Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland—Mission Statement

The Swiss Federal Technical University Zurich (ETH) was opened in 1855 and from the start was one of the most renowned technical and natural science universities in Europe. In its mission statement today, ETH Zurich professes the following principles: Advancement and support of high-quality teaching and research at the highest international level; promotion of networking and system-oriented thinking and acting; maintaining both intellectual and cultural diversity as well as academic freedom for teaching and research.

Commitment

In education, research, and services ETH Zurich measures itself against the highest recognized international standards. It promotes science and scientific activity for their own sakes, as well as for their importance to the near and distant context: The city and canton of Zurich, Switzerland, Europe, the world. ETH Zurich consciously directs its activities to the needs of human beings, nature and society. It is aware that knowledge and skills must be grounded in a fundamentally open and dynamic attitude if they are to be truly useful in practical life and capable of growth. With its focus on the conservation of the Earth’s ecosystem for future generations, ETH Zurich endeavors to apply its knowledge and skills to its utmost, aware that voluntary economies can also be creative.

Solutions to mankind’s most urgent problems—poverty, hunger, disease, the threat to our very existence due to the spread of human civilisation—demand that we find new approaches to knowledge and skills. It believes that a network of knowledge and skills acquired in an interdisciplinary environment best respond to the natural and cultural interdependencies of life. By integrating the natural sciences, technology, the humanities and social sciences, we can devise innovative concepts of education and research which will allow us to tackle the enormous challenges facing mankind, and help lay a path for a meaningful and sustainable development of present and future civilizations.

Mission

ETH Zurich imparts to its students the highest state of knowledge and practical skills. We seek to enable young people to find their orientation in a complex and rapidly changing world, and to stimulate an understanding of ethical and cultural values so that, upon completing their studies, they will be not only highly qualified professional people but also responsible members of society.

ETH Zurich is not content with mere participation in solving already known problems. In the context of global civilization, it must respond to changing conditions, it must identify new problems as a kind of early warning system, and assume a leading role in seeking solutions. In doing so, it depends on the spirit of discovery, innovative force, and flexibility in its members.

As a technical university in a small country, ETH Zurich can only compete with the world’s best by establishing international links, by recruiting its academic and research staff worldwide, and by remaining attractive to students from abroad. The multicultural tradition of Switzerland, its cultural heritage acquired over many generations, provide in our view a strong base for this purpose.

Since 1855, engineering has played a central role at ETH and still does.

Strong universities with engineering as one of their core areas are essential for the success of a national economy. There are many examples for a positive correlation between the national economy and the presence of an internationally renowned technical university.

The needs of a global operating industrial sector (i.e. global engineering) are a big challenge for a university.

ETH wants to be in both areas—research an education—amongst the best universities in the world. As a prerequisite for this, we must know the right questions before we develop our answers. And it is important to know the answers of other renowned universities.

Therefore the participation in the project Global Engineering Excellence is most important for us.

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