The Executive Board reports 2018 / 6
Eight new professorships through ETH+, an improved introductory programme for professors, a new laboratory building for architecture and a Forest Lab on H?nggerberg: those were the key decisions taken by the Executive Board at its most recent meetings.
The Executive Board approved eight new professorships as part of the first round of the ETH+ programme in the areas of robotics, materials, computer science, development coordination and teaching. Three tenure track assistant professorships were awarded to the Department of Computer Science as part of the professorship planning for the ETH+ initiative “Security and Privacy in the Digital Society”, an additional assistant professorship with continued financing to the “Robotics Materials” initiative in the Department of Materials, one to the Department of Management, Technology, and Economics for questions relating to “eDemocracy and Digital Economic Policy” (part of the “Digital Transformation and Society” initiative) and one to the “Future Learning Initiative” with the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (D-GESS) in the lead. The Executive Board approved a full professorship each for “ETH for Development” and “Digital Transformation and Society” (both in D-GESS).
Improved introduction for new professors
Professors joining ETH Zurich will receive a better introduction to the university in future, both in the technical-operational and “cultural” aspects. A full-day introductory session will be given twice a year with the participation of the entire Executive Board as a way to introduce new recruits to the values and norms of ETH Zurich.
“New professors, who are often also young, will in future get more than just an introduction to the university’s technical-organisational processes. We also want to tell them about the values and culture of our institution.”Lino Guzzella, President of ETH Zurich
The new introductory programme will have a modular structure with three phases: pre-arrival, arrival and post-arrival. New recruits will be introduced to their new working environment through measures like leadership seminars, e-learning tools and targeted networking events. A checklist is being developed for the academic departments and central administrative units, in order to simplify the introduction process for both new professors and the relevant administrative staff.
The introductory concept for new professors concludes the first of the six sub-projects of the “Management” project. Further measures from the other sub-projects – “Appointments”, “Doctorate”, “Post doctorate”, “Early recognition” and “Procedure in the event of suspected misconduct” – are being elaborated and presented to the Executive Board on an ongoing basis.
Re-election of the four vice rectors
The Executive Board re-elected the four vice rectors for a further term. Lorenz Hurni, as Vice Rector for Study Programmes, supports Rector Sarah Springman in all questions relating to education. Andreas Vaterlaus is responsible for developing the curricula and teaching processes at ETH and Paolo Ermanni is in charge of academic continuing education at the university. These three vice-rectors were elected for a four-year term from 2019 to the end of 2022. The term of Vice-Rector Antonio Togni, who was also re-elected and is in charge of doctoral studies, runs until the day of his retirement at the end of January 2021.
H?nggerberg I: New architecture laboratory
The Department of Architecture will receive a new laboratory building on the H?nggerberg campus. The new building with the acronym HIN will be a working space for developing new building technology systems and will be used for the “Digital Fabrication” and “Future energy-efficient buildings and cities” major research programmes, as well as by various professorships (Schlüter, Block, Dillenburger, Gramazio/Kohler etc.). The new HIN building, the second largest D-ARCH infrastructure after the Arch_Tec_Lab, will be located on the eastern part of the HIG underground garage and will cost in the region of 5 million Swiss francs. The new architecture building will be operational by the end of 2019.
H?nggerberg II: Renovations and new buildings
A number of major renovation projects (e.g. HIF and HIL) and several new constructions (in addition to HIN; for example, the HPQ for physics) could disrupt teaching and research on the H?nggerberg campus over the next few years. To minimise campus disruption, Vice President Ulrich Weidmann has been tasked with actively involving all the affected departments and administrative units, responding to their feedback whenever possible, and finding solutions that are acceptable for everyone.
H?nggerberg III: New forest lab
ETH Zurich is involved in the Zurich Forest Lab, which aims to open “WaldZürich” in 2019 in the H?nggerberg forest to the east of the ETH campus. The Forest Lab marks the 100th anniversary of the cantonal interest group of private and public-sector forest owners. Situated on about 100 hectares of forested land, the lab aims to improve people’s understanding of forest ecosystem dynamics and how to manage them, including the products derived from the forest.
“The Zurich Forest Lab provides a space in which the general public can interact with and learn about nature – and which we can use for research, teaching and outreach projects.”Ulrich Weidmann, Vice President for Human Resources and Infrastructure
There will be an experience-oriented education and research venue for the general public, and the Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS) at ETH Zurich will play a key role in that. The Executive Board has given the green light for joining the Zurich Forest Lab association. Harald Bugmann from D-USYS has been designated as the ETH representative.
Renovation of the entrance to the Main Building
The garage located under the ETH Main Building forecourt towards R?mistrasse is in need of renovation. After an initial project finalised in 2015 was not pursued, mainly for cost reasons, the Executive Board has now decided to proceed with a competitively priced, mainly technical renovation of the area. This renovation, designed to ensure usability for the next 30 to 40 years, is scheduled to take place from 2020 to 2022. It should be completed before work begins on the renovation of the Polyterrasse (including the Mensa and sports facilities).
Further Executive Board resolutions in brief
+++ The Institute for Science Technology and Policy (ISTP) will continue until the end of 2023. Based on the results of an evaluation, the Executive Board has decided to guarantee funding for this extra-departmental unit for a further four years. +++
+++ Micha Bigler was elected to the Strategy Commission of ETH Zurich as a representative of VSETH (Association of Students at ETH Zurich) and Zoe Jonassen as a representative of AVETH (Academic Association of Scientific Staff at ETH Zurich). They will succeed Lukas Reichart (VSETH) and Thomas Gersdorf (AVETH). +++
+++ Isabel Günther from D-GESS was newly elected to the ETH Zurich Investment Commission. She will replace Volker Hoffmann (D-MTEC), who will retire at the end of 2018. The Investment Commission monitors adherence to the ETH investment strategy (e.g. management of third-party funds) and advises the Vice President for Finance and Controlling, who is in charge of these matters. +++
+++ ETH will acquire a new tool for comprehensive event management. Following the WTO-compliant tender process, the 750,000 Swiss franc contract comprising a one-off payment and annual maintenance costs of 57,000 francs was awarded to ELCA AG. +++
+++ There will be a new office for student workplaces in the Academic Services administrative department. This is designed to address the problem of the lack of workplaces on both campuses and will be evaluated at the end of 2019. +++
Regular updates from the Executive Board
The ETH Zurich Executive Board meets every two weeks for its usual session. Brief summaries of the major decisions passed during these meetings can be found in this section. This edition contains the key decisions from the Executive Board meetings of 16 October, 30 October, 13 November and 27 November 2018.