Teaching

The Swiss government is sponsoring the African Cities Lab initiative to provide online training for urban-development professionals in Africa. EPFL is spearheading this initiative – which has received funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) – through its Excellence in Africa Centre, and has already signed up six partner organizations. 

A website developed at EPFL allows teachers and students to explore concepts from chemistry and biology by manipulating virtual molecules in augmented reality. The activities run as web pages in regular computers, tablets, and smartphones, enabling each student to work full-time from home and school without needing complicated and expensive equipment.

Donna Testerman, a professor at EPFL’s Institute of Mathematics, is this year’s recipient of the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching. Her achievements include a comprehensive MOOC in linear algebra that is open to all.

Companies wanting to offer internships to EPFL Master’s students can apply for a new sustainability certification to demonstrate that the goals of their internship or the technology being developed are environmentally friendly.

Magic Cube is a new teaching tool developed by ETH Zurich, ABB and mint & pepper. It uses a playful approach to teach junior high and high school students the basics of electrical engineering and awaken their interest in the field.

For the construction of the SwissFEL facility in 2013, around five hectares of forest were cleared and transformed into a new habitat for flora and fauna. Biologists and forest engineers have now assessed the results of the renaturization project and are excited about the progress to date. The site is now home to several rare animal and plant species.

On 13 and 14 November 2020, some 60 teams from all over the world will compete at CYBATHLON 2020. It’s the high point that pilot Stefan Poth has been waiting for – postponed by months due to the pandemic. At last, he can show what he can achieve when wearing a leg prosthesis.

As part of his Master's project at EPFL's Urban Sociology Laboratory (LASUR), Felix Boesch conducted a survey on the combined use of bicycles and trains in the Lausanne and Nyon urban agglomerations. Based on the assumption that supply creates demand, Boesch has formulated several proposals for boosting the modal share of this type of transportation, which is still underused in the region.

Well-trained, dedicated engineers from Africa will play an increasing role in industrial development in sub-Saharan Africa. This is what has inspired ETH Zurich to join forces with Ashesi University in Ghana and Swiss companies ABB, BarryCallebaut, Bühler, Lafarge-Holcim and Nestlé to co-present a new Master’s degree programme.

Starting on 12 October, EPFL’s Lausanne campus will serve as a testing ground for a high-tech delivery service that uses a self-driving van. A pioneering initiative that is set to develop further.

ETH students should have opportunities to realise their ideas. To meet this need, ETH Zurich is building a new centre for student initiatives and entrepreneurial talent at its Hönggerberg campus. The winner of the architectural competition is the EQUILIBRES project designed by ARGE Buchner Bründler Planer / Rapp Architekten.

In order to shrink the construction industry’s vast carbon footprint, architects will need to build recycling and reuse principles into their design process. EPFL’s Laboratory of Elementary Architecture and Studies of Types (EAST) is leading the charge on this front. The lab’s work went on show at the Swiss Biennale of Territory, which opens in Lugano on 1 October.

A Master’s student in technology management at EPFL has created a new show – dubbed the Galactic Chloé Show, in a nod to her love of astronomy – where members of the EPFL community reveal something unexpected about themselves. The first episode, featuring Marcel Salathé, has been released.

The annual conference of computer science students at ETH Zurich, VIScon, is taking place this year despite the corona crisis. Top-class presentations and an exciting hackweek enable direct contact with research and practice.

ETH Zurich launched a new medical curriculum as a pilot programme three years ago. Lecturers and students alike have had a thoroughly positive experience. ETH will now continue its Bachelor’s course in human medicine as a regular course from 2021, marking the end of its start-up phase.