“An extra expenditure that paid off!”

What were the biggest initial challenges you faced in establishing this new type of Master programme?
We had to deal with three different countries, with three different sets of legislation and three different study cultures. That was a huge challenge! Here is one small example: at ETH Zurich, students are only permitted to resit exams once. At RWTH Aachen they can resit twice, while at TU Delft there is no limit. So what should be the rule for the Master programme?

And, what did you decide?
Well, as you know, the students spend one semester each at Zurich, Aachen and Delft. Each of these semesters is now governed by the regulations of the relevant university.

What else did you learn in the initial stages?
At the beginning, we organised the entire programme in block courses alongside the normal course of study. This turned out to be highly inefficient. Today, the courses are completely integrated into normal study programme and are also open to other students.

Students from across the globe sign up to the Joint Master. Is it a problem that students begin the programme with different levels of knowledge?
Of course, since our students come not only from different universities but also from different technical backgrounds. We have therefore recently started offering online courses that allow students to prepare themselves for the course of study and to close specific gaps in their technical knowledge.

What is the ratio of theory to practice during the programme?
Although we teach ¡°applied¡± geophysics, a great deal of time is dedicated to theory, especially at the start of the course. We want our students to have a solid technical basis. It is not until the end of the second semester in Zurich that students spend a month undertaking field research. This year, for example, a group measured the safe descent slope near a quarry on Lake Zurich. At the same time, another group dealt with the archaeological prospection of ruins of old Roman villas.

How has the Joint Master programme developed over the years?
It established itself quickly and is now one of Europe¡¯s most important education programmes in applied geophysics. The students enjoy excellent job prospects and often receive their first job offers even before they complete the course. Many are also hired immediately by our partners in industry after completing a joint master¡¯s thesis. These partners include companies such as Shell, Schlumberger, Statoil, Wintershall and Nagra. The world of geophysics continues to suffer from a lack of skilled workers in the face of steadily rising demand for raw materials and the corresponding prospecting techniques.

What are the main areas that the graduates work in?
Most work in oil and natural gas exploration in Scandinavia, Holland and the USA. Others work in engineering firms that assess natural hazards or, for example, advise Nagra on the selection of final storage sites for nuclear waste. One must also bear in mind that almost half of the students decide to undertake a PhD after they graduate.

Looking back today, what are you particularly proud of in the establishment of the Joint Master?
A programme of this kind entails extra expenditure for the university and an additional burden in terms of coordination for professors and the other people involved. There were times when we asked ourselves whether this extra expenditure was actually worth it. Today, I know: it was worth it, because we have succeeded in getting a unique programme up and running.

And what does the future hold?
Right now, I don¡¯t see any need for changes. An average of 30 to 40 students now start the master¡¯s course every year. That is a lot, but as long as the quality is right and there is demand for the graduates in industry, we have no desire to limit the numbers in future.

Hansruedi Maurer has been Professor of Geophysics at ETH Zurich since 2007.