Strategic planning 2012–2016of the ETH Board for the ETH Domain

Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL

Strategic planning 2012–2016of the ETH Board for the ETH Domain

Contents

Foreword from the President 1 

Summary overview 2 

1  Basic principles of the strategic planning 2012–2016 4 

1.1  Government mandate 4 

1.2  Mission, vision and values 5 

1.3  Unique features of the ETH Domain 6 

1.4  Focus areas of the current 2008–2011 planning period 7 

2  Context 9 

2.1  Social developments 9 

2.2  Economic developments 10 

2.3  Environmental developments 12 

2.4  The globalised and dynamic world of science 14 

2.5  Growth in student numbers 15 

3  Strategic objectives 16 

3.1  Overarching, long-term guidelines 16 

3.2  Strategic objectives for teaching, research and KTT 17 

3.3  Fulfilling specific tasks of national importance 21 

3.4  Helping to develop Switzerland as a centre of higher education 21 

3.5  Internationalising the ETH Domain 22 

4  Key focus areas 24 4.1  Advanced manufacturing technologies 25 

4.2  Energy technologies for a sustainable world 26 

4.3  Engineering for life sciences 27 

4.4  Environmental systems and technologies 28 

4.5  Methods and platforms for the advancement of science 30 

5  Prerequisites and framework 32 5.1  Attractiveness as an employer 32 

5.2  Sustainable planning and building, and modern infrastructure 33 

5.3  Quality assurance 34 

5.4  Stable financial policy 35 

5.5  Enabling statutory framework 35 

6  Financial requirements 37 

7  Appendices 39  Appendix 1: Change in Switzerland’s age structure Appendix 2: Development of student numbers (forecast for 2010–2019) Appendix 3: Breakdown of funding for the two national initiative consortiums

Abbreviations

Strategic planning Foreword from the President 1

Foreword from the President

Dear members of the Federal Council

Dear members of the National Council and Swiss Council of States Dear readers

The ETH Domain and its six institutions are facing major challenges. Contrary to what was expected in years

past, global prosperity is not spontaneously advancing. What is more, emerging countries are demanding that existing prosperity be distributed to more people. At the same time, there is growing awareness of the

environmental scars such prosperity leaves behind worldwide. Switzerland must actively work on solutions if, under this growing pressure on prosperity, the environment and quality of life, it intends to retain its

leading position. The key to maintaining this pace is to invest more in education, research and innovation (ERI). Society will closely observe, however, just how we go about investing public funding, what values we

base our undertakings on, what our strategy is focused on, and what results we seek to achieve.

Swiss governmental policy may have granted the ETH Domain autonomy, but it also requires the ETH Domain to define and document its future prospects and plans. The strategic planning 2012–2016 is the instrument by which we fulfil this duty to assess outlooks for the coming years. It also enables the specific focus areas of the ETH Domain’s science policy as well as its overarching concerns and major projects to be incorporated into national ERI policy, and in particular into the Federal Council’s upcoming ERI dispatches for 2012 and 2013–2016. In subsequent implementation of the Federal Council’s performance mandate for the ETH Domain, the strategic planning 2012–2016 in turn provides the guidelines for the institutions’ development plans and provides the basis for ETH Board’s target agreements with the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the research institutes. The ETH Board, as the strategic management and supervisory body of the ETH Domain, is fully aware that such planning is a joint task of all who take part in shaping the future of the institutions in the ETH Domain. So while on one hand the ETH Board has defined top-down guidelines, it has also closely scrutinised bottom-up initiatives originating within the institutions. In the past two years the ETH Board has utilised the dialogue meetings with the management of the Federal Institutes of Technology and research institutes to take stock of the current situation and define strategic development initiatives. It further used its 2009 closed meeting as an opportunity for this interaction and thereby for the creation of a basis for strategic planning.

Dr Fritz Schiesser President of the ETH Board

2 Strategic planning Summary overview

Summary overview

The ETH Domain is shaped by its unique combination of exact sciences with natural and engineering sciences as well as social sciences and humanities. The networking of the two Federal Institutes of Technology in

Zurich and Lausanne with the four research institutions PSI, WSL, Empa and Eawag, along with its responsibility for large-scale research infrastructure and technology platforms, combine to create a setting

for high-quality research and teaching which is truly unique in Switzerland and the world.

The ETH Board’s strategic planning 2012–2016 for the ETH Domain is geared to the applicable legal and political requirements. It comprises objectives and guidelines aimed at further advancing teaching and

research as well as knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) at an international standard of excellence, and defines five key focus areas. The strategic planning 2012–2016 also focuses on investments in large-scale

research infrastructure of nationwide importance.

- Teaching: Research-supported teaching has the potential to produce competent, motivated,

responsible, innovative and solution-driven personalities who will become the leaders and specialists

that shape the future of the economy, education, research and society. The Swiss Federal Statistical

Office projects that student numbers will continue to rise sharply – particularly in the ETH Domain. The

ETH Domain wants to accommodate this growth, which is essential to sustaining Switzerland’s

competitiveness. The ETH Board’s strategic planning 2012–2016 highlights what prerequisites must be

established to achieve this aim.

- Research: The broad diversity of research and its strong focus on basic research constitute one of the

ETH Domain’s key strengths. In summary, such work is characterised by the theory- and method-driven

search for new, fundamental knowledge. Very often the results of this search cannot be predicted and,

for this very reason, constantly provide a foundation for innovation and sustainable progress. The

strategic planning 2012–2016 seeks to ensure that research within the ETH Domain achieves the

autonomy and planning certainty needed to gain fundamental knowledge. Moreover, research will be

conducted within internationally competitive networks. Against this background, the two national

initiatives SystemsX.ch and Nano-Tera.ch will be further pursued within a research partnership with

various Swiss universities and institutes, while existing strategic alliances with other research

institutions will be maintained, and new alliances entered into. The competence centres of the

ETH Domain are to be consolidated over the course of this planning period.

- Knowledge and technology transfer (KTT): The Swiss economy’s innovativeness benefits when KTT is not

conceived as post-research follow-up, but rather factored in while research activities are in progress.

This is why KTT in the ETH Domain will in future be more closely integrated into teaching and research.

As regards efforts to promote innovation, it is important for the ETH Board that, in addition to

networking the ETH Domain with other universities generally, collaboration with Swiss universities of

applied sciences be pursued in particular, thereby integrating different but complementary research

directions and areas of application.

Strategic planning Summary overview 3

- Key focus areas: The social, economic and environmental trends described in the strategic planning

2008–2011 have grown in magnitude and urgency. The ETH Board’s strategic planning 2012-2016 for the

ETH Domain therefore continues seamlessly from the preceding period. Five key focus areas have been

distinguished, all of which are characterised by collaboration between the exact, natural, engineering

and social sciences. Teaching, research and KTT in the following subject areas will contribute to

overcoming the major, urgent challenges of the present age:

- Advanced manufacturing technologies

- Energy technologies for a sustainable world

- Engineering for life sciences

- Environmental systems and technologies, and

- Methods and platforms for the advancement of science.

- Large-scale research infrastructure: Large-scale research infrastructure provides the essential framework

for successfully tackling new fields of research in both the key focus areas and countless other scientific

fields. Such infrastructure is crucial to ensuring Switzerland’s international competitiveness as a centre

of research and innovation, and ultimately as an attractive location for knowledge activities and

industry. The ETH Board’s strategic planning 2012–2016 therefore attaches major importance to

investments in new research infrastructure of national importance in the form of the HPCN, SwissFEL and

Blue Brain projects.

- Developing young talent: Developing young, talented academics constitutes one of the fundamental

pillars for ensuring high-quality teaching and research and mainstreaming the ETH Domain in Swiss

society. The ETH Board will therefore develop measures to nurture up-and-coming talent at all levels of

the academic career path in order to successfully compete in attracting top-class candidates. The

ETH Board is also determined to increase the number of women in the ETH Domain and to take account

of all aspects of diversity management.

The institutions of the ETH Domain are reliant on certain specific prerequisites and enabling framework

conditions if they are to implement their basic mandate and achieve the strategic objectives defined for the

2012–2016 planning period. This will require political decision-makers to support the ETH Domain. As to

efforts to coordinate higher education policy nationwide, it is of central importance to the ETH Board that its

position as anchored in federal legislation be safeguarded, as this provides the foundation of the strong

position occupied by the institutes of the ETH Domain in the international competitive environment. Further

enhancement of the quality of teaching, research, and knowledge and technology transfer as well as

attractive employment conditions also demand solid, basic financing from the public sector: Implementation

of the ETH Board’s strategic planning 2012–2016 for the ETH Domain will require a minimum annual increase

in government funding of 6 %, as well as further, appropriate rises in second- and third-party funding.

4 Strategic planning Basic principles of the strategic planning 2012–2016

1 Basic principles of the strategic planning 2012–2016

1.1 Government mandate

The ETH Law gives Switzerland’s two Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne and the four

research institutions PSI, WSL, Empa and Eawag a broad basic mandate in teaching, research and knowledge

and technology transfer. Added to this basic mandate is an obligation to perform public outreach work. The

tasks of the ETH Domain can be summarised as follows:

1. Teaching: The teaching mandate consists of providing basic and advanced training for scientists, subject

specialists and executives. In addition to the sciences in a general sense, this remit demands that

particular attention be paid to the technological and engineering sciences.

2. Research: The mandate to advance scientific knowledge expressly focuses research work in the

ETH Domain on basic research supplemented by application-oriented research and technology

development.

3. Knowledge and technology transfer (KTT): In addition to teaching and research, the ETH Law mandates

the ETH Domain to provide technical and scientific services and valorise the knowledge acquired. This

implicitly presupposes a willingness to cooperate with potential users in business and industry, public

administration and the regulatory authorities.

4. Developing young talent: The ETH Law also contains a mandate to develop young talent at all stages of

the academic career path.

5. Public outreach: The mandate to perform public outreach work consists of communicating to a broad

public information on subjects and results from science and research, and generally pursuing a dialogue

with the ETH Domain’s stakeholders.

The ETH Law furthermore defines three requirements that are intended to direct the ETH Domain’s efforts to

successfully fulfil its mandates:

- Due consideration must be given to Switzerland’s needs.

- The basic mandate must be fulfilled at an international level and by international collaboration.

- Respect for human dignity, responsibility for essential natural resources and the environment, and

estimation of the consequences of technology must be adhered to as principles of teaching and

research.

These policy requirements form the foundation on which the ETH Board defines its strategic planning 2012–

2016 for the ETH Domain, and on which the institutions of the ETH Domain fulfil their mandate for the

benefit of Switzerland’s economy and society.

Strategic planning Basic principles of the strategic planning 2012–2016 5

1.2 Mission, vision and values

Taking the preconditions specified by the Swiss government as its basis, the ETH Board formulates its

interpretation of the ETH Domain’s mission as follows:

Mission

The mission of the six scientific and technological institutions in the ETH Domain is to provide basic and

advanced training for scientists, subject specialists and executives, to advance scientific knowledge, to

transfer knowledge and technology, and to maintain a dialogue with society.

Vision

The ETH Doman strives to sustainably develop society, the economy and the environment for the benefit of

all humankind and to ensure long-term preservation of a liveable world.

Values In implementing its mission and vision, the ETH Board and the institutions of the ETH Domain are guided by

the following core values:

- Developing of competence and personal responsibility: The ETH Domain educates competent, motivated,

responsible, innovative and solution-focused personalities. Teaching is driven by the latest scientific

findings and system-oriented solution approaches as well as by the latest developments in teaching

and learning research. It is geared to cognitive learning and an intelligent knowledge organisation.

- Strengthening Switzerland’s innovativeness: The ETH Domain transfers its knowledge and technologies

by way of the excellent education it offers its students and the continuous dialogue it maintains with

business and society. This knowledge and technology transfer contributes significantly to enhancing

Switzerland’s innovativeness and innovative advantage as a business location.

- Networking of basic and application-oriented research: The ETH Domain builds bridges between the

engineering sciences, exact sciences, natural sciences and social sciences and the humanities, and

promotes networking between basic and application-oriented research and development.

- Promoting holistic approaches: The independence of knowledge-driven research grounded in socio-

political and ethical considerations stands for a holistic approach to national and global issues and

challenges, the development of new technologies within the framework of sustainable solutions for

tomorrow’s world, and estimating the impact of scientific and technological innovations on society and

the environment. The institutions of the ETH Domain assume responsibility for compliance with ethical

principles.

The ETH Board’s strategic planning 2012–2016 for the ETH Domain reflects this understanding of its mission, and thereby develops the framework for implementation in the institutions.

6 Strategic planning Basic principles of the strategic planning 2012–2016

1.3 Unique features of the ETH Domain

Through its institutions that are unique to Switzerland, the ETH Domain generates significant added value to the advancement of scientific knowledge and the sustainable development of the economy and society. It

differentiates itself in particular by its following unique strategic features:

- Combination of exact sciences, natural sciences, engineering sciences and social sciences and the humanities: With its combination of exact sciences, natural sciences, engineering sciences and social

sciences and the humanities, the ETH Domain is unique in Switzerland. This gives it a special position,

given that the major challenges of the 21st century can only be overcome by adopting an

interdisciplinary approach. Research and teaching in the ETH Domain are internationally competitive

and at the cutting edge worldwide.

- Complementarity of the Federal Institutes of Technology and research institutions: The ETH Domain

utilises the complementarity in structure and content of the two Federal Institutes of Technology and

the four research institutions to build future-proof knowledge and technology transfer strategies and to

develop timely answers to the challenges currently facing (Swiss) society, the economy and government.

- The two Federal Institutes of Technology conduct their teaching, research (primarily basic

research) and knowledge and technology transfer work to a standard equal to the best

universities in the world. They foster diversity through a topic-oriented focus and

interdisciplinary networking. By pursuing these activities, they are on the one hand

performing a national duty to ensure Switzerland’s future, and on the other making a Swiss

contribution in the international context to addressing the global challenges of the 21st century

in such fields as energy, food, the future of urban spaces, demographic change, and risk

management. These two endeavours involve intensive exchange of information with business,

industry and public institutions at both domestic and international levels.

- The four research institutions pursue topic-oriented, cutting-edge research supplemented with

application-oriented research and technology development. They play a crucial role in the key

focus areas defined by the ETH Domain’s competence centres. Hence, they position themselves

at the interface between basic research and technical or social implementation, thereby

playing a key role in knowledge and technology transfer. Their working methods are

predominantly interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary because they bring together expertise

from various disciplines, and maintain a continuous dialogue with society, regulatory

authorities, public administration and business. The diversity this entails and the synergetic

collaboration within the ETH Domain contribute substantially to the ETH Domain’s strength,

and will continue to do so in future.

- Large-scale research infrastructure of nationwide importance: The ETH Domain’s portfolio of large-scale

research facilities is especially important to ensuring innovative, solution-focused advancement of

cutting-edge research in Switzerland and beyond. The institutions should have state-of-the-art

research infrastructure at their disposal and make it available for research work in Switzerland. The

Swiss State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER) is currently developing a roadmap for cost-

intensive research infrastructure of national interest. The ETH Domain exercises its specific responsibility

for operation and maintenance and for the further development of such infrastructure and the

associated research.

The success of the ETH Domain rests on having stable basic financing. The clear responsibility of the

government as owner and sole sponsor has proven valuable to funding the ETH Domain. Moreover, with its

two geographical centres of activity around Lake Geneva and in the Zurich/Basel region, as well as other

locations in Ticino and throughout Switzerland, the institutions of the ETH Domain have an attractive

scientific, economic and cultural environment.

Strategic planning Basic principles of the strategic planning 2012–2016 7

This supports and enables a broad range of strategic partnerships with universities, universities of applied

sciences, research institutions and companies.

1.4 Focus areas of the current 2008–2011 planning period

In view of the ETH Board’s strategic planning 2008–2011 and the Federal Council’s 2008–2011 performance mandate for the ETH Doman1, focus in the current planning period has intentionally highlighted teaching

and research as a cohesive entity.

- Teaching: In its strategic planning document entitled “Pushing the Limits” for the period 2008–2011 the

ETH Board refers to the impact that education has and its importance in today’s knowledge society.

Teaching and communication of system-oriented, transdisciplinary and entrepreneurial thinking will be

intensified in the ETH Domain, and new forms of teaching and learning will be nurtured. It is vital to

combine a solid education in a specific discipline with the development of skills and competencies that

will ensure successful professional careers – whether in a university setting or not – as well as life-long

learning. With this in mind, the two Federal Institutes of Technology are consolidating at all levels in

line with the Bologna Process reforms, and creating new Master’s programmes that straddle the natural

and engineering sciences2 as well as courses of study in direct collaboration with industry3 . Both Federal

Institutes of Technology are currently succeeding in noticeably raising the number of students pursuing

engineering sciences and informatics.

- Research: The ETH Domain measures its research activities against the best universities and research

institutes in the world. The period 2008–2011 is characterised by continuing efforts to promote the life

sciences and biomedical research, especially together with partner universities and through the

national SystemsX.ch initiative and the National Competence Center in Biomedical Imaging (NCCBI). PSI’s

proton therapy work and the preliminary project for SwissFEL4 are also continuing with great success. At

the ETH Domain-wide competence centres for Energy and Mobility (CCEM), Environment and

Sustainability (CCES) and Materials Science and Technology (CCMX), dialogue, interdisciplinarity and

transdisciplinarity are being encouraged and promoted through project-oriented networking of

individual research groups’ competencies. Furthermore, the second national initiative Nano-Tera.ch is

promoting the engineering sciences in information and communication technologies (ICT) and in

nanotechnologies: The huge potential for innovation in these forward-looking fields strengthens both

industry and Switzerland’s international competitiveness.

- Knowledge and technology transfer (KTT): In its strategic planning 2008–2011, the ETH Board identifies

knowledge and technology transfer as one of its most important goals. The aforementioned

ETH Domain-wide competence centres also specifically nurture contact with business and industry,

building on long-term relationships with their partners. They focus on technologies that will be

market-ready in a few years’ time, and collaborate closely with industrial enterprises. By doing so, they

expand knowledge and technology transfer to business and industry and strengthen Switzerland as a

centre of knowledge and research excellence by delivering technological innovations. Cooperation and

knowledge transfer between the various organisations involved in KTT are currently being intensified. As

regards common goods, information is exchanged with federal and cantonal authorities and specialist

agencies, industry associations, and consulting and planning firms active in these sectors. Public

outreach work plays an important role in the positive impact of common goods.

At the ETH Domain’s strategic management level, the ETH Board is driving forward efforts to make real estate

management more flexible, clarifying its position on implementing the Swiss Federal Council’s Public

1 Cf. ERI dispatch 2008–2011, pp. 1401–1408. 2 E.g. MSc in Quantitative Finance (a joint degree of ETH Zurich with the University of Zurich) and a Master en Ingénierie financière at EPFL. 3 Master of Science (MSc) degree in nuclear engineering – a joint programme of ETH Zurich, EPFL and PSI. 4 SwissFEL was originally named the PSI-XFEL (cf. ERI dispatch 2008–2011).

8 Strategic planning Basic principles of the strategic planning 2012–2016

Corporate Governance Report5 within the ETH Domain, and intensifying communication with its

stakeholders. In this context, the ETH Board, in its capacity as supervisory body, is improving the

meaningfulness and efficiency of reporting on progress in the ETH Domain.

5 Federal Council report on outsourcing and management of Confederation tasks - Corporate Governance Report, Berne, 13 September 2006.

Strategic planning Context 9

2 Context

The institutions of the ETH Domain have defined specific focus areas for the coming years in efforts to initiate

and support sustainable development. Hence, the opportunities and demands of sustainable development

provide the framework for the ETH Board’s strategic planning 2012–2016 for the ETH Domain. The aim is take

up the current global challenges facing humankind. The following sections take a closer look at aspects of

society, the economy and the environment that are particularly relevant for the ETH Domain, and to which

its institutions can make specific contributions. In addition, questions about the globalised world of science

and the growing number of students are discussed.

2.1 Social developments

Social systems worldwide are in a state of change and are increasingly running up against limitations. In the

context of the strategic planning 2012–2016 for the ETH Domain, questions about demographic development,

social acceptance and the impacts that scientific and technological innovations have on society and the

environment are particularly important. These aspects are explored below.

Demographic development poses new challenges Demographic development in the world’s industrialised nations is being shaped by economic prosperity and

medical progress. Scientific and technological achievements are reducing risks, improving quality of life, and

increasing life expectancy: As a result, Switzerland is getting older. The population pyramid in Appendix 1

shows the change in Switzerland’s age structure between 1980 and 2008.

Such demographic changes are also reflected in the structure of the Swiss workforce. In 2020, the over-50

segment of the population will account for 31 % of the nation’s workforce, compared to 25 % in 20006 . In a

response to this development, Switzerland has long been recruiting talent from abroad. Another potential

source of talent, still untapped, is represented by well-educated women who to date are only partially

integrated into the workforce, if at all, but who could contribute decisively to eliminating labour shortages.

While demographic development in Switzerland presents new opportunities, it simultaneously leads to new

needs and tasks. The ETH Board’s strategic planning 2012–2016 for the ETH Domain attempts to take up the

following aspects in particular:

- Health: The ageing population is placing new demands on the nation’s health care system. The life

sciences and engineering sciences are called upon to provide new medicines and innovative medical

technology. In addition, appropriate specialist staff need to be trained to assist with medical

interventions.

- High value-adding products: Innovations that yield high value-adding products and processes are

required to enable the ever-shrinking portion of the population that works to finance future social

welfare and health care costs.

- Architecture, construction and spatial planning: Demographic changes go hand in hand with shifts in

population, making it all the more imperative to address the issue of how settlement areas are

structured.

6 State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) 2003. Excerpts from: Ageing and Employment Policies, Switzerland 2003, Organisation for Economic Cooperation

and Development (OECD), Paris.

10 Strategic planning Context

Knowledge depends on social acceptance Scientific and technological innovations help shape social and economic development, opening up options

which were previously hard to imagine. For example, combining knowledge from the life sciences with the

possibilities offered by information and communication technologies and nanotechnologies expands the

potential sphere of application of artificial intelligence into new dimensions. At the same time, this raises

new ethical and socio-political issues which merit broad discussion given the balancing of interests that the

law demands. In was in this way that public debate of genetic engineering in Switzerland in the 1990s

ultimately led to broader acceptance of these new research approaches. Hence, education and research must

be accompanied by a sense of social responsibility. This poses the follow challenges for the institutions of

the ETH Domain:

- Ethics in research and teaching: Lived ethics and personal integrity are the foundations of scientific

credibility and prerequisites for acceptance of scientific knowledge. It is essential that teaching and

research place high value on them.

- Dialogue with society: Efforts to address the ethical, social and economic dimensions of our knowledge

society and the public dialogue on these issues only serve to increase the importance of excellent

education and research for society, business and industry.

2.2 Economic developments

Natural and engineering sciences are vital to the Swiss economy. The international crisis on the financial

markets underscores the importance of a diversified economic structure. Against this backdrop, the Swiss

economy’s international competitiveness and innovativeness are particularly important for the ETH Board’s

strategic planning 2012–2016.

Switzerland can only further enhance its competitiveness as a knowledge society The major factors determining Swiss economic competitiveness are high productivity, an ability to compete

internationally, technical and scientific innovation, and the level of added value being generated. In

addition, ever-shorter product life cycles and innovation cycles demand a high level of professional

expertise and an innovation-enabling environment. The institutions of the ETH Domain, as Swiss research

centres and part of the country’s tertiary education system, must take up the following challenges:

- Expand the potential of the knowledge society: Well-educated, motivated scientists, managers and

engineers help to enhance Switzerland’s attractiveness and performance capability as a place to invest.

The knowledge society’s potential must be better utilised as a way of raising productivity. Close

networking of research at the two Federal Institutes of Technology with the four research institutions of

the ETH Domain and the cantonal universities creates a stimulating environment for innovations and

their practical implementation. This is one of the reasons why the Zurich/Basel area and the region

surrounding Lake Geneva are attractive locations for branches of international corporations.

- Relevance of the exact sciences, natural sciences and engineering sciences: Research and development

in high-tech fields is essential in order to sustainably advance Switzerland’s position as a business

location. This is why single discipline-based, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary basic research and

teaching in the exact sciences or natural and engineering sciences must continue to play a central role

in the ETH Domain.

- Ethical responsibility: New knowledge from science and research has enormous repercussions for

business and society and therefore demands an ethically responsible approach. The social sciences and

humanities, by virtue of their interplay with engineering and the natural sciences, serve to ensure and

encourage consideration of the ethical and socio-political consequences of research and technology.

Strategic planning Context 11

- Life-long learning: Demographic change in Switzerland, the explosion in knowledge being generated,

and the demands posed by greater labour market flexibility are driving a growing need for life-long

learning. Modular courses of study and continuing education will gain in significance in the same way

as the development of young talent. At the same time, the capacity for continuous self-education will

become essential.

Switzerland must further strengthen its innovativeness Future-proof products and production processes are essential to sustainable economic development. In

2009, the international financial crisis further highlighted the importance of the real economy. In terms of

patents and publications in high-tech fields, Switzerland ranked number one in the instrument sector in

2008 and number two in the pharmaceutical industry7 . In downstream aspects of the innovation process,

however, Switzerland still displays potential for improvement (cf. Figure 1).

Comparative analysis of Switzerland as an innovation location

Figure 1: In comparison with the rest of Europe, Switzerland ranks high in the intellectual property area, but has below-average ratings in other areas. The

green line shows Switzerland’s scores, the grey area the average score of all countries considered.

Source: European Commission 20098

7 Science and technology (S&T) indicators in Switzerland, FSO, Neuchâtel, 2008; the annually published “Global Competitiveness Report” of the World Economic

Forum (WEF); cf. http://www.weforum.org/pdf/GCR09/Report/Countries/Switzerland.pdf, as well as Pro INNO Europe, Inno-Metrics (publisher), European Innovation Scoreboard 2008, available at http://www.proinno-europe.eu/metrics

8 INNO-Policy TrendChart 2008 – Policy Trends and Appraisal Report: Switzerland, European Commission Enterprise Directorate-General http://www.proinnoeurope.eu/node/19058. 2009.

12 Strategic planning Context

This situation affords major challenges for Switzerland’s higher education landscape and the institutions of

the ETH Domain:

- Integration of knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) into teaching and research: Research and

technology transfer should not be understood as sequential activities; instead KTT needs to be

integrated into research and teaching to a greater extent so that it becomes part of a comprehensive

system of research and innovation promotion.

- Complementarity of focus of research activities: To enhance Switzerland’s innovativeness it will be

necessary to examine the entire innovation process, from basic and application-oriented research to

the prototyping and pilot project stages, and onward to actual market launch. This will necessitate all

strands of research working together in targeted fashion.

- Greater use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) and research and development collaboration: Public-

private cooperation in business and industry generates feedback effects between research and

application. Such feedback enriches teaching and research activities and accelerates the real-life

implementation of new knowledge, thereby driving economic dynamism.

2.3 Environmental developments

Despite the availability of fully fledged environmental protection mechanisms, effective economic incentive

systems, and integrated analytical approaches, humankind’s ecological footprint has been exceeding the

Earth’s capacities for more than 30 years. This holds true for the world as a whole, as well as specifically for

Switzerland9 .

Humankind must slow climate change and be capable of adapting to its consequences CO2 emissions are rising and global warming is progressing faster than the IPCC Report of 2007 predicted. At

the same time, projections reveal that world energy consumption could double again in the next 20 years

and that, unless major technological progress is achieved, some 80 % of the demand for primary energy will

have to be met by fossil fuels. The particular implications of this for the ETH Domain are as follows:

- Sustainable energy use and energy security: Sustainable use of energy resources is one of the most

important issues affecting our future, centring around questions of energy supply and the consumption

behaviour of individuals and institutions. Innovative, economical solutions are needed that reduce

consumption of non-renewable resources and emissions of greenhouse gases while enabling

sustainable use of renewable resources10 .

- Adaptation strategies: It is important to develop strategies for adapting to climate change in order to be

prepared not only for the direct impact of climate change on the environment, but also for its effects on

agriculture and forestry, water resources, tourism, infrastructure and the population. Adaptation

strategies are intended to minimise the hazards and damage to ecosystems, human health and

infrastructure, while simultaneously helping to ensure that any opportunities that climate change might

present are utilised.

9 The ecological footprint is defined as the surface area of the Earth needed to permanently maintain one human’s lifestyle and standard of living (while

maintaining today’s production conditions). 10 See also: ETH Board (2008), Swiss contribution to our energy future: Research in the ETH Domain, in-house publication.

Strategic planning Context 13

The world needs to sustainably manage its resources Shortages of resources are becoming evident around the globe and leading to tensions. Satisfying worldwide

demand for water, for example, will lead to critical regional problems in the foreseeable future.

Substandard water quality and lack of access to water will become key problems harbouring rising potential

for conflict. Forecasts predict11 that by 2025 three billion people will be without adequate access to drinking

water. In addition, prices for foodstuffs are rising rapidly. Every year, millions of people die of starvation or

from diseases caused by malnutrition. On the other hand, more attention is now paid to food quality and

food production techniques than ever before. Ensuring sustainable supplies of food and water will require

solutions that take due account of climate change. This challenge directly addresses the following research

fields in which the institutions of the ETH Domain are active:

- Efficient use and purification of water: Pollution of groundwater and bodies of water must be minimised so as to ensure a sustainable supply of drinking water. Because climate change will lead to

significant regional shortages of water resources, new technologies, concepts and behaviours that enable thrifty use of this valuable resource will have to be researched and introduced.

- Food safety and security: Intensive agriculture is already causing enormous environmental problems and ecosystems are getting close to their limits. Fertile, arable land is becoming a critical resource.

Solutions must be found for both industrial nations and developing countries that combine the most efficient possible methods of cultivation with minimal impact on the ecosystem. Food supply chains, processing, packaging and transport operations also need intelligent processes in order to guarantee sustainable supply.

Habitat should be used in sustainable ways The biological and landscape diversity found in the world’s industrial nations is coming under threat from

urban sprawl, growing land consumption, and intensified pressure to use land in particular for agriculture

and tourism. With an average of more than 50 m2 of living space per inhabitant, Switzerland ranks among

the European leaders. In the 1980s and 1990s, the amount of developed land per capita grew by almost

4 %12 . In the period from 1992 to 1997, one half of the developed land in Switzerland was occupied by

buildings, 30 % by thoroughfares of all types, 7 % by industrial zones, 6 % by recreation areas and green

spaces, and 6 % was classified as special settlement area. This growing intensity of land use persists to this

day. Expansion and urban agglomeration of settlement areas as well as continuing urban sprawl are all

leading to resource-intensive traffic organisation. Incomplete domestic internalisation of external transport

costs combined with the lack of levies on rises in land values brought about through planning, development

and infrastructure measures are creating major challenges for Switzerland. There is a need to develop new,

sustainable concepts for spatial planning, life in developed areas and mobility. The institutions of the

ETH Domain must work with partners to address the following research tasks:

- Energy-efficient mobility and logistics: With urban sprawl on the increase, there is a growing urgency

for efficient and ecological mobility concepts. In 2005, the per capita distance travelled by the Swiss

population within and outside the country was around 19,000 kilometres. However, between 2000 and

2005, per capita overall travel distance and distance travelled by car remained constant. These facts

underscore the growing importance of public transport and the new concept of “slowth”. Future-proof

concepts have to be developed in this area. Sustainable concepts are likewise gaining in importance in

the fields of logistics and freight transport.

- Energy-efficient cities and buildings: Urban sprawl and rising energy prices likewise pose challenges to

urban development. While densification in urban planning can help to save infrastructure costs,

sustainable success can only be achieved by allying efficient urban planning with efficient building

design and construction.

11 EC, DG Research 2009: The World in 2025: Rising Asia and socio-ecological transition; Reflection Paper, January 2009. 12 Annual Population Statistics (ESPOP) 2008, Neuchâtel, 2009. Corrected version of 31 August 2009; FSO, Settlement area per inhabitant 1992/1997.

14 Strategic planning Context

- Mega-metropolitan areas: All around the world, urbanisation is leading to major new challenges.

Megacities are cities with several million inhabitants. Such mega-metropolitan areas encompass urban

agglomerations, such as the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area in Germany, with its population of around

twelve million. The high population densities in these regions lead to problems of urban development,

supply and disposal. Moreover, there is usually inadequate living space for the growing population,

frequently leading to so-called informal settlements. While Switzerland does not have any mega-

metropolitan areas, research in these fields may nevertheless yield solutions that can be applied in

Swiss cities. Moreover, any contribution to enhanced quality of life and sustainability in mega-

metropolitan areas is important for improving prosperity in developing and newly industrialising

countries and for reinforcing global economic stability.

- Integrated risk management: As a result of population pressure and extreme events, natural hazards are

having an ever-greater impact, particularly in alpine regions. Sustainable use of natural habitat and

living space must include an assessment of the risks of natural hazards that is based on findings from

the natural, engineering and social sciences as well as on political decision-making.

2.4 The globalised and dynamic world of science

Current developments in science indicate that the following aspects will be important in an international

context: accelerating globalisation, changes in scientific disciplines, and the use of new research methods

and approaches.

The globalisation of science is accelerating Science has always had a global perspective. However, the development of information and communication

technologies has intensified and accelerated the nature and pace of scientific collaboration in international

alliances. This is steadily increasing both competition among the best researchers worldwide, as well as

rivalry between leading universities to attract top researchers and promising students.

Scientific disciplines are undergoing transformation Within the framework of interdisciplinary research projects, scientists are looking more closely at how

traditionally separate fields of science can work together. Biology, computer sciences and chemistry are

amalgamating to form systems and structural biology; meteorology, physics, chemistry and computer

sciences are working closely together to develop new climate models; architecture, environmental sciences

and engineering sciences are engaged in an interdisciplinary investigation of urban living space (Future

Cities).

Simulation as the third pillar of scientific enquiry alongside theory and experimentation Approaches to research are subject to constant change. Computer-aided investigations and simulations of

natural processes are gaining in importance and opening up new analytical and diagnostic possibilities. The

foundation of these enhanced scientific methods is the supercomputer and associated high-performance

and high-productivity computing know-how. These methods and know-how require and enable specific

basic research.

Strategic planning Context 15

To summarise: The ETH Domain is tackling the challenges emerging from trends and current developments in

the globalised scientific community. This means, in particular:

- International focus: The institutions of the ETH Domain are rising to global competition with the aim of

safeguarding their position, now and in the future, among the top universities and globally competitive

research institutes. This will also require the appropriate resources and political environment now and

in the future.

- New strategic partnerships: New scientific fields are emerging at the interfaces between traditional

disciplines. To pursue these novel areas, research institutions are entering into new strategic

partnerships, for example, in the Zurich/Basel region and in the area surrounding Lake Geneva,

between the two Federal Institutes of Technology, university hospitals and industry. Such new

cooperative endeavours will receive institutional support and promotion.

- Large-scale research infrastructure: Various individual disciplines and interdisciplinary fields such as

biology, materials sciences, nanosciences and biomedicine are advancing knowledge with imaging

processes (e.g. SLS, SµS, SINQ, and MRI cluster analysis). As resolution pushes forward into the molecular

and atomic range, so research infrastructure is constantly growing in complexity, size and also cost-

intensiveness. To maintain its international position at the forefront of research, Switzerland needs to

invest in developing, implementing and cooperatively using such large-scale research facilities of

national interest.

The ETH Board’s strategic planning 2012–2016 for the ETH Domain provides answers to these new challenges.

2.5 Growth in student numbers

The past decade has witnessed a sharp rise in student numbers: Between 1997 and 2008, the number of

students at Swiss universities increased by over one third; overall, student numbers at all institutions13 have

almost doubled (+ 89 %). The rate of entrance qualification14 rose from 25 % in 1998 to 32 % in 200815 . This

growth has been absorbed by shifting structures towards higher vocational and professional education. Both

trends continue unabated: Applying its “neutral“ scenario, the Federal Statistical Office predicts that the

number of students at all university-level institutions will rise by a further 15 % between 2009 and 2019,

while the number of secondary school students with the appropriate university entrance qualifications will

increase by some 35 %16 .

Both Federal Institutes of Technology anticipate a rise in their student numbers over the coming years,

which according to the Federal Statistical Office’s same scenario for 2009 to 2019 will amount to 25 %. The

ETH Domain, and in particular the two Federal Institutes of Technology, are prepared to absorb this growth,

thereby responding to the general demographic development. They are also willing to make their

contribution towards satisfying the rising demand from the knowledge society and business for excellent

vocational and university education. The ETH Domain aims to combine growth with quality: Student

supervision will be optimised by creating additional professorships and posts for higher middle-ranking

academic staff (senior scientists), and by expanding the teaching and learning infrastructure.

13 Includes the universities of applied sciences. 14 Higher vocational school graduates and grammar school graduates. 15 Swiss Federal Statistical Office, Maturitäten und Übertritt an Hochschulen 2008 (2008 statistics on secondary school graduates and students entering

university), Neuchatel 2009. 16 Federal Statistical Office, Education System Scenarios for 2010 to 2019, status: June 2010,

http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/15/08/dos/blank/01.html. The “neutral” scenario partially extends the trends observed exclusively for the coming three years. According to the FSO, the proportion of students studying under admissions authorisation as foreign students at the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree levels should rise over the next five years from 18 % in 2009 to 22 % or even 24 %. At the Master’s degree level, the proportion of foreign students is expected to increase from 29 % in 2009 to 32 % or 33 % in 2015. This development is most pronounced in the technical sciences. In this group of disciplines, foreign students will probably account for one half of all the students pursuing degrees in these fields in five years’ time (2007: 31 %; 2009: 39 %; and 2015: 46 % to 47 %). In 2015, foreign students reading the exact and natural sciences as well as those in economics will likewise constitute almost or even more than 40 %.

16 Strategic planning Strategic objectives

3 Strategic objectives

3.1 Overarching, long-term guidelines

The basic mandate of the ETH Domain is geared to the medium- and long-term requirements of the Swiss government. In its essence it covers the continuation of current teaching, research and KTT activities to an

internationally recognised standard while giving due consideration to national needs. The institutions of the ETH Domain strive for utmost quality in all of their fields of activity. Consistent with the statutory and

political requirements, the ETH Board has set the following long-term guidelines for implementation of this basic mandate in the years 2012–2016:

- International excellence in teaching and research-based learning: The research-supported courses of

study available in the ETH Domain are among the best of their type in the world. An optimum learning environment requires and motivates students to give of their best. The ETH Domain seeks competitive

discourse and promotes cooperation in basic and continuing academic education with similarly oriented universities around the globe (e.g. within the IDEA League – an alliance of five leading science and

technology research universities in Europe17 or as part of Climate-KIC, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology [EIT] in the field of climate change18). Innovative approaches to teaching and research-based learning combined with multilingualism ensure that the teaching, learning and research institutions of the ETH Domain rank among the world’s best.

- Research as a theory- and method-driven quest for new knowledge: The traditional distinction between basic and applied research has lost relevance in the face of the rapid advances in scientific discovery and issues at the interface between the natural and engineering sciences. The ETH Board is committed to fostering both forms of research in an environment of maximum research freedom. It places great importance on strong, basic disciplinary research because this lays the foundations for fundamentally new knowledge. Building on this basic research, the ETH Board strengthens interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research networks that contribute to solving today’s major challenges and address the practice-driven needs of business and society. In this way, the institutions of the ETH Domain enhance the transmissibility of their research activities – from basic research to real-life application and vice versa – and thereby boost the innovativeness of Swiss business and industry.

- Integration of teaching, research and KTT: In order to make a contribution to strengthening Switzerland as a centre of research and innovation and as an attractive location for industry, knowledge and technology transfer-related questions and requirements have to be integrated into research and teaching in a timely fashion. Knowledge transfer by graduates, particularly Master’s degree holders, is of great importance. What is more, it is important to further develop specific knowledge and technology transfer strategies for multinational companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), regulatory authorities and public administration. A culture will be developed at the institutions of the ETH Domain in which entrepreneurial spirit and sustainability are integral components.

- Consideration of social and ethical issues: Science which embraces the responsibility inherent in innovativeness and excellence becomes a forum for socially relevant discourse. Tackling the ethical, social and economic aspects of research and applications in a competent yet self-critical manner, combined with a modest and respectful approach towards those who may hold different views, broaden and strengthen graduates’ expertise and skills, and form personalities who are members of the globalised scientific community. The ETH Board considers this important. Active participation in internal or public discourse on emotionally charged issues such as animal research, genetic engineering, nanotechnology or nuclear energy, and efforts to make science comprehensible and tangible, further enhance the value to society of education and research in the ETH Domain.

17 The IDEA League comprises Imperial College London, TU Delft, ETH Zurich, RWTH Aachen and ParisTech. 18 Climate-KIC: http://eit.europa.eu/kics1/climate-kic.html

Strategic planning Strategic objectives 17

- Complementary educational paths and research facilities: Switzerland’s education system is characterised by a vocationally oriented path (dual vocational training) and an academic path. The

complementarity of these two paths produces a balanced composition of highly trained professionals at various levels, which in turn promotes sustainable development of the Swiss economy and constitutes a

competitive advantage for Switzerland. University-level courses need to be further developed in a coordinated fashion within the overall context. As to efforts to coordinate higher education policy

nationwide, it is of central importance to the ETH Board that the excellent position enjoyed by the institutions of the ETH Domain in the international competitive environment and their status as

enshrined in federal legislation be safeguarded. At the same time, the ETH Board is committed to enhancing permeability between the educational paths with no loss of quality, as well as to clearly

regulating and efficiently handling the gateway between the ETH Domain and the universities of applied sciences.

Against the backdrop of these long-term, overarching guidelines for the fulfilment of its basic mandate, the

ETH Board has set specific objectives for teaching, research and KTT in the ETH Domain for the years 2012–2016. These goals are presented in the sections below.

3.2 Strategic objectives for teaching, research and KTT

Strategic objectives for teaching With regard to its teaching mandate, the ETH Board has set the following strategic objectives for the ETH Domain for the coming years: - Engineering sciences and informatics: To strengthen Switzerland as a workplace and industrial location

and reinforce its polytechnical foundations, the ETH Domain is making the promotion of courses of study in engineering sciences and informatics a key focus area for the years 2012–2016.

- Interdisciplinary courses of study: In addition to the excellent education it offers in individual disciplines, the ETH Domain sees a particular need in the coming years for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary curricula in Master’s courses which foster networked thinking and action based on a solid foundation of basic knowledge in a specific discipline. This will ensure that further developments in teaching reflect the corresponding transformation in research. Current examples of interdisciplinary courses of study in the ETH Domain include Biomedical Technology, Robotics, Quantitative Finance, Bioinformatics, Neuroinformatics and Energy Science and Technology.

- Promoting systemic approaches: Efforts to promote systemic approaches, i.e. to foster collaboration between science and practice, should be intensified not only in research but also in teaching through

cooperation with business and public bodies. Promising instruments to this end include mandatory internships in industrial companies and the creation of advisory boards aimed at incorporating the

perspectives and requirements of future employers when designing curricula. This takes account of the fact that teaching in Master’s degree programmes, and particularly at PhD level, plays a centrally

important role in KTT. In this context, specific incentives will be offered during university study to encourage contributions to comprehensive innovation processes. EPFL’s Innogrant programme and ETH

Zurich’s Venture business plan competition foster entrepreneurial spirit among members of the institutions and encourage them to found their own companies.

- Integration of cross-disciplinary skills in teaching: Interdisciplinary cooperation skills as well as social and cultural skills are becoming increasingly important for university graduates contributing to a

sustainable commitment to research, business and society as a whole. This also includes knowledge and experience from value-based corporate management as well as the ability to think critically about

scientific knowledge and technological innovation, and the risks they entail. Approaches with this aim, such as those pursued by the Humanities, Social and Political Sciences Department (GESS) at ETH Zurich

and the Collège Humanitaire at EPFL – where social sciences and humanities deliver fundamental

18 Strategic planning Strategic objectives

insights into understanding innovation processes – will be further developed and integrated into all courses of study and, where appropriate, continuing education offerings for the purpose of advancing

interdisciplinary skills. Continuing education programmes at the two Federal Institutes of Technology should culminate in the formal award of a degree or diploma.

- Consolidation of the Bologna Process reforms: After several years of intensive work to restructure all courses of study offered in the ETH Domain in line with the Bologna Process reforms, the coming years

will see the consolidation, optimisation and review of the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes at the two Federal Institutes of Technology. In accordance with the political mandate set out in the

ETH Law, the Bachelor’s degree programmes will be geared to national needs and participants. The courses offered at Master’s level, and in particular at doctoral level, now have a strong international

orientation. The Bologna Process guidelines, the Rectors’ Conference of the Swiss Universities (SUK/CRUS), and Switzerland’s international agreements on mutual recognition of university-level accreditation

impose major requirements on the ETH Domain as regards student admissions. The associated limited scope for selecting students on the basis of merit translates into a significant disadvantage compared

with the major competing universities in other countries. However, student numbers can be limited if the number of places available is insufficient to accommodate all domestic or foreign applicants. The

ETH Board wants to work towards changes in regulations which would allow its institutions to make an optimum response to changes in the European educational area. Such changes would include

instruments for performance-based admission to Master’s-level study at the Federal Institutes of Technology.

- Designing an attractive study environment: Learning is facilitated by a stimulating environment. The issue at hand is therefore not just quality in teaching, but also the provision of optimum learning opportunities. This is why the ETH Domain will over the coming years be focusing particularly on expanding student services, the grants system and peripheral services that form part of a university setting, such as creating student accommodation and further developing the campuses of the two Federal Institutes of Technology.

- Developing young talent: The institutions of the ETH Domain attach particular importance to developing its own young teaching and research talent. To this end, they are strengthening their middle-ranking academic staff and offering young scientists attractive employment conditions and career opportunities. Such measures include expanding the development opportunities of senior scientists and MERs. The offerings provided by the institutions of the ETH Domain for relatives of middle-ranking academic staff are competing with attractive positions and careers in the private sector. Permanent employment contracts for higher middle-ranking academic staff not only serve to safeguard research excellence, but are also necessary to maintain highly qualified teaching, as professors cannot fulfil this task alone.

Efforts will seek to achieve a balanced ratio between the number of higher middle-ranking academic staff and professorships19 . More continuing education opportunities will be provided to enable lecturers

to broaden their methodological and teaching skills.

- Developing young talent in Swiss grammar schools: The quality of education in mathematics and natural

sciences at Switzerland’s grammar schools is crucial for arousing young people’s interest in the

disciplines offered at the two Federal Institutes of Technology. In the forthcoming planning phase, the

ETH Domain will therefore further expand its training programmes for grammar school teachers as well

as its informational offerings for secondary school students. Particular efforts will be made to

specifically arouse girls’ and young women’ interest in the exact sciences as well as the natural and

engineering sciences (see for example the PSI’s iLab student laboratory, ETH Zurich’s MINT learning

centre, and the Les sciences, ça m’intéresse! programme and Le Centre Roberta at EPFL).

19 Among higher middle-ranking academics, a distinction must be made between staff who provide services, e.g. at major facilities or seismological or snow

and avalanche warning services, and those who perform independent research associated with the opportunity of supervising doctoral candidates.

Strategic planning Strategic objectives 19

Strategic objectives for research With regard to its research mandate, the ETH Board has set the following strategic objectives for the

ETH Domain for the coming years:

- Free scope for research in all its forms: The international recognition accorded the institutions of the ETH Domain is based largely on the quality and innovativeness of its researchers. Strategic planning for

the years ahead therefore continues to emphasise the necessity of providing sufficient scope for unconventional, basic research-oriented approaches that are not aimed at specific research outcomes.

The ETH Board has defined five key focus areas for research and development work: advanced manufacturing technologies, energy technologies for a sustainable world, engineering for life sciences,

environmental systems and technologies, and methods and platforms for the advancement of science.

- Contributing to specific solutions to problems: The ETH Domain acknowledges its responsibility to make

scientific contributions to the resolution of current social and economic problems and challenges. This responsibility is directly derived from – and simultaneously strengthens – the specific excellence of the

ETH Domain. Research findings will therefore be networked more closely with business and society over the coming years with the aim of better utilising the potential synergies of research and technology

developments. These will contribute to estimations of the consequences of technology and improve the management of public goods that do not have any market price.

- ETH Domain-wide competence centres: The interdisciplinary competence centres20 that have been energetically built up within the ETH Domain in recent years tackle important social and economic issues such as energy, the environment, sustainability and the material sciences which can only be efficiently addressed by pooling expertise. These centres have likewise intensified collaboration within the ETH Domain as well as contact with business and industry. In view of the positive evaluation results, the ETH Board will support the consolidation of these centres in the 2012–2016 planning period.

- National initiatives: The two national research initiatives SystemsX.ch and Nano-Tera.ch have proven successful; SystemsX.ch promotes the development of systems biology in Switzerland, while the focus areas of Nano-Tera.ch include the development of key technologies with micro- and nano-components within a network. The ETH Board will therefore support the continuation of these initiatives in the 2012–2016 planning period, working closely with its partners, namely SER, SUC, SNSF and CRUS.

- Strategic alliances: Following the logic of interdisciplinary research, strategic research alliances with other institutions will also be continued and strengthened, and new alliances formed. This applies specifically to the collaboration of the two Federal Institutes of Technology with CSEM, ETH Zurich’s alliances with inspire AG and IRB, and EPFL’s alliances with Idiap, IRO and Swiss TPH.

20 Energy and Mobility (CCEM), Environment and Sustainability (CCES), Materials Science and Technology (CCMX) and the National Initiative for Biomedical Imaging

(NCCBI).

20 Strategic planning Strategic objectives

Strategic objectives for knowledge and technology transfer (KTT): As regards knowledge and technology transfer (KTT), the ETH Board has set the following strategic objectives

for the ETH Domain for the coming years:

- Integrated understanding of knowledge and technology: Technology transfer needs to be a component of comprehensive research and innovation promotion efforts and to be accepted as a reciprocal learning

process for business, industry, society (including government and administration) and universities. Knowledge and abilities are also transferred when university graduates enter a wide range of positions

involving real-life applications. This is why students’ understanding of projects and entrepreneurial initiative in general will be developed while they are studying at ETH Zurich and EPFL. During this

process they will be exposed to what KTT actually involves. Sensitising students to the needs of business and society, including those of public bodies and knowledge transfer, will benefit Switzerland’s future

competitiveness as a business location. Switzerland can utilise its specialist SME culture and proven engineering prowess to further develop itself as a high-tech business location. In addition, open

innovation approaches will be fostered as promising innovation methods, and associated opportunities and risks will be investigated.

- Strengthening the innovativeness of business and industry: The institutions of the ETH Domain make their knowledge available to business and industry in forms that are appropriate for enhancing their

innovativeness and competitiveness. They thereby make an essential contribution to establishing, disseminating and applying new knowledge and the results of basic research for social and commercial uses, primarily targeting utilisation for national benefit. This transfer of knowledge and technology is promoted by a wide variety of joint projects, patents and licensing, partnerships and the founding of new companies (spin-offs), as well as shared use of large-scale research and pilot facilities. Such collaboration should be attractive both to companies and the institutions of the ETH Domain. The two Federal Institutes of Technology and the research institutions also offer services based on cutting-edge research that are in line with current and future needs of business, industry and society. The ETH Board creates a favourable setting for all these activities and an environment that stimulates knowledge and technology transfer.

- Public-private partnerships (PPP models): Increasing specialist knowledge and the rapid translation of this knowledge into practice are key to economic dynamics. This requires communication skills and appropriate channels of communication. It is also important to mobilise private capital and expertise in order to complete and supplement public mandates, create common property and encourage cooperative collaboration between the public and private sectors. Switzerland can build on a long tradition of public-private cooperation, and according to the European Innovation Scoreboard (2008) is

also a leader in the public-private scientific cooperation category21 . In an innovation context characterised by feedback effects and heightened competitive pressure, resource-oriented , long-term and legally specified forms of cooperation between public and private institutions offer feasible, efficient and effective answers to global challenges22 . However, such cooperation must not infringe on

university autonomy or the freedom of teaching and research.

21 Calculated in accordance with the European Innovation Scoreboard 2008, Comparative Analyses of Innovation Performance, January 2009 (EIS 2009) on the

basis of the number of joint scientific publications by researchers from the private and public sectors. 22 Forschungskooperationen mittels Public-Private Partnership – Argumente und Beispiele (Research cooperation through public-private partnerships– Reasons

and examples), Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CEST), Dirk Meissner, Berne, 2007 (http://www.ppp-schweiz.ch). For collaboration between the universities and business enterprises, see the report by the Swiss Federal Council in compliance with postulate 07.3832 of 20 December 2007 submitted by Loepfe, Wissens- und Technologietransfer verbessern (Improving knowledge and technology transfer), Berne 2010.

Strategic planning Strategic objectives 21

3.3 Fulfilling specific tasks of national importance

Above and beyond their basic mandate to carry out teaching, research and KTT, the institutions of the ETH Domain undertake numerous tasks of national importance that are linked to the ETH Domain’s special

status as Switzerland’s only federal institution in the field of science and technology. Over the course of the ETH Domain’s history, various long-term service agreements have been assigned to its institutions. Examples

include the Swiss Seismological Services, the Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research (KOF), the Swiss National Forest Inventory, the Swiss National Avalanche Services, the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre

(CSCS), and the operation of large-scale research infrastructure of Swiss national interest. While the financial expenditure associated with these national tasks can only be approximately quantified, they nevertheless

tie up substantial funds within the overall budget. The ETH Board and the institutions of the ETH Domain are aware of their special responsibility as expert organisations, and intend to continue providing high-quality

scientific services for the benefit of the nation throughout the 2012–2016 planning period.

3.4 Helping to develop Switzerland as a centre of higher education

Switzerland’s high concentration and wide variety of top-quality universities makes it one of Europe’s foremost centres of learning. The objective of its national higher education policy is to create an integrated university landscape. Clear profiles for the two Federal Institutes of Technology, the cantonal universities and the universities of applied sciences are essential to achieving sustainable, partnership-based collaboration and nationwide coordination on higher education policy. This is only way that teaching and research institutions can contribute to strengthening comprehensive innovation processes and improved exploitation of research results in the marketplace and society. Over the years ahead, the ETH Board and the institutions of the ETH Domain will make greater cooperation at university locations and with the universities of applied sciences a particular focus area. - Cooperation at other university locations: The two Federal Institutes of Technology and the research

institutions are expanding their intensive, bottom-up-driven collaboration with Switzerland’s major universities at the universities’ locations for the purpose of optimising resources, utilising complementary competencies, and entering into scientific cooperation. This includes close collaboration between institutions of the ETH Domain with university hospitals, clinics and public hospitals in the Zurich/Basel region and the area around Lake Geneva.

- Cooperation with the universities of applied sciences: Collaboration with Switzerland’s universities of applied sciences is already more extensive and intensive than is generally perceived. Nevertheless, the

ETH Board feels this cooperation still has major potential to further strengthen Switzerland as a centre of innovation. It is therefore actively committed to developing a strategic policy vision of cooperation and

work division, coordinated development perspectives and optimum implementation of these perspectives.

22 Strategic planning Strategic objectives

3.5 Internationalising the ETH Domain23

Internationally, the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the four research institutions of the ETH Domain hold a top position in teaching and research24 and are networked in many different ways with the world’s

best institutions. Their excellence depends not only on international competition and comparison, but also exchange and cooperation with the world’s best. The goal of internationalisation is firstly to strengthen the

ETH Domain’s own competitive advantages and secondly to make a substantial contribution to resolving specific challenges facing society, the economy and the environment in Switzerland and around the world.

To this end, partnerships with partner institutions are being established and expanded. The ETH Domain plays an ambassadorial role for Switzerland in the world of science and research.

- High level of attractiveness for talented students from around the globe: Both Federal Institutes of

Technology gear their Bachelor’s degree programmes primarily to national needs. Internationalisation focuses on the Master’s and doctoral levels, as well as continuing education. Both institutes thus

contribute significantly to ensuring that adequate numbers of specialists are available to science, business and society in Switzerland. Their qualifications simultaneously fulfil the requirements of a

global labour market.

- Worldwide recruitment of leading professionals through competitive offerings: The quality of the

lecturers and scientists to be recruited is crucial to achieving the ETH Domain’s objectives. The search for the best candidates will therefore continue on a global basis and irrespective of nationality. The ETH Domain makes every effort to integrate foreign staff and lecturers as well as possible, and to develop their understandings of Switzerland’s customs and way of life.

- Establishing and utilising strategic alliances and networks with universities, research institutes and companies: Strategic alliances with selected universities and research institutions or with countries around the world are being built and utilised. This includes establishing and maintaining contacts and partnerships in research and development with international companies that are important to the ETH Domain’s fields of activity. Efforts to date in this area have yielded international research networks in which the two Federal Institutes of Technology are participating. Examples include the Singapore ETH Centre (SEC) in Singapore25 and the IDEA League in Europe26 as well as the global alliances AGS, IARU, GlobalTech and GULF27 . The objective of these networks is not only to generate added value for teaching, research and KTT within the ETH Domain and thereby for Switzerland, but also to contribute to solving global problems (e.g. sustainable development issues or third-world development through Eawag, the Future Cities Laboratory and World Food System of ETH Zurich, or EPFL’s Technologies for Development). Platforms and partnerships in selected countries serve as antenna, and facilitate the

further development and deepening of cooperation.

23 Cf. The Swiss Confederation, Internationale Strategie der Schweiz im Bereich Bildung, Forschung und Innovation (Switzerland’s international strategy in

education, research and innovation), adopted by the Swiss Federal Council on 30 June 2010. 24 According to the rankings of the international scientific and research community, the two Federal Institutes of Technology were ranked as follows in 2009:

According to THES, the World University Rankings of Times Higher Education (THE) and Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd (QS) (http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk), ETH Zurich ranks 20th, while EPFL ranks 42nd; according to ARWU – the Academic Ranking of World Universities, Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/ranking.htm; http://www.arwu.org/) ETH Zurich ranks 23rd, and EPFL 101st. Rankings by discipline reveal a differentiated picture: According to ARWU, ETH Zurich achieves its highest ranking in chemistry (6th) while EPFL is ranked 15th in Engineering/Technology and Computer Sciences.

25 Singapore ETH Centre (SEC) was established in collaboration with the National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF), the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

26 The IDEA League includes the Imperial College London, TU Delft, ETH Zurich, RWTH Aachen and ParisTech. 27 AGS is the Alliance for Global Sustainability with MIT, ETH Zurich, Tokyo University and Chalmers University; IARU is the International Alliance of Research

Universities, with 10 prestigious research universities; GlobalTech Alliance comprises 7 high-ranking technical universities; and the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF) includes 25 well-known universities.

Strategic planning Strategic objectives 23

- Diverse international cooperation mechanisms: As part of their internationalisation strategy the

ETH Domain and its institutions are:

- Contributing to and concluding memoranda of understanding (MoU) with selected partner

countries and institutions,

- Assuming development and coordination tasks for bilateral collaboration programmes

(including the role of “leading house” in Switzerland) in close cooperation with SER, OPET, the

SNSF and CTI,

- Supporting research and development projects together with international partners,

- Acquiring third-party funding through international cooperation on projects and services, and

acquiring grants for example from the European Research Council,

- Establishing and developing off-shore activities (such as EPFL’s campus in Ras al Khaimah, and

SEC in Singapore),

- Creating and utilising opportunities for student internships as well as development and career

opportunities for ETH graduates abroad.

The present momentum of cooperation with other European countries, and the opportunities it

presents, will be further utilised and intensified. This is particularly applicable in connection with

the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), its Climate-KIC initiative, and to

collaboration with other European institutions as part of the planning, design and implementation

of EU research programmes.

- Supporting bottom-up initiatives from within the ETH Domain as driving forces: Internationalisation

occurs selectively where specific, sector-related opportunities arise. Individual professors and research

groups traditionally maintain a large number of research contacts with universities, research institutions

and companies in all corners of the globe. These are the driving forces of internationalisation. Bottom-

up-driven cooperation forms the backbone of international relationships and simultaneously serves as

the best advertisement for the ETH Domain. ETH students and staff are active members of the

international teaching and research community, and ambassadors of the ETH Domain abroad.

Institutional top-down initiatives and alliances will support and strengthen them. Scientists and

researchers are supported so that they can collaborate in international research communities and

specialist organisations in fields of importance to them or successfully assume a defining role as leaders.

International exchange will also be systematically nurtured through sabbaticals for scientific and

technical staff as well as administrators.

24 Strategic planning Key focus areas

4 Key focus areas

Against the backdrop of the economic, social and ecological challenges and trends in the globalised scientific community, the ETH Board has defined the following key focus areas for the ETH Domain over the

coming years. In doing so, the ETH Board consulted the existing scientific foundation. Within the portfolio of activities, emphasis is given to items that are considered to hold particular promise within the context of

international competition. In addition, a wide variety of other fields of research are addressed. If approved funding turns out to be less than requested, the ETH Board will prepare a list of criteria for defining priorities

in line with the ETH Domain’s government mandate in order to make the necessary budget cutbacks. The individual institutions will then apply these criteria to make cuts to the prescribed extent themselves.

- Advanced manufacturing technologies: ETH Domain support for the real economy focuses on high-tech

products and production processes as well as on medical technology. “Green, mobile, safe” are the requirements that products and production processes have to satisfy today.

- Energy technologies for a sustainable world: Energy and climate policies are becoming increasingly intertwined. In addition, the issue of reliable energy supplies is assuming new dimensions in

Switzerland and beyond. A diverse range of research approaches is needed to resolve these complex issues. By researching new solutions and processes, the institutions of the ETH Domain will contribute to mastering the global challenges of climate change while simultaneously expanding the know-how Switzerland needs to optimise its energy supply and use. Finding substitutes for fossil fuels, increasing energy efficiency and promoting renewable energy sources are at the centre of the ETH Domain’s research interest in this area.

- Engineering for life sciences: The advancing convergence of scientific issues in the life sciences is leading to new research partnerships within the ETH Domain and beyond. As a result of the new challenges facing health care, cooperation between institutions of the ETH Domain with research-based university hospitals, and medical research institutions in particular, is assuming major strategic importance. Moreover, the ETH Domain intends to make specific contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the life sciences over the coming years through its work in nanosciences, computer sciences and biotechnology.

- Environmental systems and technologies: In the coming years, the ETH Domain intends to make greater use of its unique offering of natural and engineering sciences combined with the social sciences and humanities to find solutions to global challenges. While technical innovations are essential to progress, successful implementation of such innovations requires cooperation with the social sciences and humanities.

- Methods and platforms for the advancement of science: The methodological triad of theory, experiment and simulation is increasingly penetrating all disciplinary and interdisciplinary areas of science. High-performance computers and computer-aided modelling and imaging processes constitute new research methods and infrastructure that are opening up all new fields of scientific knowledge. The ETH Board is therefore making the further development of these methods and research infrastructure a key area of focus of its strategic planning 2012–2016 for the ETH Domain. It should be noted in this regard that interdisciplinary research projects that use large-scale technical infrastructure such as high-performance computers or light sources will be increasingly dependent on international cooperation and sponsors.

These five key focus areas will build in part on research and teaching activities that have been ongoing for years in the institutions of the ETH Domain, as well as on established institutional cooperation projects within the ETH Domain and/or in strategic alliances with other universities and institutions of higher education.

Strategic planning Key focus areas 25

In all of these focus areas, several – most of the time all – the institutions of the ETH Domain are involved in various functions and with different content. Examples of the contributions they make to these individual

areas of focus are outlined in the sections below. Full details can be found in the institutions’ own development plans.

4.1 Advanced manufacturing technologies

In the 2008–2011 planning period, extremely successful, locally anchored interdisciplinary initiatives in the

engineering sciences were launched at all locations in the ETH Domain. These networks benefited from the spatial proximity of the participating researchers, and have already led to very intensive collaboration. In

contrast, cross-regional initiatives aimed at structuring and coordinating research and development activities have as yet failed to exploit their full potential, and will therefore be optimised in the coming

planning period.

In the 2012–2016 strategic planning period, the institutions of the ETH Domain will be paying particular attention to those fields of research capable of contributing to the strengthening of Swiss industry. In

industry, sustainable economic success depends on being able to develop and produce innovative and reliable products of high value to the customer at low prices. The core success factors include access to key technologies such as nanotechnology, but also access to state-of-the-art production and process technologies. Internationally leading research in these fields and the rapid transfer of the results to the business community are of eminent importance in maintaining Swiss companies’ competitive advantage. Furthermore, the sustainability and safety of the new technologies, products and processes represent one of the primary challenges facing science and industry. The institutions of the ETH Domain unite basic and applied research in most of the fields of science and technology relevant to such issues. In the 2012–2016 strategic planning period, the range of disciplines covered will be expanded to gear it even more closely to the future needs of science and business. Two new interdisciplinary initiatives at ETH Zurich, for example, are contributing to strengthening Switzerland as an industry location. The “Manufacturing across Scales” initiative seeks to develop the scientific basis for new production and process technologies in all dimensions (nano to macro) and for new generations of production systems, processes and products. Robotics is one of the important pillars of the second initiative, “Natural and Artificial Intelligence”. The increasingly important field of robotics is an area where the two

Federal Institutes of Technology together form one of world’s strongest networks and will be responsible for a National Center of Competence in Research between 2010 and 2013 (with EPFL acting as leading house).

EPFL will build up specialist expertise in green technologies (sustainable production, energy-efficient components, environmentally friendly processes and recycling). Through its research focus area of “natural

resources and pollutants”, Empa is making an essential contribution to clean technologies. It is also further expanding its strengths in nanotechnology. Work in this area is focusing on developing new materials for a

diverse range of applications (coatings, adaptive materials, and functionalised fibres and textiles). PSI is developing and using innovative processes in the field of micro- and nano-fabrication technology. These

include in particular the interference X-ray lithography carried out at SLS and the processes developed at the Institute for Nanotechnological Plastics Applications operated jointly with the University of Applied Sciences

Northwestern Switzerland.

A number of new initiatives in the ETH Domain are investigating the risks posed by new technologies and products: In its “Nano Safety” project, Empa is aiming to develop methods and models for biologically

testing nanomaterials. Particular research attention is being devoted to the safety of nanotechnology and the impact of nanomaterial use on the environment and human health. Eawag’s work on nano-

ecotoxicology includes research into the release of nanoparticles from manufactured materials, nanoparticle behaviour in water, and the impact of nanoparticles on organisms living in water. The hazards posed by

new technologies and products also form part of the Risk Initiative launched by ETH Zurich, which pursues an interdisciplinary approach to risk research.

26 Strategic planning Key focus areas

The Nano-Tera.ch national initiative will be continued and adapted to requirements on the basis of experience to date. This initiative promotes research into nanotechnology and information technologies

throughout Switzerland, across a broad spectrum ranging from basic research in engineering science and manufacturing technologies to applied research and technology transfer.

The ETH Domain-wide Competence Centre for Materials Science and Technology (CCMX) pools and coordinates

the activities of the institutions of the ETH Domain in materials research, and promotes dialogue between science and industry.

4.2 Energy technologies for a sustainable world

Scientific investigation of energy was originally dedicated primarily to studying energy’s various states and

its transformation from one state to another. Physics explained the principles of these transformation processes – from the laws of thermodynamics to the relationship of mass to energy. The various engineering

disciplines used this knowledge to design machines that transform energy won from physical and chemical processes into mechanical work or electricity. Energy research was therefore strongly anchored not only in

physics, but also in the engineering disciplines. The oil crisis of 1972 and the 1979 energy crisis propelled issues related to resources and efficiency along the entire energy supply chain into the focal point of scientific interest. Energy supply became subject to ever-broader scrutiny. Consideration of material flows, and ways of managing them as economically and ecologically as possible, gave rise to an increasing number of system-based approaches to energy research. Establishing sustainable energy systems will be an extremely complex process. Solutions will only be found through collaboration and by incorporating knowledge from a wide number of scientific disciplines, and by applying a wide range methodological approaches. The ETH Domain is optimally prepared for this task. By virtue of their broad range of disciplines and scientific depth in all relevant field of research, the six institutions of the ETH Domain are able to conduct basic research in every link of the energy chain and to develop sustainable technologies. These efforts focus on three strategies: Substituting CO2-free primary energy sources for fossil fuels, increasing efficiency with respect to processes and energy and materials consumption, and reducing energy demand.

ETH Zurich’s Energy Initiative pools the diverse research activities of 12 of its 16 departments and supplements them for example in the fields of electrical energy production, distribution and storage,

renewable energy sources and energy technologies such as solar, wind and geothermal energy; nuclear energy; and energy-related materials research. The development of new materials and systems for energy-

efficient buildings is a priority research area which will be strengthened at Empa and ETH Zurich. EPFL will focus on the transformation of renewable energy (hydro, solar and wind power) and smart energy

management. PSI, WSL and Empa will also concentrate on renewable energy and new energy technologies capable of reducing global CO2 emissions, such as the potential of hydrogen as a new energy source and fuel cell technology. For instance, PSI is investigating how fuel cells work in operation by applying imaging methods at SINQ, and pursuing questions of solar chemistry. Eawag is investigating the ecological framework conditions of hydroelectric power. ETH Zurich, EPFL and PSI are running complementary training programmes for nuclear energy specialists. EPFL is the Swiss partner in international fusion research (ITER project), while in the international community, PSI is making Switzerland’s contribution to research into technologies for the fourth generation of nuclear power plants. EPFL’s Plasma Physics Research Centre (CRPP) is developing a strategy for fusion research in Switzerland. WSL possesses expertise and databases on renewable energy sources (wood fuel) and their sustainable use. The ETH Domain-wide Competence Centre for Energy and Mobility (CCEM) pools and coordinates the energy research activities of the institutions of the ETH Domain. CCEM also strengthens the dialogue between science and industry for the purpose of bringing basic research and the needs of industrial development and society closer together.

Strategic planning Key focus areas 27

4.3 Engineering for life sciences

The future potential of the life sciences lies at the interface between biology, medicine, the exact sciences, informatics and the engineering sciences. Research in these fields is expected to yield fundamental

contributions to public health and for the pharmaceutical and food industries and energy sector in a sustainable society. Over the coming decades the life sciences will play a major role in shaping science and

business in Switzerland since a large portion of the Swiss economy and 25 % of the nation’s exports are linked to these sectors.

Systems biology, synthetic and structural biology, bioengineering and nanotechnology will all contribute

their share to solving fundamental questions of biology and medicine. As a bridging field of study, the life sciences demand close and efficient cooperation between researchers in the natural and engineering

sciences at the various institutions of the ETH Domain as well as with researchers in hospitals and clinics and other universities.

Within the ETH Domain, important initiatives are currently underway in systems biology – an

interdisciplinary field that systematically investigates complex interactions of biological systems: The national initiative SystemsX.ch, initiated in 2008 by ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and the University of

Basel, aims to achieve a paradigm shift from qualitative to quantitative, model-based research in the life sciences. SystemsX.ch will be continued in the next strategic planning period for the purpose of consolidating results and sustainably establishing systems biology research capacities in Switzerland. The objective of the Blue Brain Project launched by EPFL in 2005 is to develop the first computer model of the human brain. The research infrastructure for simulation-based brain research is strongly enhancing Switzerland’s visibility and attractiveness, and its research activities will provide important input for the pharmaceutical industry as the drug development process becomes ever more complex. What is more, Blue Brain could become a flagship project of the European Commission. Synthetic biology combines the exact sciences, medicine and the engineering sciences to design and synthesise new biological functions and systems. Under the direction of ETH Zurich, the ETH Domain is planning a unique interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at programming complex cellular systems. This new discipline of the engineering sciences builds on innovative concepts, theories and processes that will advance our understanding and treatment of cellular systems as well as their utilisation for business purposes by the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries.

Progress in preventing and treating the commonest and most widespread health risks requires integrative approaches that make targeted use of the wealth of biomedical information available in the so-called post-

genome era. The ETH Domain is therefore pursuing the “From Genes to Health” programme, the goal of which is to develop new strategies for combating today’s medical challenges. This programme covers the

entire spectrum of activities from identifying and validating diseases by phenogenomic analysis of laboratory animals to the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Taking the exact and engineering sciences as its basis, the ETH Domain has acquired significant expertise in

nano science. Major new findings are anticipated from the expansion of current activities into the realm of the life sciences: By establishing an entirely new department, ETH Zurich will in 2012 create the nucleus for

strengthening work on the nutrition and movement aspects of neuroscience, specialist areas of the discipline, medical technology and molecular health sciences. In the fields of health monitoring, supportive

medical equipment and regenerative medicine, ETH Zurich’s initiative “Medical Engineering” will help the elderly to preserve their independence longer. EPFL intends to concentrate on photonic materials and

biophotonics for imaging processes, nanomaterials for studying transport, in particular of drugs and vaccines within the human organism, as well as on analysis of biomolecular structures in the nanometre range, and

the parallelisation of manipulating and observing processes for investigating interactions. Empa plans to focus its research activity on developing new materials, combining materials and technologies in the field of biomaterials and implants, on health monitoring, and on textiles for the protection of the human body. Empa will also develop biotechnological approaches, including biocatalysts. PSI will focus its activities in the life sciences area on radiotherapy for cancer treatments, proton therapy, and biomolecular research

28 Strategic planning Key focus areas

associated with the Swiss Light Source (SLS), which will include intensifying collaboration with industry and universities.

Imaging processes are of strategic importance to numerous life science fields within the ETH Domain. It is

therefore imperative to maintain Switzerland’s lead in this key technology. The creation of a national network for electron microscopy in conjunction with the cantonal universities will enable procurement of

new, cost-intensive equipment and its optimised utilisation within Switzerland. The activities of the National Competence Center in Biomedical Imaging (NCCBI) will be continued and expended.

Several institutions of the ETH Domain are investigating the safety of nanotechnology and of nanomaterial

use with respect to the environment and health. Empa is expanding its expertise in this field.

The ETH Domain is already today making a wide variety of valuable contributions to modern medicine, either at the level of innovation-promoting basic knowledge or by developing medical technologies. In the 2012–

2016 planning period, the ETH Domain will pool and strengthen these activities in its key focus area of technologies for life sciences. At the same time, the ETH Domain will collaborate with the universities and

university hospitals in the Zurich/Basel region and the area around Lake Geneva to address the prerequisites, and the teaching and research contributions it could make to providing a competitive and value-adding

university medical system. It will also review the procedure for the years beyond 2016.

4.4 Environmental systems and technologies

The problems created by the exponential rise in consumption of finite resources were first brought to public attention by the Club of Rome’s report of 1972. Despite its methodological shortcomings and oversimplified presentation in the media, this report succeeded in prompting scientific debate on population growth, resource consumption, and the environmental impacts associated with these developments. The key concept of sustainable development was coined by the Brundtland Report of 1987. The 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro then translated this concept into targets for action. The interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary nature of these fields of action triggered a revolution in scientific teaching and research, which by a process of historical development followed a discipline-based organisational structure. Interdisciplinary issues could not be addressed until the boundaries between

disciplines had first been overcome and new methodological approaches found. This led to the system-based approaches to teaching and research that are characteristic of universities today.

Through the activities they have pursued to date, the institutions of the ETH Domain have developed

outstanding competence in the field of the Earth and the environment; the basic mandate of two of the institutions – WSL and Eawag – focuses on the environment. Cooperation in this field within the ETH Domain

is ensured by the ETH Domain-wide Competence Center for Environment and Sustainability (CCES, with ETH Zurich as Leading House), which among other things provides a unique infrastructure for in-situ experiments

and observation, and will focus heavily on outreach work in the 2012–2016 planning period.

The impact of climate change will be further investigated not only within the scope of CCES activities, but also in research programmes and initiatives at the individual institutions of the ETH Domain: Optimum

adaptation to climate change and the development of ideas, concepts and technologies to prevent anticipated climate change are the objective of the Climate-KIC initiative of ETH Zurich and its European

partner institutions. In addition, ETH Zurich will engage with the Center for Climate Systems Modelling in the field of climate modelling, WSL intends to research the effects of climate change on forests, and Eawag will investigate the corresponding effects on aquatic systems. ETH Zurich, EPFL, WSL and Eawag will investigate the effects of climate change on alpine areas within the framework of CCES and with the Risk Management for the Alpine Environment programme initiated by EPFL. As a supplement to this, risk assessment and risk management in connection with natural hazards are key subjects being pursued by CCES and, in particular, WSL. CCES and CCEM will jointly address CO2 capture and storage under the direction of PSI.

Strategic planning Key focus areas 29

The environment, as a sub-area of sustainable development, is in many aspects inseparably linked with the issue of energy. Accordingly, various initiatives and programmes named under Section 4.2 above must be

noted in this context as well: Specifically these are the activities of the ETH Domain-wide competence centre CCEM, the main emphasis of which will be on the developed environment (buildings and infrastructure). This

is because any potential improvement in energy efficiency and resource utilisation is relevant to mitigating climate change. Further activities planned for the 2012–2016 strategic period that are relevant to

environmental issues include the Future Cities Laboratory of ETH Zurich and Singapore’s two leading universities, NTU and NUS; Innovative Urban and Infrastructure Design, a joint programme between ETH

Zurich and Eawag; Innovations in Building Technologies and Sustainable Architecture, a joint undertaking of EPFL and Empa; EPFL’s Transportation and Urban Systems, and the new technologies to be developed at PSI,

as well as the New Materials for Energy Technology key focus area to be developed at Empa. The large-scale facilities at PSI will also be used to investigate the material properties of such technologies and how they

work.

The effects of human behaviour on the environment, ways of mitigating them, and the management of the risks arising from such effects will be the subjects of scientific research and development of appropriate

technologies at Empa (air pollution), PSI (aerosols), Eawag (water), WSL (terrestrial ecosystems) and the two Federal Institutes of Technology as part of their environmental science programmes. The Swiss Centre for

Applied Ecotoxicology, which is headquartered at Eawag and has a second location at EPFL that focuses on terrestrial ecotoxicology, will continue to explore practice-oriented aspects of the specific impacts of microcontamination and toxic substances on the environment. To ensure our future, we must find ways of satisfying humankind’s needs that conserve the environment and its ecosystems. Achieving this goal will require a scientific understanding of the relationships involved, the technological progress built on that knowledge, and the involvement of the social sciences. Within the framework of its new World Food System competence centre, ETH Zurich will explore food system-related issues on a very broad, interdisciplinary plane. Research into sustainable agriculture – a fundamental postulate to ensuring global food supplies – will be enhanced in 2012 by the merger of the agricultural and environmental sciences in a single department.

30 Strategic planning Key focus areas

4.5 Methods and platforms for the advancement of science

The point of departure for any type of basic or application-oriented research or innovation is the methods used and the continuous, further development of those methods. Some methods require early planning at

national level owing to their complexity and cost-intensive research infrastructure. Implementation of such research infrastructure projects of nationwide interest, for example in the field of high-performance

computing at CSCS or the large-scale research facilities at PSI, has in the past proven not just to be a necessity, but rather a thoroughly kernel for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research projects.

Modelling and simulation nowadays enjoy the same scientific status as methods of acquiring and proving

knowledge, as theory and experimentation do. High-performance computing has developed into an indispensable research tool, especially in economically and socially significant areas of science (such as

climate change and energy, molecular biology and medicine, materials research and astronomy, and physics and chemistry), as well as for understanding the causes of natural disasters and financial market crises. In

recent years, a new generation of high-performance computer architectures have made possible remarkable advances in computational power: Multi-core processors featuring four or more cores are overcoming the

performance limits previously imposed by heat build-up. The greatest technical challenges are now posed by parallel computing and the steadily growing number of integrated computer components, while costs

and energy consumption must at the same time be kept to a minimum. However, the strategic importance of high-performance computing derives much more from computer-aided science applications than from computing power: Hence, high-performance computing is not just about achieving top performance figures or processing ever-larger data volumes at ever-higher speeds. High-performance computing (HPC) also primarily represents a way of obtaining rapid solutions to highly complex problems comprising a large number of interlinked elements, processes and levels; thus, HPC does not just stand for “high-performance computing”, but also for “high-productivity computing”. The development and operation of such platforms have in recent years become an independent field of research in which the ETH Domain has successfully achieved an important position. Appropriate hardware capacities and software competencies have been established at the various institutions, such as CADMOS at EPFL. At the same time, the Centro Svizzero di Calcolo Scientifico (CSCS – the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre) operated by ETH Zurich in Manno, Ticino, has been strategically positioned as a user lab and innovation driver in high-performance computing. In addition, the installation of the Monte Rosa computer at CSCS in 2009 marked the laying of the foundation for the next generation of high-performance computers. Furthermore, new models for the provision of computer resources to large numbers of users and the administration of these resources are being researched in EPFL’s cloud computing programme. Cloud computing is primarily of interest to

business. The aim is to make lower-cost alternatives to dedicated high-performance computers available to many areas of science by systematically exploiting multi-processor technology.

Experimental basic research in physics, certain areas of solids research and materials sciences, biomolecular

research in the life sciences area, and important research topics in the field of energy technology all need access to additional, cost-intensive scientific and technical research infrastructure. Thus, the Swiss

Spallation Neutron Source (SINQ), Muon Source (SµS), and Swiss Light Source (SLS) at PSI constitute important platforms for structural resolution, spectroscopy and imaging processes. This large-scale, complex research

infrastructure is organised as user labs and is shared by researchers from the ETH Domain, universities in Switzerland and abroad, universities of applied sciences, and industry. At the same time, the further

development of such infrastructure is a distinct field of research in itself. The large-scale research facilities at the institutions of the ETH Domain are unique in a large number of fields, and further development of

these facilities aims to enable scientists in Switzerland to maintain their position at the forefront of internationally competitive research in the natural and engineering sciences in the years ahead.

To this end, the ETH Domain will continue the national HPCN strategy at the behest of the federal

government for the benefit of Switzerland as a research location, and support the development of a dedicated computer infrastructure at EPFL and further development of the large-scale facilities at PSI that the strategy incorporates.

Strategic planning Key focus areas 31

The following major projects in the field of research infrastructure are of central importance to the ETH Board in the 2012–2016 strategic planning period, and thus also as part of Switzerland’s roadmap for research

infrastructure prepared by the State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER):

- Swiss National Strategic Plan for High-Performance Computing and Networking (HPCN): ETH Zurich will implement a new high-performance computer in the mid-petaflops performance class at CSCS as of

2012. As the national competence centre and with a new location in Lugano, CSCS will provide high-performance computing services for science, business and society, and coordinate the national

supercomputing network. In parallel, the specific competencies that researchers and universities need to use the high-performance computing systems will be established as part of the national Swiss

Platform for High-Performance and High-Productivity Computing (HP2C) programme28 .

- SwissFEL: As regards experimental scientific research infrastructure of national interest, a new

generation of light sources that will enable researchers in physics, chemistry, biology and power engineering to identify changes in material structure over time in the femtosecond range at subatomic

resolution will be implemented at PSI as part of the SwissFEL project. As part of this project PSI is developing new technologies with which a large-scale research facility of this type can be realised at a

much smaller size and therefore also more economically than the planned complementary European XFEL, for which PSI is also conducting development work29 .

- Blue Brain: EPFL will continue to drive forward the development of dedicated research infrastructure for neuroscience and ensure it is embedded at a nationwide level. This will make it possible to optimally position Blue Brain so that it can become one of the planned flagship initiatives of the European Research Council (ERC) in future and emerging technologies30 .

Even construction projects have growing importance to research and application as time passes. Accordingly, the latest research findings from building technology are continuously integrated into the new buildings erected by the institutions of the ETH Domain. Prominent examples of sustainable building include the Forum Chriesbach at Eawag, the new Monte Rosa-Hütte, ETH Zurich’s HIT building, and EPFL’s Rolex Learning Center. With its HIB building in Science City, ETH Zurich is planning – similarly to Empa and Eawag’s joint construction of NEST – a building that is intended to serve simultaneously as a research facility, guesthouse and laboratory for the application and testing of new materials and systems for buildings and their impact on visitors and the environment.

28 Cf. the ETH Board’s High-Performance Computing fact sheet of August 2009 for more information. www.ethrat.ch 29 Cf. http://www.psi.ch/media/swissfel-das-zukunftsprojekt and the SwissFEL project proposal (ETH Board) for more detailed information. 30 Cf. http://bluebrain.epfl.ch for more detailed information.

32 Strategic planning Prerequisites and framework

5 Prerequisites and framework

The institutions of the ETH Domain are reliant on certain specific prerequisites and favourable framework conditions for the implementation of their basic mandate and key focus areas for the 2012–2016 strategic

planning period. These are presented and explained in the sections below.

5.1 Attractiveness as an employer

Ultimately, the quality and innovative culture of the institutions of the ETH Domain is determined by the

professors, leading researchers and lecturers, middle-ranking academic staff, technicians, administrative staff and students. Retaining such outstanding people and attracting similar new staff members to the

ETH Domain are crucial to the successful implementation of strategic planning for 2012–2016. After all, personnel costs account for some 70 % of the ETH Domain’s total expenditure. With this in mind, the

ETH Board will devote particular energy over the coming years to the following aspects: - Attractive employment conditions: Compared with other universities, the ETH Domain has an important

competitive edge when it comes to recruiting researchers: The excellent basic conditions of teaching and research professorship permit the pursuit of high-risk research and the exploration of innovative ideas for which it is not yet possible to make project-specific applications for second- and third-party funding. The institutions of the ETH Domain are held in high esteem worldwide. Furthermore, the high quality of life in Switzerland makes it a very attractive place to live. Despite this conducive setting, however, employment conditions still have to be improved, not only to remain attractive to excellent researchers amid intensifying global competition, but also to be able to ensure the ETH Domain holds its ground against the private sector. This is why, between 2012 and 2016, the ETH Board particularly intends to work with the individual institutions of the ETH Domain to develop new solutions for dual-career couples and promote the compatibility of family and career for mothers as well as fathers. Attractive employment conditions linked with good career prospects will contribute to maintaining a strong and capable body of high-level non-professorial academic staff (e.g. senior scientists and maîtres d’enseignement et de recherche [MER]).

- Diversity: Success in an international competitive environment depends on successfully attracting the most talented researchers, teachers and students – irrespective of gender, nationality or group

affiliation. A diversity strategy is therefore every bit as essential as attractive employment conditions. The ETH Domain will focus efforts in the 2012–2016 period on promoting equal opportunities. Over the

course of the 2008–2011 planning period, the two Federal Institutes of Technology have achieved considerable progress in this area at all levels of the academic career path. It is now important to

specifically promote those measures that have delivered or are expected to deliver the greatest possible long-term impact in terms of best practice approaches. This applies particularly to the recruitment and

retention of highly qualified professors and to the issue of women in leadership positions. All institutions of the ETH Domain will design their selection processes accordingly. Long-term internal

career planning will also be strengthened. While the ETH Board has intentionally not set any quota, it is nevertheless targeting a 50 % increase in the proportion of women serving as professors by 2016 relative

to the figures for 2009. The percentage of women in leadership positions and decision-making bodies is also to increase to a minimum of 25 %. The institutions of the ETH Domain will intensify contact with

public authorities at cantonal and municipal levels in order to further improve provision for non-family childcare and other day care options available to staff members, particularly those with school-age

children. The institutions will increase the total funding available within the ETH Domain for equal-opportunity measures to a minimum of 0.4 % of the financial contribution where this level has not

already been achieved, and deploy these funds for, among other things, participation in the Swiss federal equal opportunities programme.

Strategic planning Prerequisites and framework 33

- Flexibilisation of the salary system: The New Salary System (NSS) introduced in 2006 has meanwhile been implemented at all institutions of the ETH Domain. Drawing on its initial experience, the ETH Board

now wants to further align the salary system with the needs of the Federal Institutes of Technology and research institutes with an eye to attracting and retaining top talent for its non-professorial academic

staff and technical and administrative staff. The ETH Professorial Staff Ordinance31 currently offers adequate scope for attracting and retaining the best researchers. However, the overarching statutory

regulations now restrict the options for buying into the pension fund. The ETH Board, in collaboration with the presidents of the two Federal Institutes of Technology, will continue to monitor and pursue

developments over the 2012–2016 strategic planning period, and propose new arrangements where appropriate.

- Choosing leaders: The presidents of the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the directors of the ETH Domain’s research institutions are chosen by the Swiss Federal Council from candidates nominated

by the ETH Board. Their appointment is subject to federal law. The successful recruitment of suitable candidates for these key management positions depends on many different factors. The selection

process should be transparent. The ETH Board, the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the research institutions of the ETH Domain will observe international developments in this recruitment area too

and, where needed, propose modifications to the employment conditions.

- Flexibilisation of legislation governing foreign citizens: The ETH Domain recruits worldwide in its efforts

to attract outstanding staff members. Furthermore, its current performance mandate obliges it to recruit the best students irrespective of gender or origin, and to develop bilateral cooperation with China, India, Russia, South Africa and certain other countries. Against this backdrop, the ETH Board is committed to a reform of Swiss legislation on foreign citizens. Differing interpretations of the existing legislation by the individual cantons restricts the attractiveness of the institutions of the ETH Domain to the world’s best talents. The objective is to guarantee the sustainability of students’ stays in Switzerland, for the students themselves, and for Switzerland and for other countries as well: Swiss business needs specialists, particularly in the engineering and natural sciences, regardless of their country of origin. This need has been demonstrated and has been addressed by industry and politicians in recent years. Furthermore, knowledge transfer to graduates’ countries of origin should not be impeded, particularly where these are developing and newly industrialised countries.

5.2 Sustainable planning and building, and modern infrastructure

The implementation of strategic planning also includes the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of buildings and infrastructure. The institutions of the ETH Domain have to plan, construct and

operate the buildings and infrastructure they need for teaching and research. At around 15 %, investments in buildings and infrastructure constitute the second largest component of ETH Domain expenditure32 . At the same time, rising student numbers are generating a growing need for teaching infrastructure. This is why it is important, in the interest of the core business of teaching, research and KTT, to optimise real estate management. The following measures have already been initiated and will be further pursued over the coming years:

- Sustainable planning and construction33 taking account of life-cycle costs: Building and infrastructure planning that only considers investment costs in the narrower sense harbours the risk of minimising construction costs to the detriment of subsequent operating and maintenance costs associated with the need to adapt to new standards, such as Minergie. The goal is therefore to calculate the full life-cycle costs of buildings while they are still at the planning stage. This will promote sustainable building not

31 SR 172.220.113.40. 32 Including costs of preserving value and function as per Art. 35b of the ETH Law. 33 See also in this regard: ETH Board (2009), Fokus Immobilien: Nachhaltiges Bauen im ETH-Bereich: Energie (Focus on real estate: Sustainable building in the

ETH Domain: Energy).

34 Strategic planning Prerequisites and framework

only in the interest of teaching, research and KTT, but also for the benefit of the environment. For the ETH Domain, sustainable building is a duty and a matter of credibility, as well as an opportunity for

research. Future buildings will be constructed in line with state-of-the-art sustainable building technologies; and existing buildings renovated to this standard. The ETH Domain is thereby assuming a

role model function for public and private construction.

- Pooling: Building planning should always ensure that expensive infrastructure can be shared by various

institutions. This will permit better distribution of investment costs.

- Alternative forms of financing buildings and infrastructure: Tapping into additional sources of financing

for building projects will free up funding from the ETH Domain budget to the benefit of teaching, research and KTT. In recent years, this approach has succeeded in a number of cases. For example, ETH

Zurich’s HIT building at Hönggerberg and EPFL’s Rolex Learning Center were built with the assistance of sponsors (co-financing), the student accommodation buildings at ETH Zurich and EPFL were delegated to

private investors under building law, and ETH Zurich will use research facilities that IBM is constructing in Rüschlikon under a long-term agreement based on public-private partnership. These diverse

financing strategies will be further pursued and developed in the years ahead.

- Flexibilisation of real estate management: As part of the discussion surrounding real estate ownership

in the ETH Domain, urgent action has been initiated in the current 2008–2011 planning period to make necessary simplifications to real estate management. The Real Estate ordinance of the ETH Domain is being revised and the simplifications are intended to take effect quickly. The long-term objective of a transfer in real estate ownership remains in place for the ETH Board.

5.3 Quality assurance

The institutions of the ETH Domain have achieved a high standard of quality assurance in teaching, research, knowledge and technology transfer, staff performance reviews, and organisation and management. They continue to expand their comprehensive quality structure. This culture is based on continuous quality review aimed at continuous improvement, and on critical self-assessment by all institution employees in keeping with the concept of a learning organisation. In pursuing this standard, the institutions of the ETH Domain are also guided by the quality standards of the Swiss University Conference (SUC). They also utilise benchmarking in all areas as a way of providing a systematic and continuous process of comparison with the

world’s best teaching and research institutions. The annual “Dialogues” always include reporting on quality assurance measures. The internal auditing unit ensures that good governance is maintained, reporting to

the ETH Board on such topics as the effectiveness of risk management and of internal control, monitoring and governance processes.

Strategic planning Prerequisites and framework 35

5.4 Stable financial policy

University planning and development must follow a long-term perspective otherwise internationally competitive and sustainable education and basic research are unfeasible. Universities therefore depend on

adequate and, above all, stable financing. Cost-cutting results in vacant professorships not being filled, downsizing of non-professorial academic staff34, relinquishment of new areas of research, and cutbacks in

investments for buildings and large-scale research infrastructure; short-term cost-costing measures and stop-and-go policies in education and research are therefore detrimental to the future. The following

financial policy framework is therefore crucial for the ETH Board and the institutions of the ETH Domain:

- Assured financial contribution: Strategy implementation for universities essentially plays out in the form of professorial planning. Every professorial appointment represents a long-term investment decision.

Stable financing that permits reliable planning is therefore essential to the implementation of a sustainable strategic plan geared to the long term, as short-term cutbacks can only be compensated for

by delaying and/or halting appointments to vacant professorships, research projects or investments – i.e. establishing new fields. Approval of the ETH Domain’s budget is based on medium- and long-term

science-policy considerations. By contrast, parliamentary decisions on annual instalments are always dependent on the current state of the economy and financial policy considerations. This can result in

short-term funding cuts that are extremely problematic as regards scientific activities.

- Overhead percentage: Since gaining its autonomy in the year 2000, the proportion of the ETH Domain’s budget financed by second- and third-party funding has steadily grown, reaching 25.7 % in 2009. As such it represents a significant contribution to the diversification of funding for its activities. However, overhead costs impose limits on the further expansion of competitively acquired second-party funding in particular (SNSF, CTI, EU programmes and research services): Depending on the field of research, overheads can account for up 100 % of costs. The introduction of a maximum overhead percentage of 20 % for SNSF research funds marked an important new development in research promotion. This overhead percentage is set to rise on a field-specific basis during the 2012–2016 period. An overhead percentage or full-cost billing that takes account of an appropriate own-work contribution is to be introduced for CTI projects and research service projects.

5.5 Enabling statutory framework

Excellent research and teaching excellence must be on a par with the work of the world’s top universities, and the ETH Domain’s international outlook is enshrined accordingly in the ETH Law. Today, the quality of

education and research at the institutions of the ETH Domain in particular, and throughout Switzerland as a centre of education and research in general, is heavily determined by the national political environment. In

the coming years, this environment will be shaped not just by the federal government’s financial policy situation, but in particular by work on drafting the Federal Law on Financial Aid to Universities and

Cooperation in Matters Relating to Universities in Switzerland (HFKG), the complete revision of the Research and Innovation Promotion Law (FIFG), and the implementation of the statutory framework governing animal

testing.

- Federal Law on Financial Aid to Universities and Cooperation in Matters Relating to Universities in Switzerland (HFKG): Once it enters into force, the HFKG, which is currently undergoing parliamentary review, will provide the new statutory basis for collaboration within Switzerland’s higher education landscape. While presenting opportunities, this new law also harbours risks. The ETH Board believes that four components of the HFKG require clarification. Firstly, optimal interplay between the ETH Law and the HFKG is essential so that the Federal Council and Parliament can continue to exercise their responsibility for the ETH Domain. Secondly, the draft HFKG provides a mechanism for calculating the

34 Owing to fixed-term employment contracts.

36 Strategic planning Prerequisites and framework

basic funding provided to cantonal universities, and defines the federal contributions to the cantons as tied funding. The ETH Domain wants equal treatment in this regard. Thirdly, the status and mandates of

the ETH Board and the autonomous institutions of the ETH Domain must be appropriately expressed in the HFKG. The ETH Law, as an independent piece of legislation rooted in the constitutionally based

allocation of competencies, must take precedence over the HFKG. And fourthly, the ETH Domain’s representation in the university conference as provided for in the HFKG is inadequate35 .

- Research and Innovation Promotion Act (FIFG): The six institutions of the ETH Domain are major players in the Swiss research and innovation landscape. They are directly affected by the ongoing complete

revision of the FIFG. While the ETH Board welcomes the new law, the revision must not weaken basic research. Furthermore, the ETH Board believes that equal international competencies for CTI and SNSF

are imperative. International research projects and cross-border cooperation are growing ever more important for research and innovation in Switzerland. Thirdly, clear rules governing the financing of

research facilities must be provided. The law must not put research institutions “of national importance” in a worse position financially than they were before. The FIFG must therefore clearly

define financing through federal contributions and third-party funding so that the ETH Domain can undertake new cooperation projects and further develop existing collaborations. Moreover, attention

must be paid to the interdependencies between FIFG, HFKG and the ETH Law36 .

- Acceptance of testing on living organisms: Progress in the biomedical and plant sciences is impossible

without experimental research on plants and living organisms. Animal testing, research on humans, and genetic experimentation in the plant sciences have repeatedly met with resistance from society, and continue to do so. Governments responded with pertinent legislation that obliges scientists to weigh up the interests at stake by weighing the expected advancement in knowledge against the potential harm to living organisms and the environment. In this balancing of interests, the possibility of advancing knowledge to the benefit of humankind plays an important role. Such benefits can be presented more clearly and simply in application-oriented projects than in basic research. Efforts must be made to enhance the general public’s understanding of the networked nature and innovation-driving interaction of knowledge-oriented basic research on the one hand, and results-driven applied research on the other. This understanding, which can only be reached through constructive dialogue between scientists and society, is essential to preserving the attractiveness and excellence of Switzerland as a location for biomedical and plant science research.

35 Cf. the detailed position paper of the ETH Board on the HFKG, http://www.ethrat.ch 36 Cf. the detailed position paper of the ETH Board on the FIFG, http://www.ethrat.ch

Strategic planning Financial requirements 37

6 Financial requirements

The ETH Board is reliant upon the support of the Swiss government to implement the strategic objectives and projects of the ETH Domain. Consolidating what has been achieved so far and advancing the quality of

teaching, research and innovation require solid basic funding of the ETH Domain by the public sector: Implementation of the ETH Board’s strategic planning 2012–2016 for the ETH Domain will require a minimum

annual increase in government funding of 6 %, as well as an appropriate increase in competitively acquired second- and third-party funding. Financing on this scale combined with simultaneous measures to enhance

efficiency will ensure that the ETH Domain can continue to make its current dynamic contribution to Switzerland as a centre of education, research and innovation and place to work over the long term.

The substantial need for growth in federal funding, i.e. first-party funding, can be explained as follows:

- Financing rising student numbers: Additional federal funding is needed to keep the quality of teaching

and the learning environment at an internationally competitive standard in light of the projected steep rise in student numbers. Growth in student numbers will necessitate action to expand the available

pool of young academic talent and non-professorial academics and increase the number of professorships in order to maintain good student-to-teacher ratios. This situation will also require investment in teaching and learning infrastructure. All of the above will require a minimum annual rise in federal funding of 2 %.

- Ensuring attractive employment conditions: The ETH Domain carries out research, teaching and knowledge transfer activities of the highest standard. ETH Domain employees are frequent recipients of prestigious national and international awards. The sustained interest shown by young people in Switzerland and abroad demonstrates that the ETH Domain remains a very competitive employer when compared internationally. The commitment shown by staff consistently deserves not only esteem, but also financial recognition. Looking ahead to the annual salary review process, the ETH Board intends to remain an attractive employer in the coming years. To this end, federal staff should, wherever possible, always receive an award to cover the increase in the cost of living in line with the decisions taken by the Federal Council, and exceptional performance should be rewarded. Executive salary levels will also be charted against the salaries earned by federal officials of the equivalent grade to avoid any disadvantage. This will require additional funding to the tune of 1 % to 2 % growth per annum37 .

- Targeted expansion of research in the key focus areas: Appropriate growth in first-party funding and further rises in second– and third-party funding are needed to consolidate or improve research successes in the globally competitive environment, and to promote, in a concentrated and coordinated fashion, new strategic initiatives by the institutions in the key focus areas defined by the ETH Board for the 2012–2016 planning period.

- Continuing pursuit of the two national initiatives: The continuation of the two national initiatives SystemsX.ch and Nano-Tera.ch will again tie up considerable funding during the next planning period. With total projected expenditure of CHF 379 million, the SystemsX.ch programme will receive federal financing totalling CHF 125 million in the 2012–2016 period in accordance with the application of the consortium’s Board of Directors. The Nano-Tera.ch initiative, with total expenditure of CHF 172 million, will receive CHF 75 million in direct federal funding in accordance with the application submitted by the consortium steering committee; see the two tables in the Appendix for an itemised breakdown of funding for these two consortiums.

37 The Federal Department of Finance applies a 1.5 % annual inflation rate in the Finance Plan for the years 2012–2014; cf. directives of the Federal Council for

the 2011 budget proposal, the 2011 staff budget proposal, and the Finance Plan 2012–2014.

38 Strategic planning Financial requirements

- Investment in large-scale research infrastructure of national importance to Switzerland: In many areas of science and technology, large-scale research infrastructure is an enabling prerequisite for new fields

of research. Such infrastructure is crucial to ensuring Switzerland’s international competitiveness as a centre of research and innovation, and ultimately as a knowledge society and workplace. The

ETH Board’s strategic planning 2012–2016 therefore focuses on investments in the development and expansion of new research infrastructure in the form of the HPCN, SwissFEL and Blue Brain projects. The

investments required, however, exceed the budget of the ETH Domain’s basic endowment. Supplementary funding is needed to implement HPCN, SwissFEL and Blue Brain. According to the

institutions involved, total investment needs for the three projects in the 2012–2016 planning period total CHF 479.2 million38 . Of this total cost, CHF 133.7 million will come from “own resources”, i.e.

through internal prioritisation and reallocation within the ETH Domain, and probably from third-party sources. The ETH Board will apply for additional funding to cover the outstanding balance of CHF 345.5

million, which the federal government should provide by raising the ETH Domain’s budget in the ERI dispatches for 2012 and 2013–2016.

Implementation of the ETH Board’s strategic planning 2012–2016 for the ETH Domain will thus require the

approval of an increase in annual funding of at least 6 % by the Federal Council and Parliament. Broken down, this figure comprises fulfilment of the basic academic mandate (at least 2 %), salary awards (1 % to

2 %) and major strategic projects in the key focus areas or as part of the national initiatives and research infrastructure projects (at least 3 %). A lower annual rise in funding would force the ETH Board to adjust its strategic planning 2012–2016 for the ETH Doman. The ETH Board would specify a list of criteria for defining priorities in line with the ETH Domain’s government mandate in order to make the necessary budget cutbacks. The individual institutions would then apply these criteria to make cuts to the prescribed extent themselves. For its part, the ETH Board would safeguard continuing fulfilment of the basic academic mandate as a top priority. At the same time, it would have to consider scaling back the two national initiatives SystemsX.ch and Nano-Tera.ch and/or either partially abandoning or considerably delaying investments in large-scale research infrastructure of nationwide importance. Omissions would be unavoidable in the implementation of strategic initiatives planned by the institutions in key focus areas defined by the ETH-Board for the ETH Domain. Such reductions, substantial delays or even omissions would have to be carefully weighed up against the consequences for Switzerland as an education, research and innovation location and workplace. It is therefore of central importance to the ETH Board that the government make its decision on the increase in funding for the ETH Domain in the years 2012–2016 in full awareness of the opportunities and risks involved. The present strategic planning 2012–2016 for the ETH Domain is intended to given a summary overview of the essential information and thereby serve as a basis for decision-making.

38 Additionally, the estimated operating costs of the three large-scale research infrastructure projects during the 2012–2016 period total some

CHF 250 million.

Strategic planning Appendices 39

7 Appendices

Appendix 1: Change in Switzerland’s age structure

Figure: Change in the demographic structure of Switzerland between 1980 and 2008 according to the annual population statistics for 2008; note the effects of

immigration; FSO annual population statistics (ESPOP) 2008, Neuchâtel, 2009. Corrected version of 31 August 2009.

Appendix 2: Growth in student numbers (forecast for 2010–2019)

Figure: Growth in student numbers according to the FSO’s “neutral” scenario; version: June 2010.

12552 12792 13197 14051 15071 15896 16552 17654 18435

6407 6478 65286903

73837895

83849006

9514

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 2019

ETH Zurich EPFL

Men Women

Age

gro

up

Number

Resident population by age group, 1980 and 2008

40 Strategic planning Appendices

Appendix 3: Itemised breakdown of funding for the two national initiative consortiums

SystemsX.ch (total funding by source in CHF million)

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2012–2016 % share

Federal funding 20.7 24.5 28.0 27.8 24.0 125.039 33.0

Own funding by universities 21.0 25.0 28.0 31.0 35.0 140.0 36.9

Private sector 4.8 5.0 5.2 5.5 4.5 25.0 6.6

Other (e.g. SNSF, EU, ESF) 15.0 17.0 18.0 19.0 20.0 89.0 23.5

Total 61.5 71.5 79.3 83.2 83.5 379.0 100

Nano-Tera.ch (total funding by source in CHF million)

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2012–2016 % share

Federal funding 15.0 15.0 15.0 15.0 15.0 75.040 43.6

Own funding by universities 15.0 15.0 15.0 15.0 15.0 75.0 43.6

Private sector 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.0 12.0 7.0

Other (e.g. SNSF, EU, ESF) 1.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 10.0 5.8

Total 32.5 33.0 34.5 36.0 36.0 172 100

39 According to the SUC/ETH Board distribution key to date, half of the federal funding was granted from the ETH Domain’s global budget and half from project-

related SUC funding. 40 According to the SUC/ETH Board distribution key to date, two thirds of the federal funding was granted from the ETH Domain’s global budget and one third

from project-related SUC funding.

Strategic planning Appendices 41

Abbreviations

AGS Alliance for Global Sustainability http://theags.org ARWU Academic Ranking of World Universities www.arwu.org

CADMOS Center for Advanced Modeling Science www.cadmos.org

CCEM Competence Center for Energy and Mobility www.ccem.ch

CCES Competence Center for Environment and Sustainability www.cces.ethz.ch

CCMX Competence Centre for Materials Science and Technology www.ccmx.ch

Climate-KIC Knowledge and Innovation Community to address Climate Change

Mitigation and Adaptation – an initiative of EIT www.climate-kic

-proposal.org

CRPP EPFL Plasma Physics Research Centre http://crpp.epfl.ch

CRUS Rectors' Conference of the Swiss Universities www.crus.ch

CSCS Swiss National Supercomputing Centre www.cscs.ch

CSEM Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology, Inc. www.csem.ch

CTI Innovation Promotion Agency

www.bbt.admin.ch/kti

Eawag Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology www.eawag.ch

EIT European Institute of Innovation and Technology http://eit.europa.eu Empa Empa – Materials Science and Technology www.empa.ch

ERC European Research Council http://erc.europa.eu

ERI Education, research and innovation

European XFEL European X-Ray Free Electron Laser Facility www.xfel.eu

FIFG Swiss Federal Research and Innovation Promotion Act

FSO Federal Statistical Office www.bfs.admin.ch

GESS Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (a department at ETH Zurich)

GULF Global University Leaders Forum www.gulf.org

HFKG Federal Law on Financial Aid to Universities and Cooperation

in Matters Relating to Universities in Switzerland

HP2C Swiss Platform for High-Performance and

High-Productivity Computing www.hp2c.ch

HPC High-performance computing

HPCN High-performance computing and networking IARU International Alliance of Research Universities www.iaruni.org

ICT Information and communication technologies

IDEA League Imperial College London, TU Delft, ETH Zurich,

RWTH Aachen and ParisTech

(European network of five leading universities

of technology and science) www.idealeague.org

Idiap Idiap Research Institute www.idiap.ch

iLab Joint initiative of the University of St. Gallen and ETH Zurich www.i-lab.ch

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change www.ipcc.ch

IRB Institute for Research in Biomedicine www.irb.ch

IRO Institute for Research in Ophthalmology www.iro.vsnet.ch

ITER Project International nuclear fusion research and engineering project www.iter.org

KOF Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research of ETH Zurich www.kof.ethz.ch

KTT Knowledge and technology transfer

MER Maître d’enseignement et de recherche

(Master of education and research)

MINT Mathematics, Informatics, Natural Sciences and Technology MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology www.mit.edu

MRI cluster Magnetic Resonance Imaging cluster

42 Strategic planning Appendices

NCCBI National Competence Center in Biomedical Imaging www.nccbi.ch

NRF National Research Foundation of Singapore www.nrf.gov.sg

NSS New Salary System

NTU Nanyang Technological University www.ntu.edu.sg NUS National University of Singapore www.nus.edu.sg

OPET Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology www.btt.admin.ch

PPP Public-private partnership

PSI Paul Scherrer Institute www.psi.ch

SµS SµS muon source

SEC Singapore ETH Centre

SER State Secretariat for Education and Research www.sbf.admin.ch

SINQ Swiss Spallation Neutron Source

SLS Swiss Light Source (synchrotron light source facility)

SNSF Swiss National Science Foundation www.snf.ch

SUC Swiss University Conference www.cus.ch

Swiss TPH Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute www.swisstph.ch

SwissFEL X-ray free-electron laser of the PSI www.psi.ch

THES The Times Higher Education Supplement

WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research www.wsl.ch

ETH Board

Häldeliweg 15 CH-8092 Zurich Phone +41 (0)44 632 23 67

www.ethrat.ch

Board of the Swiss Federal institutes of Technology (ETH Board)