan Africa and their annual Presidents Meeting. It was noted that there is already a substantial amount of ongoing cooperation between Alliance members and African partners. The Alliance would thus like to further engage in long-term capacity building and technological and research cooperation adapted to local needs. As stated by ETH President Ralph Eichler, the Global Tech Alliance believes in the young future generation in Sub-Saharan Africa and is dedicated to its empowerment.
A detailed report is available on ETH Life.
[26. May 2011]

ETH Big Band Tour in Brazil

From 7.-17. April the ETH Big Band toured Brazil accompanied by a small delegation from IIA. The tour led the group to 6 of the countries best universities and gave them a deep insight into higher education in one of the world's fastest emerging economies. Through their concerts the band also built bridges to the local students and staff.

Read more about the tour in ETH Life (German only).

[21. April 2011]

New ETH Image Brochure

ETH corporate communications and IIA have together created a new ETH image brochure. The brochure offers an insight into the range of education programmes, delves into the key areas of research and highlights ETH’s cooperation with business and industry. Last but not least, it shines the spotlight on Zurich as a place of research and illustrates the benefits which ETH Zurich brings to society.
The brochure is available in English and German and can thus be used for visits in Switzerland and abroad. A pdf version of the brochure and instructions to order hard copies can be found here.
[1. April 2011]

IARU Global Summer Program - Spend part of the summer at another of the world’s top universities

The International Alliance of Research Universities, IARU, has published the call for applications for its 2011 Global Summer Program.
ETH Zurich offers ETH students a scholarship which partially cover travel and accommodation expenses.
Application deadline: 7 March 2011.

http://www.iaru.ethz.ch/gsp

[15. Feb. 2011]

Building the Tower of Babylon – an International Student Competition

Sign up for this interdisciplinary design workshop which will build a tower for less than CHF 1000,- on ETH Science City, addressing local materials, sustainability and the limits of our society. The selected student team (bringing together students from architecture, civil engineering, environmental engineering, mechanical engineering…) will compete with their tower in an international student competition, organized by the GlobalTech Alliance. This elective will be guided by Prof. Em. Dr. Werner Oechslin, founder and director of the Werner Oechslin Library Foundation in Einsiedeln, Prof. Dr. Philippe Block, and Diederik Veenendaal. Further information can be found on this Poster.

[02. Feb. 2011]

International Peace Conference in Japan – August 22-28 2011 - is looking for participation from ETH students

Are you interested in global problems? Would you like to engage in innovative solutions for the global problems of today and tomorrow? Do you like being in an intercultural environment? Have you passed the first year’s examination and are you less than 25 years old? Then apply for the Junior Chamber International Osaka Peace Conference of Youth 2011. The conference takes place from August 22-28 2011 in Osaka. The conference costs, the airfare as well as all expenses in Japan will be fully covered. Additional Information can be found on the conference website www.pcy.jp, in the program of last year's conference, a description of the Junior Chamber International, as well as in a report from last year's ETH participant (German only).  For your application send a brief CV and a letter of motivation (4-5 sentences) to Rahel Byland rahel.byland@sl.ethz.ch until March 6^th 2011.

[1. Feb. 2011]

Participation of ETH Zurich in the FP7-INCO Project “Connecting and Coordinating European Research and Technology Development with Japan” (CONCERT-Japan) starting in January 2011

In its function as coordinator of the bilateral Japanese-Swiss Science and Technology Program, ETH Zurich is a consortium member in the FP7 ERA-Net Project CONCERT Japan. The project aims at bringing together the European countries to consolidate and structure their S&T cooperation with Japan. The participation in this project enables ETH to get an overview over S&T funding policies and international cooperation in Japan. In addition, ETH can join in setting priorities and focus areas for European cooperation with Japan in the future and profit from contacts to S&T funding agencies all over Europe. [2. Feb. 2011]

Developement of an ETH Diversity Charta

The Office for Equal Opportunities (Equal!) and IIA will jointly develop a strategie for the advancement and postulation of diversity among staff and students at ETH. The most important elements will be anchored in the existing strategy papers of ETH, but also presented explicitly in a Diversity-Charta. The established project group consists of representatives from different offices and interest groups at ETH and should integrate as many diversity aspects as possible into the development of the strategy.

[3. Dec. 2010]

Workshop Internship Abroad - Work Experience with the Cultural Factor

On 26. October more than 130 interested students visited a workshop by the ETH Alumni Career Services and IIA with the topic internship abroad.  The students were given an overview on the manifold offers of job sites, internship programmes and other special programmes offered by ETH Zurich. They received advice regarding their hunt for positions and the administrative planning of a stay abroad. The presentation with all important links and a leaflet with the answers to the most burning questions can be downloaded here.

[1. Nov. 2010]

Sino Swiss Science and Technology Cooperation (SSSTC)

Two and half years after the launch of the action phase SSSTC, 2008-2011, a mid-term review with the Chinese partner agencies was conducted. Under the leadership of the Deputy State Secretary for Education and Research, Jürg Burri, three separate Joint Working Group (JWG) meetings with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, were held in Beijing on Sept. 10 and Sept. 11, 2010. Both sides expressed appreciation for the program and were satisfied with the progress. All three Chinese partners emphasized the importance of the program for the Sino Swiss relationship and express the desire to continue with the program. It is agreed that further JWG will be held in 2012 in order to fine tune the program for future needs. The following links are the news release from MOST and CAS in Chinese: www.cas.cn/hzjl/gjjl/hzdt/201009/t20100914_2963199.shtml,

www.most.gov.cn/kjbgz/201009/t20100919_82096.htm

In addition to the JWG meetings, a joint workshop organized by the SSSTC and CAS was held from Sept. 11-12, 2010. A pre-workshop visit to CAS Shenyang Institute of Metal Research (IMR) on Sept. 10, 2010, was hosted by the IMR, and visits to three Chinese energy companies were arranged by the Swiss Embassy in China on Sept. 13, 2010. The thematic focuses for the workshop were: renewable energy/cleantech and materials science. The workshop paved ways for the SSSTC focus for the next two years.

Open assistant position at IIA

International Institutional Affairs is looking for a new assistant (50%) to support the team, starting as soon as possible. You should be trained in administration, be proficient in the use of MS Office programs and have strong German and English speaking and writing skills. The full job advert can be found here.

[17. Nov. 2010]

Swiss Science-Days in Seoul

The Swiss Embassy in Seoul, ETH Zurich and the National Research Foundation (NRF) in Korean jointly organized a small conference in Seoul. The meeting brought together scientists from different institutions presenting and discussing their research in the areas of sustainable buildings and water management and provided a base for future cooperation.
Read detailed report.
[22.9.10]

Internships at the Swiss Embassy in Washington

The „Office of Science, Technology and Higher Education“ at the Swiss Embassy in Washington, DC offers 6-month paid internships for ETH and university graduates. More information and the application procedure can be found here: http://www.eda.admin.ch/etc/medialib/downloads/edactr/usa/embwas/WASSTE.Par.0041.File.tmp/Praktikumausschreibung%20Science.pdf

[24.8.10]

ETH Zürich at the Expo 2010 in Shanghai

Together with swissnex and the Chinese Academy of Sciences ETH Zurich is organizing a three day conference with the topic "Future Cities" from September 15.-17. in the Swiss pavillon. For the opening a Swiss evening is taking place on September 13th under the patronage of Federal Councelor Moritz Leuenberger, who will attend personally. The keynote speaker is the architect Jacques Herzog. ETH President Ralph Eichler will at the same time open an exhibition on the new Monterosa Hut, which will be shown until September 30. (http://www.swissnexchina.org/activities/events/future-cities-conference-shanghai-expo). [23.8.10]

Swissnex Boston 10. anniversary

The celebrations for the 10. anniversary of swissnex Boston will feature a special ETH-Day on 22. October 2010, which will be attended by ETH President Ralph Eichler.
The agenda is focusing on the two strategic topics of "future cities and "medtech"; symposia and company visits are planned. Another highlight is the opening of the ETH Alumni Boston chapter. In addition, the ETH President will use his time in Boston for fundraising activities. [23.8.10]

Joint SSSTC-CAS workshop

To promote scientific partnership between China and Switzerland, the Sino Swiss Science and Technology Cooperation (SSSTC) and the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) have approved the joint funding of 11 research projects. In continuation of this friendly relationship and to plan and promote further cooperation, a joint workshop will be held from Sept. 11-12 in Beijing (Sept. 9-10: pre-program in Shenyang). The focus of the workshop will be on renewable energy/cleantech and materials science. Due to the limitation of funding and space, participation is by invitation only.

SSSTC-IET Joint Workshop, Friday September 24

The Sino-Swiss Science and Technology Program (SSSTC) is now ready to engage Chinese and Swiss industry to actively participate in the next phase of ‘call for new projects’. This workshop thus aims at introducing the SSSTC to the science and engineering community and at creating synergy between academics and enterprises. The workshop will provide information for companies exploring operation in China, for students seeking placement in a Chinese university or industry and for academics and engineers interested in a network of technical experts from Switzerland and China.

Please see the full program. [18.8.10]

Joint SSSTC-CAS workshop

To promote scientific partnership between China and Switzerland, the Sino Swiss Science and Technology Cooperation (SSSTC) and the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) have approved the joint funding of 11 research projects. In continuation of this friendly relationship and to plan and promote further cooperation, a joint workshop will be held from Sept. 11-12 in Beijing (Sept. 9-10: pre-program in Shenyang). The focus of the workshop will be on renewable energy/cleantech and materials science. Due to the limitation of funding and space, participation is by invitation only.

New ETH Conference Folder

Together with ETH Corporate Communications IIA has designed a new illustrated Conference Folder in cardboard quality. The folder can be used for distributing information materials at seminars and workshops of ETH units and can be ordered in smaller quantities (up to ca. 100 pieces) directly from IIA. 
Contact: Lucia Arpagaus  [18.8.10]

Swiss Science Days: Cleantech for Green Growth in Seoul, Korea

The Swiss Embassy in Seoul and ETH Zurich as Coordinator of the bilateral Korean-Swiss Science and Technology Program are jointly organizing a workshop on Cleantech in Seoul on 9./10. September this year. The workshop is supported by NRF/MEST in Korea and features presentations by Swiss and Korean scientists on building technologies and water management.

Please have a look at the tentative program. [17.8.10]

India ETH Alumni Association in Zurich

On June 12^th the India ETH Alumni Association will have a reunion in Zurich for the first time. The new group will give all Indians and friends of India inside the ETH Alumni Association a platform to connect, discuss and initiate ideas and projects. After a tour through two Indian art exhibitions in the ethnology museum everyone is invited to a networking Apéro around the botanical gardens. We are looking forward to a great afternoon among friends of India and hope many will follow…

Sabbaticals for Staff 2nd Call

Since summer 2009 ETH is offering the opportunity of a sabbatical to its permanent administrative and management staff. In response to a first call last year 4 employees could already be placed at one of the four swissnex abroad. A second call for sabbaticals for staff has now opened, and the offer includes again the four swissnex in San Francisco, Singapur, Shanghai and Boston and additionally the 9 member universities of the IARU alliance.

For more information please contact margrit.leuthold@sl.ethz.ch. [8.6.10]

Climate KIC Summer School

The member institutions of the Climate KIC are organizing a Summer School on Entrepreneurship in Climate Change, which takes place from July 5 to August 13 2010 in Paris, London and Zurich.

For the summer school, they are looking for bright Master and PhD students with an entrepreneurial mindset. They should either be science, engineering or social science students in fields relevant to climate change or be enrolled in business studies or economics. For more information on the program and how to apply please download the brochure (pdf). [8.4.10]

The ETH President is visiting India

A delegation of ETH Zurich led by the president Ralph Eichler is currently visiting India. They will be meeting with scientists and officials of several of the most prestigious universities and research insitutes. A report on the visit will be available here soon.

[6.4.10]

Climate Policy after the Copenhagen Conference – American and European Views

Decision makers around the globe have difficulties agreeing on one joint way of climate politics. This became obvious again in the climate conference in Copenhagen last year.  The US Congress Man Jim Sensenbrenner will visit ETH at the end of March. In a paneldiscussion organized by the CCES (Competence Center Environment and Sustainability), he will discuss with climate experts from ETH Zurich on the future world climate politics. The republican politician from Chicago is doubting that there is a multinational solution to the climate problem.

The paneldiscussion will take place on the 30. March from 16:00 to 17:30 in the  Maschinenlaboratorium (ML), Room F38 at Sonneggstrasse 3 at ETH. 

[24.3.10]

Einstein in China

The very successful exhibition on the life and work of Albert Einstein shown during 2005/2006 in the Historical Museum Bern will be present on an exhibition tour in four Chinese cities in 2010 – 2012 (May – September 2010 Beijing; November 2010 – February 2011 Guangzhou; April – August 2011 Hong Kong; Oktober 2011- February 2012 Shanghai).

ETH as an important place of Einstein's work is supporting the exhibition and present showcasing a few experiments. The experiments will be supervised by the emerited professor in physics Hansrudolf Ott. The ETH of nowadays will be presented with a video display.

Several million visitors are expected for the exhibition, what will lead to great advertising of ETH in the strategically important partner country China.
For more information please contact Margrit Leuthold. [24.3.10]

New laboratory for sustainable cities

The ETH President Ralph Eichler and representatives of the national research foundation of Singapore sigend an agreement for the foundation of the "Future Cities Laboratory".  ETH is closely collaborating with scientists from the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Zurich. The first Director of the Singapore ETH Centre (SEC) is Gerhard Schmitt, Professor for information architecture, who was supporting the project from the very beginning,
For a detailed report see the Article in ETH life (German only) [24.3.10]

AGS initiative " Sustainability under radical demographic changes"

The aging society will become a great challenge, especially in the western world. In most developed countries people are living longer but having fewer children. By 2020, over a third of the populations of Europe and Japan will be over 65. These rapid demographic changes have profound social and economic implications. The problems of financing pensions and maintaining social and welfare systems have already received considerable attention. The AGS proposes therefore a far-reaching program of research designed to help societies adapt to the new demographic realities while progressing towards sustainability. These developments present societies with three main challenges. The first is to maintain quality of life for the oldest members of society without incurring excessive costs. The second is to provide opportunities for people to continue in work beyond the traditional age of retirement. The third – and arguably the most important – is to provide the social and economic conditions needed to increase fertility rates to replacement levels. All of these are extremely complex problems that will require research, innovation and political change.

For the text of ETH President Eichler's speech click here.

[24-March-2010]

Internships for students and young graduates at swissnex

Switzerland's State Secretariat for Education and Research runs outposts for science, technology and culture, called swissnex, in various parts of the world. The swissnex in Boston, San Francisco and Singapore offer internship opportunities throughout the year for productive, qualified and self-motivated students and young graduates. For further information see the detailed job description or contact Margrit Leuthold. [15-March-2010]

ETH participates in first Swiss Education Fair in Singapore

ETH Zurich participated in the 1st Swiss Education Fair in Singapore on 28 February 2010. The fair, which was organized by Swissnex Singapore, offered prospective students the possibility to learn first hand about ETH, the programmes on offer, the admissions requirements and the practical details of studying in Zurich. ETH alumni currently working or studying in Singapore were also present at the stall.

For more information on the Fair and Swissnex Singapore Click here. [3. March 2010]

ETH participation in World Future Energy Summit

ETH Zurich was present with a stall in the context of the Swiss Pavillon at the second World Future Energy Summit (WFES) from 18–21 January in Abu Dhabi (UAE). The strategic focus of the ETH stand was on "Future Cities". Two prominent highlights were set on the presentation of the new Monte Rosa alpine hut and the wind turbine innovations of the Laboratory for Energy Conversion, which was represented by Prof. Reza Abhari. Prof. Abhari also acted as a keynote speaker in the adjoining conference and chaired a scientific session. The WFES was attended by several thousand visitors from industry, research and government. The ETH stand served for recruiting future talented doctoral students and establishing contacts with companies interested in participating in the Future Cities Laboratory project in Singapore, (represented by Dr. Remo Burkhard). In addition, the Swiss Embassy and Osec organized meetings with the Minister of Education and other officials. [25. Feb. 2010]

Cortona Week in India

Professor emeritus Luigi Luisi will organize an interdisciplinary study week in India from 20-27 November 2010 following the example of the renowned Cortona Week. A group of 80 Master and PhD students will spend the week together with experts from all around the world discussing holistic questions at the boarder of humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. The event is primarily designed for Indian students but ETH students are cordially invited to participate as well. More information can be found under www.cortona-india.org.

For questions about the programme and registration procedure please contact Gabriela Blatter.

ETH Zurich agrees on collaboration with Keio University

ETH Zurich's President Ralph Eichler and Keio University President Atsushi Seike, while attending the Global University Leaders Forum at the World Economic Forum in Davos, found the time to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on academic linkage and collaboration between the two institutions on 29 January 2010. The Memorandum promotes joint research activities, joint seminars and conferences, mutual visits by faculty members, exchange of students, collaboration in education and exchanges of scientific information.

»» See Agreements with Partner Institutions.

IARU Workshop Open Access Publishing and Open Video

The ETH Zurich Library and International Institutional Affairs Office organized a workshop for IARU members on the topic of Open Access Publishing and Open Video. The Workshop took place on 21/22 January 2010 in Zurich and examined challenges and opportunities posed by the Open Access Movement for Research Universities. The workshop was attended by university publishers, librarians, scientists and officials involved in implementing Open Access and Open Video Strategies at IARU partner institutions and Swiss universities. 

See article in ETH life (German only)

See program and detailed information. [9-Feb-10]

Closer Cooperation between ETH and the Chinese Academy of Science

Professor Lu Yongxiang, the president of the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), lead a delegation of 6 people and visited ETH on Nov. 9, 2009. The delegation visited several of the ETH labs and was very impressed with the presentations and facilities. During a conversation with Prof. Eichler, Prof. Lu expressed the desire to have a closer cooperation with ETH. Both sides have agreed that a joint workshop should take place next year in China under the program Sino Swiss Science and Technology Cooperation (SSSTC). Tentatively, the topics of the workshop could focus on energy, advanced materials, and green manufacturing. [25-Nov-09]

ETH Big Band goes India

An ETH Zurich delegation travelled to India from Nov 6 - Nov 16 to explore the grounds for potential scientific collaborations and student exchange with selected Indian Institutions. The ETH Big Band accompanied the delegation with their program "get connected" and set the positive grounds to build cultural bridges for the delegation and to get connected with the Indian partners.

• See itinerary and impressions of the tour. [28-Oct-09]

ETH Professors nominated for Global Agenda Councils of the World Economic Forum

We are proud to announce that Prof. Michael Havbro Faber (Global Agenda Council on Catastrophic Risks) and Prof. Andreas Wenger (Global Agenda Council on International Security Cooperation) have been nominated as members of the Global Agenda Councils founded by the World Economic Forum. The Global Agenda Councils are continuing efforts to develop proposals to address key challenges in over 70 areas of world affairs. The Network of Global Agenda Councils also acts as an intellectual driving force for the Forum’s Global Redesign Initiative. [31-Aug-09]

New video clips presenting ETH Zurich

ETH Zurich has released five new video clips presenting the education at ETH to prospective students worldwide.The videos are the result of a collaboration between the Office for International Institutional Affairs, the Rectorate, Corporate Communicatons and Multimedia Services. [23-Apr-09]

Japanese-Swiss Cooperative Program Workshop

The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and ETH Zurich organized a second joint workshop on medical research on 22-23 September 2009. The workshop took place in Japan and brought together 10 scientists each from Switzerland and Japan for scientific exchange and fostering collaboration. See report [13-Nov-09]

ETH Zurich Joins the GlobalTech Alliance

On 7 April 2009 the Senior Vice-president for International Institutional Affairs, Professor Gerhard Schmitt signed a Memorandum of Understanding for ETH Zurich to become a founding member of the GlobalTech Alliance. GlobalTech unites seven leading technical universities on three continents, aiming to contribute to the solution of global problems with their scientific and technical know-how.

Read more about GlobalTech in ETH Life. [14-Apr-09]

JST-ETH Zürich Joint Workshop on Medical Research

15–16 September 2008, Zürich

To kick-off the Program on Medical Research of the Japanese-Swiss Science and Technology Cooperation, the JST and ETHZ organized a joint workshop on the topic of the program in Zurich.

The scientific organizers of the workshop Wilhelm Krek, professor of Cell Biology at ETHZ, and Yusuke Nakamura, professor at the University of Tokyo, invited 20 scientists  from Japan and Switzerland to present their work in molecular medical research and meet their colleagues from the respective partner country to make first contacts. After Opening Remarks from Prof. Gerhard Schmitt, Vice-President of ETHZ, and Fumiaki Takahashi, Executive Director of JST, the presentations were organized in 5 sessions including Translational Research, Pharmacogenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics and Whole Genome Association studies. The lively discussions after the talks and inbetween sessions showed that there was a big interest on both, the Japanese and Swiss sides, and some actual collaborations may now result from this first getting together.

The organizers agree that this workshop contributed to the strengthening of collaborations between Japan and Switzerland, and that research partnerships will prove essential in mastering the future challenges in science and the health system.

See also:

• Article on the workshop in "ETH Life" (in German)
• Report from the JST