The Board of ETH Zurich has requested more funding from the federal government to enable the institution to maintain and improve its international standing and support increasing student numbers.
The appeal was made by Fritz Schiesser, President of the ETH Board, with the need for the increase being underlined by underlined by ETH President Ralph Eichler, Philippe Gillet, Vice President for Academic Affairs of EPFL and PSI Director Joël Mesot.
Student numbers at the ETH Zurich and ETH Lausanne have grown at an annual rate of 4.6 per cent since 2000, with some individual courses reported an increase of almost 25 percent. There is a risk that this will threaten the quality of teaching, because the infrastructure cannot support the growth of student numbers.
Eichler made it clear that there must be no compromise on the quality of teaching. “The economy needs educated workers, and it needs more than the current number of graduates ETH can offer as things stand.” But in order to secure the support and uphold the quality of teaching, more staff and infrastructure resources are needed.
The ETH Board also wants to invest more money into basic research and knowledge and technology transfer.
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