ANNUAL REPORT - Startseite · 2016. 5. 17. · ANNUAL REPORT of the ETH Board on the ETH Domain Dr. Fritz Schiesser President of the Board Zurich / Bern, February 2016. Mission Statement

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Dear Readers,

ETH Zurich and EPFL are two of the best universities in the world. ETH Zurich was listed

in the top ten in prominent university rankings for the first time in 2015, and EPFL as

the world’s best university among those founded during the last 50 years. And the PSI,

WSL, Empa and Eawag have once again demonstrated their top international level of

research and innovation in 2015. The ETH Board is proud of these successes. They attest

to the great services the ETH Domain is performing for science, society and the economy.

An international expert committee deployed by Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-

Ammann in 2015 also gave excellent testimony to the

ETH Domain, confirming its outstanding role in the

transfer of knowledge and technology, to the benefit

of Switzerland as a location for industry, education

and research. The experts’ report shows how the

autonomy of the ETH Domain, its internationality, and

a robust funding by the Federal Government with a long-term perspective, are central

pillars of its success. If this success model is to be secured for the future as well, the

policy-makers will have to continue to ensure these favourable, stable conditions.

Unfortunately various political developments are leading away from this goal. The

stabilisation programme for 2017–2019 of the Federal Council provides for a noticeable

slowing down in the growth of the financing contributions for the area of education,

research and innovation. Yet especially in view of the strong Swiss franc and the un-

certainties concerning access to European specialists and research programmes,

Switzerland now more than ever needs to promote its own upcoming young talent

and its innovative strength, in order to stay competitive internationally and support

the workplaces in this country. The ETH Board is counting on the Federal Council

and Parliament to continue to respect Education, Research and Innovation as the

most valuable of our country’s basic resources, which especially today are in need

of targeted investment as a top priority for the future.

ANNUAL REPORTof the ETH Board on the ETH Domain

Dr. Fritz Schiesser President of the Board

Zurich / Bern, February 2016

Mission StatementThe ETH Domain strives to strengthen the competitiveness of Switzerland in the long term and contribute to the development of society through excellence in research, teaching and the knowledge and technology transfer. It endeavours to serve as an exemplary beacon by assuming its share of responsibility for the management of urgent social challenges, the enhancement of the quality of life, and the long-term maintenance of our natural resources.

Facts and Figures 2015 → see inside flap

ContentsSelected Highlights 2

FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN 4 ETH Domain | Knowledge and Technology Transfer 6ETH Zurich | New learning format: ETH Week 10EPFL | Silicon-free Solar Cell: the Grätzel Cell 13PSI | Swiss Muon Source 16WSL | Dischma experiment 19Empa | Wood Research 22Eawag | Regional Water Supply Basel-Landschaft 21 25

DEVELOPMENT 28 Environment 30Science 33Intermediate evaluation 36Finance and personnel 37Real estate, environment and energy 41

GOVERNANCE 42 Structure and Ladership of the ETH Domain 44Management bodies 46Members oft he ETH Board 48Monitoring and audit 50Risk management 51Personnel matters 53

PERFORMANCE MANDATE 54 Objective 1 | Teaching 56Objective 2 | Research 62Objective 3 | Knowledge and technology transfer 70Objective 4 | Research infrastructures and large-scale

research projects76

Objective 5 | International positioning and cooperation 80Objective 6 | National cooperation 84Objective 7 | Role in society and national tasks 90Objective 8 | Sources of financing and allocation of funds 96Objective 9 | Real estate management 100Objective 10 | Working conditions, equal opportunities

and young scientific talent103

KEY FIGURES 110 Monitoring table 112Academic achievement report 114Rankings and benchmarkings 120Personnel key figures 128Real estate key figures 136Environment and energy 142

ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 146 Income statement 148Balance sheet 150Proof of equity 152Cash flow 154Notes to the Financial Statements 158Report of the auditors 212

List of abbreviations 214

Publication data 215

At ETH Zurich more than 500 professors teach approx. 20,000 students. Together they carry out research in the fields of engineering sciences, architecture, mathematics, natural sciences, system-oriented sciences, and management studies and social sciences. Regularly appearing in the rankings as one of the world’s best universities, ETH Zurich enhances the Swiss economy: its innovations flow into the most forward-looking sectors, from computer science to micro- and nanotechnology, to hightech medical systems.

—— 19,200 students and doctoral students—— More than 110 countries—— 25 spin-offs in 2015 and 330 since 1996—— More than 800 cooperations with industry and the public sector —— At least 90 patent applications and almost 200 invention disclosures p.a.—— At least 9,000 employees and 169 trainees in 13 professions www.ethz.ch

With over 10,100 students and doctoral students and more than 300 laboratories, EPFL is doing cutting-edge research in such varied fields as renewable energies, medical technology, materials science and IT. The institution produces some 15 start-ups each year, for which capital amounting to more than 200m CHF was made available in 2015, and it maintains close relations with private business, local SMEs and multinational companies.

—— More than 10,100 students and doctoral students—— Over 125 nationalities —— 18 spin-offs in 2015 and 252 since 1996—— More than 350 cooperations with industry and the public sector —— 5,787 employees and 93 trainees in 9 professions www.epfl.ch

The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) develops, builds and operates large, complex research installa-tions, available to the national and international research community. All these large-scale research installations are unique in Switzer- land, in fact some of them are not found anywhere else in the world, only at the PSI. Its own main areas of research are matter and mate-rials, energy and the environment, and humanity and health.

—— Approx. 1,900 employees from about 60 countries

—— About 850 doctoral students performed measurements at the PSI

—— At least 5,500 hrs of instruction at Swiss universities (and of applied sciences)

—— More than 1,000 cooperations with industry and the public sector

—— 94 trainees in 15 professions www.psi.ch

Eawag is one of the world’s lead - ing water research institutes. Its strength and success are based on the combination of research, teaching and higher education that it has provided for 80 years, along with consultancy and the transfer of knowledge. The combi - nation of natural sciences, engineering and social sciences enables a comprehensive research into water in relatively untouched natural bodies of water, right through to fully automated waste water management systems.

—— approx. 500 employees from 40 countries,

—— incl. 200 scientists and over 140 doctoral students

—— 390 cooperations with industry and the public sector

—— More than 4,400 hrs of lectures at Swiss universities (and of applied sciences)

—— 24 trainees in 4 professions www.eawag.ch

Empa is an interdisciplinary research institute of the ETH Domain for materials science and technology. As a bridge between research and practical applica-tions, it develops solutions for the primary challenges of industry and society, thereby making an important contribution to rein - forcing the innovative strength and competitiveness of the Swiss economy in an increasingly competitive environment.

—— approx. 1,000 employees from more than 50 countries,

—— incl. 29 professors and some 200 doctoral students

—— More than 3,500 hrs of lectures at Swiss universities (and of applied sciences)

—— Some 500 cooperations with industry and the public sector

—— over 40 trainees in 10 profes-sions www.empa.ch

The WSL investigates changes to the terrestrial environment and the use and protection of natural habitats and cultural landscapes. It monitors the condition and progress of landscape, forests, biodiversity, natural hazards and snow and ice, and develops sustainable solutions for socially relevant problems – in collabora-tion with its partners from academia and society.

—— At least 500 employees from some 25 countries,

—— incl. 250 scientists and more than 60 doctoral students

—— At least 3,000 hrs of instruction at Swiss universities (and of applied sciences)

—— 250 cooperations with industry and the public sector

—— 19 trainees in 7 professions www.wsl.ch I www.slf.ch

The ETH Domain and its institutionsScientific achievements at the highest level – this is what the ETH Domain provides with over 20,000 staff, more than 29,000 students and doctoral students, and about 800 professors. The ETH Domain consists of the two Federal Institutes of Technology ETH Zurich and EPFL, and the four research institutes PSI, WSL, Empa and Eawag. The ETH Board is the strategic management and supervisory body of the ETH Domain (→ p. 42 ff.).www.ethdomain.ch I www.ethboard.ch

CHF

2,417.9mTotal federal contribution→ p. 97

as of 31 December 2015

20,899Staff*→ p. 128

2015

530Patents and licences → p. 113


453Trainees→ p. 129

ETH Zurich

Place 9In both the THE and QS World Rankings→ p. 122

CHF

715mResearch contributions, mandates and scientific services → p. 97


29,357Students & doctoral students→ p. 114

hours

17,378Teaching by the research institutes → p. 119

EPFL

Place 1In the THE “100 Under 50” Ranking→ p. 125

2015

3,200Cooperations with industry and the public sector→ see page at left


816Professors*→ p. 130

2015

48Spin-offs→ p. 113

CHF

7.5bn The historic cost of the real estate portfolio→ p. 138

m2

946,600Main usable area of the ETH Domain→ p. 138

Facts and Figures 2015

* Employment contracts

Selected Highlights

ETH Zurich

High honours for ETH Zurich researcherNicola Spaldin, professor of materials theory at ETH Zurich, was awarded the 2015 Körber Prize for her work. The prize, endowed with 750,000 euros, honours excellent research initiatives that have a strong potential for practical application. The researcher received the award for developing a new category of crystalline compounds. These compounds react to both electrical and magnetic fields, and are therefore ideally suited for use in ultra-fast, extremely small-sized and energy-efficient computers of the future.Awarded the 2015 Körber prize: Nicola Spaldin. (Image: Giulia Marthaler / ETH Zurich)

EPFL

Switzerland at the centre of brain research The Blue Brain Project (BBP) has produced a digital simulation of a part of the neocortex of rats. This work which was published in “Cell” brings Switzerland to the centre stage of the world’s brain research. 82 scientists, mainly in Switzerland but also in Israel, Spain, Hungary, China, Sweden, Great Britain and the USA, collaborated to produce the extraordinary results published in October 2015. Blue Brain is one of the pillars of the European research flagship Human Brain Project, which is coordi-nated by EPFL.

bluebrain.epfl.chSimulation of the electrical activity of a cross- section of the “virtual brain”. (Image: BBP / EPFL)

PSI

Opening of the 1st Innovation Park pavilionPARK innovAARE, the Aargau networking site of the Swiss Innovation Park at PSI, has taken further shape in 2015. The company innovAARE AG was founded in June. A first sign of the start of opera-tions, visible to all, was presented in September, with the festive opening of a pavilion attended by representatives from politics, business and research. The first tenants have already moved into the building, which bears the evocative name of “deliveryLAB”. With its exper-tise in accelerator technologies, the PSI offers PARK innovAARE a unique selling point, while contributing to the overall concept of the Swiss Innovation Park.Inauguration of the first building of PARK innovAARE, where the “deliveryLAB” is located. (Image: Markus Fischer / PSI)

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WSL

Forest Report 2015In August the WSL and the Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN) presented their Forest Report 2015, produced jointly by them. The Forest Report describes the condition and development of Swiss forests over the past ten years. The report, prepared in four different languages, offers an insight into all aspects of the forest, serves as a reference work for specialists and laypersons, and is an international reference for sustainable forest management.In the right setting Christoph Hegg (left), Deputy Director of WSL, presents the Forest Report 2015. (Image: Jeroen Seyffer Photography)

Empa

The Energy Turnaround takes shapeLast year, two demonstration platforms of Empa celebrated the achievement of their interim targets: The modular research and innovation building “NEST” was erected in mid-September 2015, and in November “move”, the technology platform for a sustainable mobility, started operations. To make the energy future more sustainable, new materials and technologies are needed, especially in the field of buildings and in mobility. Research and demonstration in a real environment will be enabled by the two demo-platforms of Empa and its partners. The first “plug-and-play“ innovation units are to be installed in NEST in May 2016. Also in 2016, “move“ will be extended by adding a new hydrogen filling station. Then another sustainable energy source will be available there besides (solar) electricity and natural / biogas.“move”, the technology platform for sustainable mobility. (Image: Empa)

Eawag

From the lab to the outside worldFindings made in the lab are often not easy to transfer and apply in the natural environment. This is now set to change. In 2015 the new “Aquatikum” testing facility, as well as an installation with 36 test pools, unique in Europe, were built on the Eawag grounds in Dübendorf. Here research in the field of ecosystems and biodiversity can be carried out on a larger scale and in natural conditions of the environment.The new test pool facility in Dübendorf allows the Eawag researchers to make the transition from the test tube to the natural environment. (Image: Eawag)

Annual Report 2015 on the ETH Domain 3

ETH Domain

Inventing the Future With the new knowledge obtained, the institutions of the ETH Domain provide the basis for political discussions and solutions to deal with the pressing problems of our times. Innovative technolo-gies, and their implementa-tion in the form of products, procedures and services, en-sure that Switzerland remains globally competitive. → p. 6

ETH Zurich

“A strenuous but rewarding week”To learn innovatively in an interdisciplinary team and find solutions for problems encountered in the real world – this is the aim of the new format of instruction, the ETH Week. “The Story of Food” was the topic for the pilot week in 2015. (Bild: Alessandro Della Bella / ETH Zurich) → p. 10

EPFL

“One should never over-look the unexpected”Colourful solar cells supplied electrical power for the Expo 2015 world’s fair in Milan, and adorn the façade of the new conference centre at EPFL, and the departure hall of Geneva airport. This revolutionary technology was invented by Michael Grätzel, who has been a Professor at the EPFL since 1977. → p. 13

FascinationFascinating, diverse and on the highest international level – qualities the ETH Domain stands for and which the employees of the two Federal Institutes of Technology commit themselves to on a daily basis in the service of society, the economy and the environment.

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WSL

Lasers and Lidar in the snowThe amount of water available for power plants and farming depends on how much snow there is on the ground in the high mountains. Now a re-search project in the Dischma valley in Davos is providing new findings about the pro-cesses that play a role in the accumulation and melting of snow. → p. 19

Eawag

The guaran-tee of clean drinking waterIn the project “Regional Water Supply Basel-Landschaft 21” Eawag and the Canton Basel-Landschaft are inves-tigating the problems and challenges of water supply, and working out plans and concrete solutions to ensure the quality of drinking water for the future. → p. 25Empa

Wood for every occasion Replacing the gel-like buffer between our spinal discs fol-lowing an injury, or soaking up leaked oil, or filtering carbon dioxide from the air – trees provide an environ-mentally friendly material that can be used for all these purposes: nanocellulose. Empa is one of the world leaders in research into the extraordinary abilities of wood. → p. 22

PSI

A machine unique in the world Researchers from all over the world are using the Swiss muon source at the PSI to explore the magnetic and electronic properties of new materials. Nowhere else are so many muons produced. → p. 16

Fascination


FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN | Knowledge and technology transfer

The Federal Government’s Energy Strategy 2050 plans to increase the production of solar electricity in future. But when the sun shines, there may be times of overproduction, then the feeding into the grid has to be stopped, valuable energy is lost. To solve this problem, a large white container has been installed on the campus of EPFL since August 2015, which has quite a lot going on inside: 9,000 Lithium-ion-Titanate cells that form a gigantic bat-tery of 0.565 MWh energy capacity and almost 1 MW peak power. The installation was developed and built by the battery manu-facturer Leclanché, which is based in Yverdon-les-Bains.

“The special feature of this battery is that it has a very long lifetime”, explains EPFL Professor Mario Paolone. “You can cycle it 15,000 times with high discharge rates at 100 % of depth-of-discharge without significant loss in performance, unlike the batteries in mobile phones, laptops and even those in electric vehicles.” This new product developed by the company Leclanché is a lithium-ion battery that contains titanate oxide anode instead of the conventional graphite.

Solar power in poor weatherThe container can store and release up to 565 kWh of electricity. This is equivalent to the electricity produced by 2,500 sqm of solar panels in a couple of hours, or the daily consumption of about 100 households. On the EPFL campus the battery is connected to the existing solar park via the EPFL 20 kV power grid. This means the energy from the sun can be stored during times of overproduction, and then fed back into the grid again during poor weather or to cover peaks in consumption. Additionally, the battery can provide control function to the EPFL 20 kV grid like mitigating voltage fluc-tuations and line congestions.

This does, however, require a sophisticated control of the bat-tery and grid. The researchers at EPFL want to test this in coopera-tion with Leclanché and the electricity supply company of west-ern Switzerland, Romande Energie. The Canton of Vaud is supporting the experiment with 2m CHF and the project is also integrated in the activities of the SCCER FURIES (Future Swiss Electrical Infra-structure). “Normally one tests new control techniques by using models and simulations”, Mario Paolone says. “Here on our cam-pus we can validate control processes for this battery on a realistic

Inventing the FutureWith the new knowledge obtained, the institutions of the ETH Domain provide the basis for political discussions and solutions to deal with the pressing problems of our times. Innovative technologies, and their implementation in products, procedures and services, ensure that Switzerland remains globally competitive despite the strength of the Swiss franc. The efficient transfer of knowledge and technology makes a decisive contribution to the welfare of our society.

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FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN

1 Inside the container with a new type of industrial battery: Prof. Mario Paolone, Director of the Distributed Electrical Systems Laboratory of EPFL, and Fabrizio Marzolini from Leclanché (right).

2 Together with Leclanché, Romande Energie and the Canton of Vaud, EPFL is testing the new battery in this container. It can store up to 565 kWh of electricity generated by the photovoltaic system on campus.

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scale of size since the battery is coupled with a pervasive and accurate metering system.” The energy expert is confident that the results it provides will be much more precise: “This makes the installation quite unique.”

There is enormous potential for such a brilliant solution which can efficiently store surplus solar or wind energy, to cover the peaks in consumption. Now the hope is that the close collabora-tion between university and industry will also enable a success-ful implementation in practice. “Innovation is the elixir, the key factor for Swiss industry”, said Hans Hess, president of Swiss-mem, on “Industry Day 2015” of ETH Zurich. On that occasion researchers presented forward-looking findings on sensor tech-nology, robotics, systems biology and personalised medicine; among them was Robert Riener, professor at the ETH Sensory- Motor Systems Lab in Zurich.

Patients exercise with robotsWith his team and the Balgrist university hospital, Robert Riener developed a robot that helps patients with neurological damage in their rehabilitation. Often the persons affected are paralysed on one side. Then by using physiotherapy and occupational therapy some of them can learn to use their arm again. The robot assists the therapist in his work. It relieves the affected arm and supports the movement of shoulder and elbow, “but only just as much as necessary”, says Robert Riener. Force sensors provide an adaptive control. And thanks to virtual reality the patients remain involved and are given direct feedback about their movements. Entering a computer game, they can collect coins under water, or feel their way through a labyrinth to go and unlock a treasure chest.

Robert Riener called his invention “ARMin”. Now known as “ArmeoPower”, it has been helping patients around the world with their training exercises in clinics and therapy centres. “We developed the product in cooperation with the firm Hocoma”, the Professor says. Since the market launch in 2011, more than 80 of the devices have been sold “with an upward trend each year”, says Lars Lünenburger, head of the core technologies division at Hocoma.

This company was founded in 2000 as a spin-off of Balgrist hospital, to bring to market the walking-aid robots that were developed there. Using this “Lokomat” system, patients who have difficulty walking after a stroke or a spinal injury are helped to learn to walk. Today Hocoma employs 150 staff. “We are the market leader in our field”, says Lars Lünenburger proudly. This is also due to the close cooperation with ETH Zurich. “For example, we have doctoral students at Hocoma who conduct research on site”, Robert Riener says, “so this resulted in an excellent teamwork which leads to new research questions and innovative approaches to solutions.” Hocoma is also the main sponsor of “Cybathlon”, a competition for robot-assisted athletes with disabilities, which ETH Zurich will carry out in October 2016, led by Robert Riener.

Patents and licences ensure that the inventions can first be commercialised by the inventors and licensees. But companies in East Asia have now started copying the exercise robots as well. Therefore the head start in technology, which comes from the collaboration with ETH Zurich, is more important than protection by patents, Lars Lünenburger says.

More knowledge about common property“For us, the partners are not entrepreneurs”, says Christoph Hegg, deputy director of the WSL in Birmensdorf. “Our knowledge and technology transfer is geared to public authorities and society.” The intention is that the research results will support and assist the government offices as well as the citizens. “Here we are deal-ing with public property, such as safeguarding against natural dangers or interacting with the environment we live in, where it is not appropriate to take out patents”, Christoph Hegg explains. One example is the forest and the status report which the WSL publishes jointly with the FOEN every ten years.

The 2015 Forest Report concluded that the state of the Swiss forests is quite good. They did not have to bear the effects of any major storms in the past decade, the situation was quiet and relatively stable. “But there are threats on the horizon, which we have to address”, says Christoph Hegg. Here he is referring to climate change, among other things. If the climate change con-tinues to warm up as expected, the composition of the tree spe-cies in the Swiss forests will change. Problems are also caused by pests brought in such as the Asian long-horned beetle, and ash dieback. To the WSL researcher it is clear that if invasive organisms continue to spread the situation may become serious at some time in the future.

Douglas firs instead of spruce?The Forest Report will also provide a strong basis for political dis-cussions. For example, at present there is a vigorous controversy about whether Douglas firs should be cultivated in Switzerland. This conifer that originally came from North America is robust against drought and so will probably be better suited to the future climatic conditions. However, a predominance of Douglas fir could pose a risk for animals and plants that subsist on native trees. A move that seems advisable from the standpoint of forest management may be problematic ecologically.

Do we want a pure Swiss forest, or a forest that fulfils its pur-pose in the best way? This is a political decision rather than a scientific one, where moral aspects come into play, says Christoph Hegg. Science aims at disclosing facts and interrelationships. “But the researcher is also a citizen, and is entitled to his own personal opinion”, the expert asserts. This double role presents a challenge, he says, because scientific facts and personal evalua-tion have to be clearly distinguished and declared as such.

Eawag, the water research institute of the ETH Domain, also provides the basis for a political decision, by its investigations into the micropollutants in Swiss rivers and lakes. Some of the cosmet-ics, hormones, medicines and biocides that we as consumers dispose of in waste water are only half-decomposed in the wastewater treatment plants. The remainder reaches the natural bodies of water, and so it can also end up in drinking water. “We were able to demonstrate solutions to this problem”, says Adri-ano Joss of the Process Engineering department at Eawag.

FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN | Knowledge and technology transfer

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Upgrading the wastewater treatment plantsThe same methods that are used to treat and prepare drinking water could also prevent the organic trace substances from get-ting through the wastewater treatment plants. Adriano Joss sums up by saying, “The two methods, ozonisation and also the treat-ment with activated carbon powder, are feasible here and not too expensive”. The results achieved by the Eawag researchers impressed the FOEN, as well as members of parliament and the Swiss Federal Council, so that the new Water Protection Act, which came into force in 2016, provides for an upgrade to the wastewater treatment plants. About 100 of the approximately 700 wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland are to receive an additional puri-fication stage over the next 20 years.

According to Adriano Joss, the introduction of this fourth puri-fication stage also represents an opportunity for Switzerland as a centre of knowledge and industry. Engineering and construction firms benefit most, because the upgrade requires investments in the order of billions of Swiss francs. All Swiss municipalities pay nine Swiss francs per inhabitant, into a fund that will cover 75 % of the cost of upgrading the wastewater plants. By doing this Switzerland is playing a pioneering role, Adriano Joss says, while in Germany for example the upgrading of the plants is highly con-troversial. By carrying out further studies the researchers hope to gain more knowledge which will enable them to further improve the method of removing micropollutants from waste water.

System for custom productsMost Swiss companies are small to medium-sized firms. For them, the ETH Domain offers the opportunity to do research on new devel-opments in large-scale facilities, which they could never afford on their own. “Advanced Manufacturing” is the magic concept that will maintain and strengthen Switzerland as a centre of produc-tion. “At Empa we are focussing on new forms of coating technol-ogy and 3D printing”, says Pierangelo Gröning, member of the Directorate of Empa. “Swiss companies are world-leading in the field of coating systems.” To make sure this remains so in future, Empa is building a centre of excellence with installations that focus on production.

“Something that works in the lab may be problematic when implemented on a larger scale”, says the Empa researcher. “This has motivated us to reduce the gap between the lab and the practical application.” Switzerland and Europe have to be a step ahead in technology if they want to stay competitive with the rest of the world in the field of production. “This calls for a close cooperation between research establishments such as Empa and industry”, Pierangelo Gröning says.

The installations in the new centre of excellence should be capable of coating not only small samples but full-sized objects, for example the cylinder head of an engine. In this way one can test whether a new coating really does make the combustion process more efficient, as desired. “We offer the analytical methods to bet-ter understand these processes and develop the coatings further”, says Pierangelo Gröning.

Even before the new centre of excellence is opened in April 2016, Empa already has plans for the next extension phase. In the innovation park on the site next to Dübendorf airport a centre for 3D printing technology could grow, financed by a “Public-private partnership”. 3D printers make it possible to manufacture one-off items, thus leading to a more individual product – “a revolu-tionary technology”, the expert asserts convincingly. The goal of the development is to produce an autonomous 3D printer which can be operated from anywhere in the world without interven-ing on site. “It is Switzerland’s destiny to build this machine”, Pierangelo Gröning says.

Looking inside new materialsIf companies want to take a really close look at their products dur-ing the development phase, the PSI in Villigen is the right place to go. This is where the Swiss Light Source (SLS) is available, a super-microscope. “We are selling what we call beamtime”, Stefan Müller, the scientific coordinator at PSI, says. Companies can book a few hours to have their material samples examined under the SLS using extremely bright and tightly collated beams around a wavelength ranging from x-rays to ultraviolet light.

“Using our equipment one obtains a much higher resolution, providing much more detailed information, than one does from an image made by a standard x-ray device”, says Stefan Müller, who is also managing director of SLS Techno Trans AG which advises interested companies. In 2015 this included a Swiss enterprise that plans to construct an inexpensive 3D printer. Before the device is ready for the market, there has to be the guarantee that it can print reproducible objects with certain properties that meet the required specifications.

“This is just the task for us”, Stefan Müller says. “Using the Tomcat tomographic beamline, we can show how the various lay-ers are built up, and what the boundary layers look like.” The examination of the tiny material sample is non-destructive, unlike the tear-resistance test that is normally used, which also pro-vides far less information. “By using the feedback we provide the company can adjust and optimise the control of the printing pro-cess”, explains Stefan Müller.

About 10 % of the total beamtime of the SLS is used by industry. The main portion is booked by pharmaceutical companies for the examination of proteins and active medical ingredients. With the help of the measurements obtained in Villigen they can learn how proteins and active ingredients interact together – an important step in the development of new medicines. “We are very well-known worldwide in the pharmaceutical sector”, Stefan Müller says. Now they are looking for new customers, especially in the field of materials research. “We want to be of appeal to small and medium-sized companies”, the expert says. “The potential is still immense and far from fully exploited.”


FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN | ETH Zurich | New learning format: ETH Week

“A strenuous but rewarding week”Innovative learning and finding solutions to problems in the real world, in an interdisciplinary team: This is the aim of ETH Week, an event designed to promote critical thinking and creativity. The subject of the 2015 pilot week was “The Story of Food” – a success story.

Like a television show, the reporter in a white coat explained that many people are at risk of a vitamin D deficiency – even the unsuspecting old lady who was also interviewed as a represent-ative of those most affected. The solution to the problem: an information campaign that includes new measuring systems in public toilets and free tests in pharmacies. With the humorous presentation of “D Aware” the team of students at ETH Zurich received a huge round of applause and a prize for the most con-vincing project from an economic point of view during the ETH Week “The Story of Food”.

After a week spent working together intensively in September 2015, 12 groups with a total of almost 130 students enthusiasti-cally presented their ideas to solve pressing nutrition-related issues. “They were able to use any available means for this, just no PowerPoint slides”, explains Christine Bratrich, Managing Director of ETH Sustainability at ETH Zurich. And she stresses, “It was not about presenting a perfect solution because you cannot improve the world in a week.” The aim was rather to work as a team to work on their own specific issue, carry out independent research, and take on responsibility. “The process was more important than the product”, the organiser of the first ETH Week sums up by saying.

The new learning format is part of an initiative which the ETH Executive Board has launched under the heading “Critical Think-ing”, in order to better prepare students for their future tasks. Many graduates from ETH Zurich later go on to positions in man-agement. “People who think outside the box and act responsibly are in demand”, says Christine Bratrich. “But this requires the ability to analyse, reflect and examine one’s motives.” In fact studies show that graduates are highly qualified in specialist areas, but there are gaps in interdisciplinary networking and in social and communication skills.

Tools for complex themes“Our students are outstanding when it comes to reading a book in the morning and understanding its contents by evening”, says Christine Bratrich. “We are of course extremely proud of the top grades in the subjects. However, in terms of working independently on designs, or collaborating with colleagues from other disciplines, we should give the students greater leeway and more equipment.” Complex subjects such as climate change, energy supply and urban planning can then be looked at not merely from a scientific or

engineering approach. “There are social, political and economic components that must also be taken into account.”

Critical and creative thinking, entrepreneurship and team spirit are also central themes that the Executive Board of ETH Zurich aims to strengthen through its “Critical Thinking” initiative. The interdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration between students is also aimed at promoting the mutual commitment towards ETH Zurich and generating closer ties with the university. One of the aims is to strengthen the “sense of togetherness” of a dynamic university, says Christine Bratrich. This also demonstrated the per-sonal commitment of the Rector and President during the ETH Week, which student appreciated tremendously. Indeed, it is also important to the Executive Board to stress the business-related issues and the central questions of sustainability. “The Story of Food” offered plenty of opportunities for this.

1 Innovative learning concept: One of the central questions of the ETH Week was: “How can I be better in a team than alone?” (Image: Alessandro Della Bella / ETH Zurich)

2 With the Critical Thinking Initiative, the Executive Board of ETH Zurich is seeking to strengthen key skills: critical and creative thinking, entrepreneurship and team spirit. Prof. Sarah Springman, Rector of ETH Zurich (right), conversing with Christine Bratrich, director of ETH Sustainability. (Image: Alessandro Della Bella / ETH Zurich)

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FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN | ETH Zurich | New learning format: ETH Week

The organisers divided the Bachelor’s and Master’s students from 15 departments and 27 counties into well-mixed groups. One team with eleven participants from ten different countries almost tripped at the first hurdle. When choosing a name for their group, the members first had to learn how to make collective decisions. Therefore the team finally settled on the name “Team Democracy”.

“How can I work better in a team than alone?” This is the key question, Christine Bratrich says. And actually the participants specified “successful teamwork” as the most valuable experience they gained during ETH Week. One person commented that in less than two days, eleven different people with different backgrounds grew into a group that enjoyed working together. “Adapting myself to this kind of multicultural and multidisciplinary environ-ment and finding a consensus despite so many different opinions on certain topics”, this was the highlight for another participant.

One student wrote: “Even though you can draw specific conclu-sions yourself, it is sometimes good to hear what other people’s opinions are. You will most often find that a certain viewpoint has been neglected.” Christine Bratrich was especially delighted with the well-targeted, clear questions from two Bachelor stu-dents who quite fairly challenged a Master’s student with an “I know how the world works” attitude. The students indicated that they would now voice their opinion more often during “normal” teaching sessions because they have learned how important this is.

A widely supported visionOn a canteen building site at the ETH Campus on Hönggerberg, the leaders had each set up a room that offered space for talks and group work, where people were also able to eat or converse freely. “It was a cool room – also literally”, recalls Christine Bratrich. Because shortly before the start of the ETH Week the windows had been removed — a minor hitch in the otherwise seamless course of the event that took months to prepare. “There were many peo-ple who shared our vision”, says the organiser, “starting with the carpenter who created a lounge area using old pallets, from the ETH Rector who called by every day to the ETH President who sup-ported the ETH Week from the outset and played football with the students.” The overall programme for the course included sports and evening events – which the students were happy to make the most of.

In talks, on excursions and in discussions, the experts shared their extensive knowledge on the subject of world nutrition with the participants. What the students decided to do with this knowledge was up to them. “There was no fixed set of question”, Christine Bratrich says explaining the key point of the innovative learning concept. “The groups had to assign their own task for themselves and then develop a solution.” The organisers simply specified four topic areas: Sustainable production, food waste and loss, healthy nutrition for people and the environment, and the import of fodder and foodstuffs into Switzerland.

“It was challenging to find a problem that interested every member of the group”, said one participant. And another noted, “Making a decision when everyone wants their own idea to be chosen is particularly difficult.” However, the teams ended up having fun developing “a common solution for a common prob-lem”. Therefore it was not easy for the jury comprised of two rep-resentatives from business and science as well as two VSETH Board members (Association of Students at ETH) who did not take part in the ETH Week, to award prizes for the most convincing presenta-tion of a task to be solved and the approach to its solution.

Beer brewed from breadcrumbsThe VSETH representatives finally selected a proposal for brewing beer from bread waste. The team took inspiration for the “Brobi” project from a Russian recipe and from one of the excursions that took them to the “Äss-Bar” — a shop that sells yesterday’s bread and bakeries at cheaper prices in order to reduce the amount of food waste. Another approach to solving this problem is “Dumpy” – a trailer attached to trams in Zurich into which commuters can throw their biodegradable waste in the morning on their way to work. The participants at ETH Week used an app to rate the inven-tors of Dumpy regarding their particularly creative presentation.

At the end of the first ETH Week, the overall impression of stu-dents, experts and organisers was consistently positive. “From the participant’s point of view it was a great experience”, one student commented. “The sharing, the development and the prototyping of ideas with so many different people was really exciting as this hardly happens in my normal studies.” Critical thinking meant that we had to leave our comfort zone, wrote one student: “It forces you to rethink what you have taken for granted, you look at the bigger picture and consider what are the feasible solutions.” The week was strenuous, they said, but it was worth it.

“It was great to see how the students discussed things so crit-ically”, says Christine Bratrich, even though she admits that it is not really possible to learn the desired skills in one week. “Our aim is to at least provide an impetus – and it was certainly fun.” The dates of the next ETH Week have already been published: 11 to 16 September 2016.

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“One should never overlook the unexpected”A sun made up of coloured solar cells provided the electricity for the 2015 world exhibition in Milan. Transparent dye-cells adorn the façade of the new conference centre at the EPFL, and the departure hall of Geneva airport. This revolutionary technology was invented by Michael Grätzel, who has been a Professor at the EPFL since 1977.

Michael Grätzel celebrated his 71st birthday in May at the Universal Exhibition Expo 2015 in Milan, and was delighted at the enormous birthday present: 80 dye solar modules arranged in the form of a sun at the highest point in the exhibition, evidence visible from afar that the so-called Grätzel cells have now made the break-through from the laboratory to practical applications. “These pan-els are not only beautiful to look at, they are very much in demand”, says the EPFL Professor of Physical Chemistry.

It was over 25 years ago that Michael Grätzel had the idea of obtaining solar energy by using a dye, and he patented his inven-tion in 1992. He had been inspired by plants, which absorb light using their leaf pigment chlorophyll, thus making photosynthesis possible. In conventional solar cells a semi-conductor, usually silicon, converts the sunlight into electricity. Grätzel cells consist of several layers. An organic dye captures the light, releasing elec-trons, which are conducted via a porous layer of minute titanium dioxide particles to the negative electrode. Another layer serves as the positive electrode, a conducting glass layer on which a thin coating of graphite or platinum serves as a catalyst. Using this method one can even obtain electrical current to run a small fan using raspberry juice, in a laboratory demonstration.

“There are many types of red dye we can use in our solar cells”, explains Michael Grätzel. The development of green and blue substances for industrial applications on a large scale is proving rather more difficult. “We are currently working on this.” Although the chemist has passed the standard age of retirement, he continues to carry out research at the EPFL with the contractual consent of the university administration, but without drawing a salary. “When you are no longer competitive, it is better to step down and enjoy the rest of your life in retirement. But for me that time has not yet arrived”, the Professor says.

In 2015 the King Faisal International Science Award was added to his many distinctions, along with the associated generous research funding for a new project. “If I were to retire now it would also be a big disappointment for my co-workers and our sponsors, as well as for our industry partners”, adds Michael Grätzel, whose articles have been cited more than 164,000 times. This puts him in the top ten in international rankings for the most-cited chemists.

Electricity even in diffuse lightThe advantage of his invention: Grätzel cells are inexpensive to manufacture; they can convert indirect and diffuse light, and can be deposited on flexible thin sheets. On the downside, there is the low efficiency and lack of long-term stability which are still causing problems. However, in the course of time improvements will be made here, and the applications will become cost-effec-tive. One example is the “sun” put together using dye-cells that provide some 16 kilowatts of power, which was put up to adorn the Austrian pavilion at the Expo Milano 2015. These panels were made by the Swiss firm “Glass 2 Energy” (G2E), a startup that was founded in 2011. They specialise in the encapsulation of the mod-ules in glass, which ensures a longer useful life. Glass 2 Energy also installed solar cells similar to those at the Expo, on a guard-rail in Geneva airport in 2013. “I am filled with a feeling of pride when I see these panels, as I go through to the security check before leaving on a flight”, says Michael Grätzel, who is often trav-elling. In autumn 2015 he visited South Korea, where yet another company has started producing transparent dye-panels. In fact one of the first licences for using this solar technology was acquired by the Swiss firm Solaronix, which was founded as a spin-off of the EPFL in 1993. Solaronix made quite a stir when it installed 65 red, green and orange coloured pillars of solar cells on the west façade of the new EPFL SwissTech Convention Center.

The installation that rises to a height of 15 metres, and extends to a width of more than 36 metres, casts a warm light into the enormous entrance hall, while at the same time offering protec-tion against too intense sunlight. “This technology leads the field when one wishes to integrate solar cells vertically in a building, allowing a part of the light to filter through”, explains Michael Grätzel. Compared to conventional silicon cells, the energy pro-duced is about 50 % more, because the transparent panels also convert the light well even when they are not optimally aligned towards the sun and the light is only diffuse. The conference cen-tre expects an electricity production of 8,000 kilowatt hours a year from the dye-cells.

EPFL | Silicon-free Solar Cell: the Grätzel Cell


FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN | EPFL | Silicon-free Solar Cell: the Grätzel Cell

Another use for which the Grätzel cells are particularly well-suited is wearable applications, for example as a sheet on a back-pack to charge the mobile phone. The “Gratzel Solar Backpack”, which displays a Swiss cross, was invented and brought to market by a Welsh company.” Now the computer accessories manufac-turer Logitech is also selling solar-powered keyboards that are charged up using the ambient light. “The market looks particu-larly promising for wearable electronics”, the inventor says. “But for façades there is the problem of how to set up the production capacity.” The automation that is needed calls for an investment of millions of Swiss francs, which the scientist asserts will certainly pay off considering the worldwide growth of solar energy, even in a niche market.

Science meets classical artHowever much Michael Grätzel may be pleased about the applica-tions, his main passion is still the science behind them: “The thirst for knowledge and new discoveries is what motivates every researcher”, he says. One has to stay curious but also observe well and be able to evaluate the test results correctly. “One should not overlook the unexpected”, this is how he describes one of his recipes for success – otherwise someone else will make the dis-covery. His coming to Lausanne more than 35 years ago was by chance – and indeed a happy chance. Born in Saxony, he studied in Berlin, where he also planned to stay, following a visit to the US, when a professorship became available at the EPFL which offered him the best conditions for his work. The young researcher happily took the chance, learned French within a few months, and has remained loyal to the university to this day even though he was later offered a position at the university of his former cho-sen home country.

Another passion of his is music, which Michael Grätzel would have liked to make a career of. Even as a youth he was an excel-lent piano player. “Once I even gave a concert”, he remembers. “I kept the placard with my name on it.” But he has no regrets about missing out on a career as a pianist: “My brother Matthias is an opera singer”, the scientist says. So he knows how difficult life as a musician can be and how much competition there is. It would be even more difficult for a pianist than for someone with a good voice. “That is a God-given gift, which one can make good use of. But practically anyone who has some talent for music can learn to play the piano.” Even today he sometimes accompanies a violinist on the piano, but generally he is occupied with his invention, even while at home. He is installing the same panels that provided electricity for electric vehicles at the Expo in Milan, in his fruit garden. The EPFL Professor plans to charge up his electric car using the energy gained from the sun. Unfortunately the project has met with some delays. Point being, he wanted the Grätzel cells in his garden to be made using a different colour than the usual red dye that is easy to produce: “I wanted to have green panels, and there was not enough green dye available.” Plenty to do, then, for the researcher.

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1 The west façade of the SwissTech Convention Center, consisting of vertical panels of red, green and orange dye-sensitised solar cells of their inventor, Prof. Michael Grätzel.

2 Transforming light energy into electrical energy: red and orange dye-sensitised solar cells.

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FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN | PSI | Muon Source

A machine unique in the worldResearchers from all over the world are using the Swiss muon source at the Paul Scherrer Institute to explore the magnetic and electronic properties of new materials. Nowhere else are so many muons produced: exotic elementary particles that act as micro-probes to explore the processes within materials.

“We have instruments that are unique in the world”, says Elvezio Morenzoni, director of the laboratory where the muons are used to investigate the microscopic properties of materials. Muons are electrically charged particles. A negative muon is similar to an electron, but is about 200 times heavier. A positive muon behaves like a lightweight proton. Muons are formed in our surroundings when cosmic rays collide with air molecules in the atmosphere. At the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen in the Canton of Aargau, they are produced using a particle accelerator.

Elvezio Morenzoni, Professor at the University of Zurich and head of the Laboratory for Muon Spin Spectroscopy (LMU) at PSI, explains about the labyrinth of machines, concrete blocks, wires and cables spread out below him as he stands on a gallery in the large experimentation hall. In the opposite corner, behind a metre-thick shield, there is the centrepiece of the hall: the proton accelerator. The 40-year old cyclotron is still the world’s most powerful installation of this type and produces more protons than all the others. In the ring accelerator the positively charged atomic particles reach speeds of up to 80 % of the speed of light. From there the particles are sent to the muon source in the middle of the hall.

The expert uses a model to show what it looks like. Basically it consists of a rotating graphite ring. When the fast protons strike the atomic nucleii in the graphite, new particles are produced, the so-called pions. “These decay to form muons, which can be gathered to form a beam”, the physicist explains. “Because we have more protons available than the competitors, we can also produce more of the muons, and use them to perform experi-ments that are not possible elsewhere.”

A new type of magnetic materialThus in summer 2015 an international team was able to show how they had managed to produce a magnetic material from a non-magnetic metal with the aid of the muon measurements. The researchers had applied a layer of special carbon molecules to thin copper strips, thereby altering the properties of the com-bined material so that it could be permanently magnetised. The measurements at PSI demonstrated that the boundary layer between the copper and the carbon is responsible for the mag-netic behaviour.

“These experiments would not have been possible in any other facility in the world”, says Oscar Céspedes from the University of

Leeds, who is directing the research project. “We were finding it difficult to determine the magnetic profile in our thin layers.” It was then that members of the group told him about the muon source in Switzerland. The methods at PSI were found to be ideal for studying the thin films from Leeds. Using the new type of material it may be possible to develop magnets that can be used in various new technologies of the future, for example for stor-ing data on hard disks, or for electrical generators, or medical equipment.

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1 One of the instruments in the large experiment hall of the PSI. Here muon imaging is used to examine materials at supercooled temperatures.

2 Prof. Elvezio Morenzoni, head of the Laboratory for Muon Spin Spectroscopy (LMU) at the PSI and his staff use muon imaging to investigate the magnetic properties of samples.

3 The complex instruments for the muon experiments were custom-developed by the PSI researchers themselves.2

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FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN | PSI | Muon Source

Slow muons for thin filmsTo study the copper-carbon films, the team use a method that Elvezio Morenzoni and his group started developing over twenty years ago. “We can produce slow muons with very specific ener-gies, which come to rest in different layers”, the PSI researcher explains. “In this way thin films and multi-layered structures can be examined.” To do this, a trick is needed. This is because the ordinary muons produced from pion decay are so fast they pene-trate about half a millimetre into the sample before they decay further. This means they can be used to investigate crystals, but not nanometre-thin layered structures. At PSI a portion of the muons is passed through a frozen noble gas, bringing them almost to a standstill, and then they are accelerated again just enough to achieve the desired very short depth of penetration.

Once they have arrived at the target, the positively charged muons tend to stay between the atoms. Here they behave like tiny compass needles. For the muons have what is known as spin, a quantum mechanical property, which one can imagine as a rota-tional axis. The freshly generated muons all have this spin aligned in the same direction; that is to say the particles are polarised. But the spin can change depending on the magnetic environment. The polarisation changes or expires in the course of time. If one measures the change in polarisation over a certain period of time, one can draw certain conclusions about the magnetic properties of the material. “The muons are magnetic micro-probes posi-tioned up close to the atoms”, says Elvezio Morenzoni.

The installation that produces slow muons is one of six instru-ments that are supplied with muons from the muon source. Mag-nets guide the muons to the detector units shielded in concrete. To view one of the instruments, the physicist has the particle beam switched off, and each visitor has to take a key from a holder before he opens the door to the installation – as a safety measure. Only after everyone has left the detector section, and all the keys are back in their places, can the source be started up again.

Lowest temperatures, highest pressuresPassing along a narrow spiral staircase, one comes to the upper part of the two-floor facility, where the tiny sample is located right at the centre. “We have developed all the instruments our-selves”, says Elvezio Morenzoni. In each experiment the research-ers carry out measurements on some ten million muons. The basic method is the same, but each of the six detector sections has a special function. “Here we can, for example, examine samples at very low temperatures”, explains the expert, referring to the fig-ure of ten millikelvins – which is just ten thousandths of a degree above absolute zero. At another detector, the material can be subjected to very high pressures and powerful magnetic fields.

It is true there are similar instruments in England, Canada and Japan, the physicist notes, but it is not possible to achieve such low temperatures, strong magnetic fields and high pressures there. “Even where our facilities are not unique, as is the case with some of the instruments, we are better than the competi-tion.” It is not surprising that in 2015 a scientist from China and a researcher from South Korea came to PSI for a long visit. Similar projects are planned in both those countries. At the PSI collabora-tion with guests from abroad is a daily event. Many of the muon experiments are performed by international teams, such as the investigations into magnets made from non-magnetic metals, where two PSI staff members, two doctoral students from Leeds University, and two other researchers were involved.

“The teamwork went really well”, says Oscar Céspedes posi-tively. The PSI staff contributed with their considerable knowl-edge, and showed great commitment, even beyond the normal working hours, he says. “They were a tremendous help to us, first during the experiment, and later also during the data analysis.” Besides the international collaboration, the PSI researchers also perform their own experiments. “One particularly interesting field right now is the study of magnetic semi-conductors”, says Elvezio Morenzoni. The hope is that this will lead to methods of process-ing data more rapidly while also storing it more efficiently.

Samples from around the worldThe magnetic semi-conductors are thin films. It is often not clear whether the whole sample is magnetic or only a part of it. “This is where we come in”, the PSI scientist says. “We can investigate the magnetic properties at the nanometre scale, and see if the sam-ple is homogeneous magnetically.” Therefore the researchers in Villigen obtain the material from all over the world, which is often difficult to manufacture, and therefore highly in demand for experiments.

Besides the magnetic semi-conductors, there are also experi-ments to study unconventional superconductors made of iron, a category of materials that was only recently discovered in 2008. By examining these materials, the scientists essentially hope to gain greater insight into the phenomenon of superconductivity, where an electrical current is conducted without any losses. “With these iron-based and other unconventional superconductors, some-thing new is found almost every day”, says Elvezio Morenzoni enthusiastically. “If we find something of interest we try to obtain more of the material for our experiments. Of course for such things it helps when you have a good reputation.”

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Lasers and Lidar in the snowThe amount of water available for power plants and farming depends on how much snow there is on the ground in the high mountains. Now a research project in the Dischma valley in Davos is providing new findings about the processes that play a role in the accumulation and melting of snow.

Weather permitting, a group of researchers drive to the Dischma valley in Davos early in the morning, from April to June, often on a quad-bike. The evening before, together with the responsible safety officials they have closely studied the weather report, the information from the local weather stations, and the snow situa-tion. They have also checked with the avalanche warning service to make sure fieldwork can be carried out in the Dischma valley without the risk of an avalanche. Nonetheless the researcher never travels alone. For the Dischma experiment, a project of the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF and EPFL, which is partly funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the project group includes a scientist, a postdoc, four doc-toral students and Master’s degree students, who are participat-ing in the field work.

The test area is a hillside in the higher reaches of the valley that stretches southeast from Davos towards the Engadin. “It is quieter here than for example in the neighbouring Flüela valley”, says Rebecca Mott, scientist at SLF, explaining why the Dischma valley was chosen for the experimental field. What is more, the valley has a simple form, almost a perfect U-shape, which is ideal for a model site. The scientist sets up her measuring instruments together with her colleagues. They mount the measuring head of a laser scanner on a camera tripod. This is used to record the precise distribution of snow on the surrounding mountain slopes.

The laser scanner measurements are a part of a research project to investigate how interactions with the atmosphere control the deposition and melting of snow in the alpine regions. “We want to know where the snow is deposited in winter, and where it contributes to the melt”, explains Michael Lehning, head of the SLF research unit “Snow and Permafrost” and Professor for Cry-osphere Research at the EPFL. There are only a few snow measur-ing stations in the high mountains, and they do not provide very informative data. And studies in the past few years have shown, for example, that in the peak regions rather less snow lies on the ground than expected. “This is a crucial gap in our understand-ing, when one is trying to assess the total water resources in the high mountain areas”, the scientist says.

Reliable statements about the alpine water resources are impor-tant for the generation of electrical power at the hydroelectric plants, as well as for agriculture and for predicting when floods will happen. For especially in spring and summer the high moun-tains are the source of a particularly large proportion of the total

quantity of water. Added to this is the fact that the consequences of global climate change can only be estimated if one knows how much snow is presently lying in the mountains. The experts expect that at the end of this century the snow situation in Davos at 1,500 metres altitude will roughly correspond to that which presently prevails in the Küblis region 700 metres lower down. But no-one yet knows exactly what effect global warming will have on the high mountain regions. “Our project intends to help provide an answer to this question”, says Michael Lehning.

Distribution of precipitation and snow: extreme variationsThe laser beam in the Davos test area measures the precise dis-tance to the target. By using the figures obtained before and after a fall of snow, the researchers can determine how the distribution of snow has changed, to within a couple of centimetres. A map is prepared showing the places where snow was transported away in blue, and where it has accumulated in red. “There are some-times big differences between one and a half metres more, or half a metre less snow”, the expert Rebecca Mott explains. The map also shows whether a portion has slid down as it does during an avalanche. There is one phenomenon that is of particular interest to the researchers here, which they call “preferential deposition”. For this they compare the data from the laser scanner to the pre-cipitation values that were provided by a high-resolution weather radar system last year. This system is set up so that it faces out towards the test area from Davos Parsenn, and measures the con-centration of precipitation in the air. The researchers found that the precipitation above the Dischma valley was quite evenly dis-tributed, but not so the distribution of snow on the ground. “We noticed quite a big difference here, and we want to find out exactly what happens in the intervening period”, says Michael Lehning.

First results: Evidently the snowflakes are caught up by eddies in the air even before landing on the ground, and this carries them to be deposited in certain areas more than others. What is more, it appears that various processes take place in the snow cloud that tend to lead to a concentration of precipitation above a peak or ridge. “Until now people thought that the snow falls quite evenly, and is then carried from the crest of the mountain down to the lee, meaning the side facing away from the wind direction”, explains Rebecca Mott. What this means is that besides the classical processes which blow away the snow that is already lying on the ground and transport it elsewhere, winds can exert a

WSL | Dischma experiment


FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN | WSL | Dischma experiment

strong influence on the fine particles even before this, so that they tend to get deposited in certain areas more than others.

The weather radar system that the EPFL had initially provided has now been dismantled again and shipped off to the Antarctic, for another measuring project. But MeteoSchweiz plans to install a new system on the Weissfluh peak in 2016, and the SLF researchers hope to use the data it provides to support their hypotheses.

Besides the deposition of snow, as part of the Dischma exper-iment the team is also studying the melting of snow. For this, Rebecca Mott and her colleagues are installing an infra-red camera on the hill of the test area, next to the laser scanner. The camera faces down below onto an area that thaws, where snow-flakes alternate with snow-free regions. She takes a picture every couple of seconds. These can be used to determine how the

temperature varies on the ground over a period of several hours, in a high-resolution image. “In this way one can see how the dynamics work across the intermittent snow-covered patches”, the researcher says.

The role played by the wind systemThe air above the clear, thawing areas warms up more than it does above the snow. Therefore upwinds can develop at these points, while downwinds occur over the snowy patches. This complex wind system, in turn, has a strong effect on the heat exchange between ground and atmosphere, and therefore on the contin-ued melting of the snow-cover. “With the help of the infra-red camera we can see how pools of cold air and cold regions can form”, Rebecca Mott explains.

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To record the wind circulation more precisely, in autumn 2015 the researchers transported a Doppler Lidar device (light detection and ranging) to the Dischma valley, and installed the two-metres by one-and-a-half metre box, which also belongs to the EPFL, on top of a container. Rebecca Mott accompanied and assisted the Lidar experts who had specially come from the USA to carry out the extensive measurements for two weeks. Doppler Lidar devices work in a similar way to radar systems, except that laser beams are used instead of radio waves. The rays are scattered back from particles in the atmosphere, thereby allowing one to determine wind speeds and directions along the laser beam. The technology is usually used for finding suitable locations for wind recording stations.

“The Lidar provides an almost three-dimensional image of the air currents”, Michael Lehning points out. In this way the local thermal wind systems can be recorded, which are caused by the topography and which exert a strong influence on how the snow melts away. By evaluating the data the researchers hope to find out more information about the wind currents that cause the snow to tend to pile up more in certain locations. “It is important to have an accurate picture of this ‘wind field’ in order to under-stand the preferential deposition”, explains the scientist. “This is why such measurements are very useful.”

A dense network of automatic weather stations complements the measurements that the researchers are performing in the test area using the Lidar, laser scanner and infra-red camera. Michael Lehning likes to recall the day when, early on at the beginning of the project, he ventured into the valley on cross-country skis, to dig a few holes by hand for weather stations. Rather more serious was the mood evoked among the researchers in winter 2015, when they learned that one of the stations had been buried under an avalanche. “We had classed the site as relatively safe, but the facts taught us a different story”, the expert narrates.

The Dischma experiment, which is partly funded by the SNSF, will run from 2014 to 2017. The intention is to feed the gathered data into models which the researchers can use to study and understand the interactions between the snow and the atmos-phere. In this phase, too, the researchers in Davos are working closely with their colleagues at EPFL, to achieve better estimates concerning the alpine water resources.

1 Prof. Michael Lehning and Rebecca Mott of SLF in the field at a weather station in Davos’ Dischmatal valley.

2 Thanks to the laser beam, researchers can measure the change in snow distribution with centimetre accuracy.

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FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN | Empa | Wood Research

Wood for every occasionReplacing the gel-like buffer between our spinal discs following an injury, soaking up leaked oil, or filtering carbon dioxide from the air – trees provide an environmentally friendly material that can be used for all these purposes: nanocellulose. Then there are the fungi that make the wood stick better, or sound better. Empa is one of the world-leaders in research into the extraordinary abilities of this material.

Trees as high as 30 metres still stand up to the wind, even if their stems are relatively thin. Tanja Zimmermann has meticulously studied the structure of wood for years in order to understand this surprising phenomenon. At present she is directing the Depart-ment of Applied Wood Materials at the Empa in Dübendorf. “The substance which gives wood its tensile strength is cellulose – an excellent material for lightweight construction”, the expert explains. If one grinds the cellulose until the individual filaments are less than a hundred nanometres thick, the material has even better mechanical properties, because imperfections are removed. “Originally we used the nano-fibres to reinforce (bio-) plastics”, Tanja Zimmermann says. “Then we noticed that the cellulose can do much more.”

If one stirs just two percent by weight of nanocellulose in water, a solid gel is formed. This could be suitable as a specially well-tolerated and compatible material in the biomedical field. In cooperation with EPFL, the Empa researchers developed a hydrogel using nanocellulose that is intended as a replacement for the gelatinous core of intervertebral discs. The depletion of the gelatinous core often leads to back pain or even forms of spinal disc herniation (“slipped disc”). The scientists at the EPFL are currently experimenting on dead bovine tails to see how the hydrogel can be inserted in the vertebrae and how it behaves there. The cells in the remains of animals that have recently died are still active, so that the researchers expect to find results of importance for future uses on human beings. “We have published our development work and already patented it as well”, Tanja Zimmermann says. “But it will probably take some time before it is actually used in medicine.”

In general, Empa’s main areas of research are focusing on five different topics: nanostructured materials, sustainable built environment, health and performance, natural resources and pollutants, and energy. “We can use nanocellulose in all these research areas, it spans the whole range of Empa research”, claims Tanja Zimmermann delightedly. “I am burning with enthusiasm for this material. We have so many exciting projects in which we would like to use nanocellulose.”

Miracle substance against oil pollutionOne of these started making headlines in 2014: sponges made of nanocellulose could be used to clear away oil pollution in bodies of water. If one removes the water from the nanocellulose, a spe-cially absorbent material results; but it equally absorbs both water and oil. Only when the researcher team added an addi-tional substance to the starting gel, did it lose its “water-loving” property and then it only absorbed the oil. In the laboratory test the sponge absorbed fifty times its weight in oil in a matter of seconds. What is more, it could be rinsed out and used again up to ten times.

“In contrast to other groups, we used a relatively simple, environmentally friendly method of manufacture”, says Tanja Zimmermann. Although many interested potential users, includ-ing the Zurich lake police, flooded the Empa researchers with enquiries, it took some time before a company was found which was willing to invest in the production of the new materials on a scale of tons.

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1 Passion for wood: Tanja Zimmermann, head of the Applied Wood Materials laboratory and her colleague Sebastien Josset.

2 Outdoor weathering of a wood covering featuring functionalised nanocellulose. Shown in picture: Martin Arnold, head of the Wood Technology and Surface Technology Group.

3 The chemically modified nanocellulose sponge can absorb fifty times its own weight in oil.

4 The nanocellulose is produced using a grinding process.

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FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN | Empa | Wood Research

Now the firm Wicor Weidmann in Rapperswil-Jona, in collab-oration with Empa, is planning to develop marketable products using the nanocellulose sponge. “We have mastered the material itself and the chemistry needed”, says Tanja Zimmermann. But the drying process has to be made more economical. The freeze-dry method they used in the laboratory is too costly for mass production. Still, the scientist is confident that they will find a cheaper process. When the nanocellulose sponge comes to mar-ket, it could be used to soak up motor oil, or all types of solvents. If one does not wish to collect and reuse the nanocellulose, it can be quite easily incinerated. Tanja Zimmerman says it is a bit early at this stage to say whether this method will be used to effec-tively combat major oil disasters on the ocean: “I would rather not make too many promises.”

A network of tiny spaghetti threadsThe material that the Empa researchers are experimenting with consists of threads five to one hundred nanometre wide, whose length is in the order of micrometres. “It is a spaghetti-like mate-rial that forms dense networks, which means there are no nano-particles left that might be a risk to health”, the expert explains. One can manufacture sponges, gels, foams and membranes from the nanocellulose. These can be used, for example, to remove contaminants such as humic acid or heavy metals from water – or filter out carbon dioxide from the surrounding air. This is the goal of a system produced by Climeworks, a spin-off company of the ETH Zurich.

A suitably designed and activated nanocellulose foam captures the carbon dioxide from the air flowing through and releases it again when the material is heated to 70 to 90 degrees. The CO2 obtained in this way can be used in the manufacture of bever-ages, or for the accelerated growth of plants in greenhouses. The CO2 collector is close to being ready for the market. “Here our nanocellulose is competing with a synthetic material”, says Tanja Zimmermann, and she hopes that the environmentally friendly alternative from Dübendorf will win the race.

“Green chemistry” is also the goal of Francis Schwarze and Mark Schubert, wood researchers at the Empa in St.Gallen. They are studying how one can use fungi as beneficial organisms to modify and activate special functions of wood. “This is, to my knowledge, unique in the world”, says Francis Schwarze, who is also Professor of forest botany at the Albert Ludwigs University in Freiburg. “For this we use all the stages of the fungus from myce-lium and fruiting body to spores, and on to the enzymes or poly-mers that the fungi make.” One enzyme that has proved to be specially advantageous is called laccase, which was first obtained from the sap of the Japanese lacquer tree in the 19th century.

Laccase reacts with many molecules, and only needs oxygen for this, producing just water as a waste product. “By using laccase we can bind various molecules to the surface of the wood, and in this way activate the special functions of wood in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way”, says Mark Schubert. For exam-ple, in this way one can make wood surfaces permanently imper-vious to water. Indeed, the opposite effect can also be achieved

with the aid of the enzyme: wood surfaces that are readily wet-table so that they can be easily glued together. In a collaboration with the fibre board manufacturer Pavatex, the Empa team is using laccase to produce more environmentally friendly products. “The laccase makes the adhesive stick better. This results in either a better cohesiveness or one needs less of the adhesive”, explains the enthusiastic scientist. “This is really grand.”

The best-sounding woodThe topic that the researchers found has struck the greatest chord in the public mind, however, is their refinement of musical wood. “Even when I was doing my doctoral project I was already investigating how various fungi decompose wood”, says Francis Schwarze. He found a strain of fungus that grows into tree trunks and which makes the wood lighter, and it does this without changing the speed of sound in the material. The scientist had the idea that wood treated by the fungus could be specially suitable for constructing violins: “Because for high-quality musical wood it is desirable if it is light in weight”. For his famous instruments Antonio Stradivari thus used wood that had grown in the so-called Maunder Minimum from 1645 to 1715, a period of long winters and cool summers, which combined a high flexural strength with a low density.

In a blind test, where the master violinist Matthew Trusler played on various instruments – including a Stradivari – behind a curtain, the judgement of the 200 listeners was clear: The violin “Opus 58”, made of wood that had been treated for nine months with a fungus, produced the best result. “I was sitting there and thought that must be the Stradivari”, recalls Francis Schwarze, about the experiment in 2009. Since then the researchers have accelerated and standardised the method to manufacture the musical wood. “The procedure is now reproducible and the qual-ity assurance is provided”, says the Empa researcher, “Today we have a much better understanding of why these fungus-treated instruments sound so similar to an over 300 year-old violin.”

After the success with “Opus 58”, the Walter Fischli Foundation took on the financing of the project. Their aim is the promotion of young musicians. In one or two years the first fungus-treated vio-lins should come to market. They will cost 5,000 to 10,000 Swiss francs more than a conventional master violin, for which one has to pay from 15,000 to 50,000 Swiss francs. But compared to a Stradivari that costs two million US dollars this is quite a small extra charge. “Everyone can hear the difference between a new, untreated violin and a fungus-treated instrument”, says Schwarze enthusi-astically, and he is happy to offer his audio files as evidence.

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The guarantee of clean drinking waterEawag and the Canton Basel-Landschaft are investigating the problems and challenges of water supply, and working out plans and concrete solutions to ensure the quality of drinking water for the future. The results obtained from the project “Regional Water Supply Basel-Landschaft 21” serve as a model for other regions in Switzerland.

The Canton of Basel-Landschaft (BL, “Basel-Country”) is charac-terised by karst areas used for agriculture, urban settlements in the valleys, and industry with its long history in the urban agglomeration of Basel. “This local setting has a great influence on the quality of the drinking water, and indeed also on the way the water supply utilities are organised and cooperate”, says Dr. Adrian Auckenthaler, Director of the Water and Geology depart-ment at the Office for Environmental Protection and Energy of the Canton Basel-Landschaft. Dr Adrian Auckenthaler is leading the joint project together with Professor Urs von Gunten, Director of the Potable Water Chemistry Group and the Potable Water Com-petence Center at Eawag, and the Laboratory for Water Quality and Treatment (LTQE) at the EPFL in Lausanne. This project was started in March 2013 and is set to run for three years. Besides Eawag and the Canton BL, the University of Basel and University of Bern are also involved in the project.

Microbes in spring waterThe karst substrate in the rural regions is not very effective as a filter. “It is a well-known fact that karst springs constantly give rise to problems”, says Adrian Auckenthaler. Especially when there is a heavy rainfall, the water becomes cloudy and microorganisms get into the water. To continuously monitor the quality of the drinking water, until now one of the main methods was to measure the turbidity of the water. If it increases, it is also likely that there are more germs present. Now, by using a device known as a flow cytometer, which was developed at Eawag, the special-ists can continuously measure the actual bacteria. “Using this device we are able to obtain a highly resolved view of the dynam-ics of the bacteria populations in the spring water”, explains the environmental expert. What is more, the findings obtained from case studies made at certain selected springs can be applied to other locations as well. “A karst spring reacts in a similar way in the various different regions, even though the time it takes for the number of microbes and the degree of turbidity to rise fol-lowing heavy rain may differ”, Adrian Auckenthaler says.

These measurements are expensive, though, and they have to be interpreted by specialists. “We have a large number of small water supply facilities, which cannot afford such an expensive infrastructure”, Urs von Gunten says. But it is hoped that the

transfer of expertise from Eawag to the Food Safety and Veterinary Office BL will now make it possible for the new measuring method to get established.

The data that is being collected over an extended period of time by flow cytometry, from certain water supplies in Basel- Country, will show whether the potable water treatment – which is usually a single-stage UV disinfection – is adequate. “UV disin-fection is very efficient”, says Urs von Gunten. “Carried out cor-rectly, the resulting drinking water is completely safe and healthy.” However, after a rainfall bacteria may still be concealed in the cloudy water and pass through the system intact. A second safety stage with a filter would provide clean drinking water that is guaranteed to be safe. But such a system requires a higher level of investment and staff expenditure, which not every municipal-ity can afford.

From river to drinking waterMany drinking water collection points are built near rivers where there is a plentiful supply. However, this quantitative advantage brings with it a certain qualitative risk. A fact that becomes all the more apparent when there are contaminants in the rivers. In such cases, which also occur repeatedly in the Canton BL, the collecting points have to be shut down and the consumers supplied via neighbouring supplies or cisterns.

The river water infiltration during dry weather and during periods of precipitation is being investigated at three model sites. “In the course of this investigation we found many types of medicines, household chemicals and pesticides in the rivers and in the groundwater”, says Adrian Auckenthaler. Although the concentrations were mostly very low, of the order of a few nano-grams per litre, which is well below the legal limits, these sub-stances are undesirable in drinking water.

To understand the systems at work, groundwater models have been developed for the selected model sites. These models allow one to describe how the old regional groundwater mixes with the new river water infiltrate. “In this way a better water man-agement system can be set up, and the drinking water collecting points can be protected against critical situations”, says Urs von Gunten.

Eawag | Regional Water Supply Basel-Landschaft 21


FASCINATION ETH DOMAIN | Eawag | Regional Water Supply Basel-Landschaft 21

Use of drinking water in urban areasThe Hardwald forest in Muttenz, which is flanked by industry, a railway freight depot and a storage tank, is a popular recreational area for walkers, joggers and dog owners. And this is also where the drinking water to supply over 130,000 consumers in Basel-Country and the city of Basel is obtained. For this purpose, river water from the nearby Rhine is added to the groundwater. After pre-treatment in a sand filter, the Rhine water is allowed to percolate through ditches and ponds. While passing through the ground, the micro-organisms are filtered out and trace substances are dissipated. Then the mixture of groundwater and infiltrated river water is brought back up to the surface again via thirty drinking water springs.

“The safety of the drinking water in Hardwald depends to a large extent on the artificial infiltration of Rhine water”, says Urs von Gunten, summing up the situation. Some two kilometres in length, the protective groundwater “hill” or barrier that is formed in this way constitutes a hydraulic boundary and prevents pollut-ants from the surrounding regions from being carried into the Hardwald. The experts are developing a groundwater model to improve the water management in this geologically complex region, with its rock and granular soil aquifer and numerous in-dustrial groundwater extraction points. “We are examining how much river water should be infiltrated and which springs are best suited for obtaining the drinking water”, says Adrian Auckenthaler. “Generally we have found that the springs at the outlying western region are less well protected than those in the middle.”

New pollutants find their way into Hardwald via the Rhine water infiltration into the groundwater barrier. “The Rhine in Basel conducts 70 % of the water out of Switzerland, which also means about 70 % of the purified waste water”, the experts write in their report. This means that the Rhine water also contains many critical trace substances. From the engineers’ standpoint, the creation of the “water barrier” is not an ideal solution, Urs von Gunten concedes: “With this method one has to infiltrate almost twice the quantity of water.” So the experts are also inves-tigating whether it would be better to treat the Rhine water directly. Urs von Gunten: “The infiltration has various positive effects, as the measurements have shown. Of some 130 trace sub-stances that were detected in the Rhine, only about 50 are left after passing through the ground. And while Rhine water contains about two milligrams of organic material per litre, after the infil-tration it is just half a milligram per litre. Moreover the infiltration serves to balance out the seasonal variations in temperature.”

“Since December 2013 an activated carbon filter has been used in the Hardwald”, says Adrian Auckenthaler. The filter is very good at retaining most of the remaining unwanted substances – but not all of them. “In the event of accidents or illicit passing of effluent into the surface water in the catchment area of the Rhine, increased concentrations of trace substances can occur in the river”, the experts add in their report, and cite examples involv-ing polyfluorinated tensides or the inflow of biocides from the Leibstadt nuclear power plant. Now during the joint project they are clarifying how the water can be treated even more thoroughly in the most efficient manner.

From the lab to the working world“We are testing a two-stage procedure – a combination of acti-vated carbon with additional oxidation”, says Urs von Gunten. While the activated carbon filters out substances from the water, the oxidation converts the harmful trace substances. One tradi-tional method makes use of the oxidising power of ozone. But this can lead to the formation of bromate as a side-product from bro-mide, which is classed as potentially carcinogenic. “By using a newly developed ozone-based technique, it is possible to sup-press the unwanted formation of bromate while retaining the same elimination of trace substances”, the drinking water expert explains. It is hoped that a pilot plant, which was installed next to the activated carbon filter in Hardwald, will demonstrate that the new method of additional oxidation will work just as well on a large scale as it does in the laboratory. “Things are looking very promising so far”, Urs von Gunten concludes.

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Promote regional cooperationIn Switzerland there are more than 3,000 water supplies, in Basel-Country there are 95, more than the number of communes (local administrative regions). It is precisely the small water supply utilities that have difficulty in managing their tasks and chal-lenges by themselves. “So the Canton is endeavouring to secure a stronger collaboration between the water supply facilities”, Adrian Auckenthaler points out. In the social sciences sub-project run by researchers of Eawag and the University of Bern the goals and challenges are being studied from the standpoint of the actors, and their preferred modes of cooperation are identified. The aim is to answer the question, which organisation structures can best be used to manage the challenges, and what re-organi-sation measures are needed to achieve the political goals.

In general the stakeholders want to work together more closely. They also confirm how the Canton plays an active role in advis-

1

1 Eawag-Postdoc Tony Merle, Dr Adrian Auckenthaler and Prof. Urs von Gunten (from left to right) are checking the distributed control system of the pilot facility.

2 The drinking water abstraction area of Hardwald.

2

ing the water supply utilities. “This is good to hear”, says Adrian Auckenthaler, “because after all in future the constant pressure of demand imposed on the remaining groundwater protection areas will necessarily lead to the halting of extraction from the endan-gered drinking-water springs, and this in turn will make the regional cooperation necessary.”

Stimulus for the water suppliesThe results of the project should benefit the whole of Switzerland. For with its hilly agricultural areas and the heavily industrialised urban region, Basel-Country is like a little replica of Switzerland, says Urs von Gunten. “In the field of water supply, the various different resources form a kind of ‘Swiss Miniature’,” referring to the model village. “This means that basic principles can be derived from this example, which can be applied effectively to other sys-tems. This is why this project is so valuable.”


Optimal framework conditions are crucial to ensure that the ETH Domain acts as a role model in contributing towards Switzerland’s success as an attractive business and science location.

Development

Intermediate evaluation Expert group confirms the high significance of the ETH Domain for Switzerland → p. 36

ScienceStudent numbers rising, greater knowledge and technology transfer → p. 33

EnvironmentUnsettled framework conditions pose a risk to innovation → p. 30

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Development Finance and personnelEnhanced transparency thanks to new accounting policies → p. 37

Real estateThe demand for available space continues to rise → p. 41

Environment and energyUse of renewable energies on the increase → p. 41

29Annual Report 2015 on the ETH Domain

DEVELOPMENT | Environment | Political, economic, international

Unsettled framework conditions pose a risk to innovationThe top-level international position of the ETH Domain is the result of unique success factors and favourable framework conditions. To retain this position, the robust basic funding by the government must be kept up, the international recruitment opportunities must be secured, and its extensive networking, especially with the EU as part of its full associa-tion to the research programme Horizon 2020, must be maintained.

In 2015 the economic development in Switzerland was held back. The shock of the revaluation of the Swiss franc in mid-January almost brought the upward trend to a standstill in the first half of the year. Besides the high Swiss franc, exports also suffered from a faltering global economy. Switzerland only barely managed to avoid entering a recession, thanks to robust consumer and national spending, and investment in equipment goods. Besides lower mar-gins and price reductions, many companies turned to an improve-ment of their procedures, or the development of better products and new products, as a solution. Both of these measures are based on innovation. This is where cooperation with universities having a strong focus on research and development and with research insti-tutions such as those represented in the ETH Domain, is an impor-tant factor.

Due to poorer economic prospects and the expected shortfall in revenue of the Federal Government, the Federal Council, in its sta-bilisation programme for 2017–2019 plans to reduce federal expend-iture by 800 million to 1 billion CHF per year as compared to the previous plan, starting in 20171. The field of Education, Research and Innovation (ERI) will be particularly affected by this: Compared to the original finance plan, total cutbacks of more than 555 million CHF are to be made in the ERI field in the years 2017–2019. Of the total reductions of 2,795 million CHF to be made in this three-year period, about one fifth is borne by education and research.

The stabilisation programme for 2017–2019 will entail unfavour-able budgetary cutbacks for the ETH Domain. The options for cost savings in the ETH Domain are to be thoroughly analysed and examined as to their feasibility. The full implementation of the proposals for the ETH Domain in the ETH Board’s strategic planning for 2017–2020 presupposes a total budget of 11 billion CHF. It will now be necessary to reassess these proposals following the defin-itive funding for 2017–2020 for the ETH Domain. It may be neces-sary to consider possible streamlining measures for the two Fed-eral Institutes of Technology and the research institutes, in order to maintain the strategic capabilities. On the revenue side, an in -crease in course fees will also have to be considered.

Moreover, the risk of losing access to Horizon 2020, the 8th EU Research Framework Programme, in the period starting 2017, should not be underestimated. Besides the enormous damage to the rep-utation of Switzerland as a centre of research, the disadvantage for Swiss researchers, and the massive hindrance to research projects, this would probably also lead to considerable financial drawbacks. The impaired framework conditions would lead to lower third-party revenues for international joint projects.

ERI policy 2017-2020: lines of developmentThe Federal Council plans to strengthen and develop teaching and research in human medicine in the ERI period 2017–20202. Conse-quently, it has set itself the goal of increasing the number of med-ical degree graduates to 1,300 per year, so as to counteract the lack of medical doctors in this way. Possible reforms of the medical programme are also being discussed. ETH Zurich and EPFL have had a significant role in this process, endeavouring to achieve the target set by the Federal Council (see p. 59).

In the context of the ERI Dispatch 2017–2020, it is intended to support measures to promote upcoming young scientists as well as the long-term remodelling of career structures at Swiss universities. For example, one proposal made in the Federal Council’s report describing this target is that more tenure track assistant profes-sorships could be created. The tenure track procedure is an instru-ment which is intended to give the young researchers better career prospects. The Federal Government deems this to be crucial for the academic career path to regain more of its appeal with young scientists of Swiss nationality, too.

The ETH Domain supports this proposal, and indeed for over ten years now the tenure track system has already been successfully deployed in the ETH Domain. The two Federal Institutes of Technol-ogy were the first universities in mainland Europe to create such professorships. However, for the ETH Domain it is important that the nomination of assistant professors with tenure track is done by an international call for applications and is based on the crite-rion of scientific excellence. Only then can the instrument prove

1 Stabilisation programme 2017-2019, explanatory report with respect to the consultation of 25 November 2015

2 www.bag.admin.ch/themen/medizin/14583

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DEVELOPMENT

itself as a sustainable tool for the promotion of upcoming young scientists – including those of Swiss nationality. For the task of the universities is also to give the (indigenous) young scientists the chance to learn from the world’s best researchers right from the start, so that they can measure themselves against their standard, and they can establish themselves in their circle. The ETH Board views the upcoming ERI debate as an opportunity to improve the advancement of young scientists by means of organisational meas-ures at the universities to establish the tenure track system. The financial promotion of such measures can be understood as a form of startup funding, so that funds from the ERI field are not tied up for the long-term.

Horizon 2020 and consequences of the mass immigration initiative so far

In 2015, Switzerland continued to be one of the most innovative coun tries 3. In the knowledge and technology transfer, the ETH Domain with the two universities and the four research institutes PSI, WSL, Empa and Eawag once again achieved excellent results. Moreover the two Federal Institutes of Technology again achieved yet higher rankings in the international comparison of universi-ties (see p. 120 ff.). In the 7th EU Research Framework Programme (FP7, 2007–2013) Switzerland occupied 5th position for ERC grants awarded, in absolute terms. To ensure that the ETH Domain can con-tinue to develop and maintain its competitive standing interna-tionally, essential preconditions are internationality and openness as well as access to the sponsorship instrument of ERC grants. The threat of losing the affiliation to Horizon 2020 from 2017 onwards, as well as other potential restrictive scenarios resulting from the imple-mentation of the mass immigration initiative, endanger the top- ranking position of the ETH Domain and present great challenges.

The uncertainties caused by the current partial association to Horizon 2020, concerning the future status of Switzerland within the European Research Council, are already making themselves felt in a heightened competition to gain leadership of international pro-jects. The researchers are facing greater insecurity. Fewer applica-tions have been submitted for cooperative projects, and the pro-cedure has become more demanding because the participation of Swiss research teams is seen as a risk to project approval, and it has become more difficult for the Swiss project partners to assume the role of coordinator. A first comparison of the FP7 data with the Horizon 2020 data shows a massive drop in Swiss participation in Horizon 20204 – both in the number of investments and in the financial contributions. It is most clearly evident, however, in the decline in projects coordinated by Switzerland. These develop-ments may in fact be due to the reaction of the EU regarding the participation status of Switzerland.

However, it is still uncertain whether from 2017 Switzerland will again be allowed to participate unrestrictedly in the EU research framework programme Horizon 2020. The full association to Horizon 2020 is crucial for the ETH Board, for this alone enables Swiss researchers to co-design this programme, to coordinate pan-Euro-

pean projects without restrictions, and to benefit fully from EU funding. If the ETH Domain is to fulfil its mandate for Switzerland as a centre of knowledge and work, it is imperative that it be given optimal framework conditions. This includes security in planning, a robust basic funding, with investment opportunities in for-ward-looking research fields, and international openness and networking, especially with the EU. Thus the ETH Domain is par-ticularly affected by the threatened restrictions on the recruiting of scientific experts from abroad. This is why the ETH Board pleaded for an exception to be made for the quotas for foreign personnel in teaching and research, in the implementation of the mass immi-gration initiative. In fact an overly rigid implementation would also be harmful for the economy and hence for the innovative strength of Switzerland in general.

Innovative performance is crucial if one is to stay competitiveToday the focus of companies in a small, open economy like Swit-zerland is mainly on science-based products and services that are characterised by a high level of quality and functionality. In the competitive international field, many companies strive to position themselves by demonstrating a high level of innovation and by a strong focus on technology. This means that innovative perfor-mance is a crucial factor for economies such as Switzerland to succeed in staying competitive.

Successful performance in research and innovation not only requires good economic framework conditions, but also the avail-ability of sufficient human resources and knowledge. For a coun-try like Switzerland, besides its excellent dual educational system, it is also essential to have universities that enjoy a worldwide rep-utation and are thus attractive for highly qualified young scientists and for top-ranking international researchers, if it is to stay ahead in the competition against large countries. The empirical evidence clearly shows the complementarity of publicly financed research, which takes place mainly at universities, and private investments in research and development and innovation by business enter-prises. The most important channel by which research at univer-sities contributes to innovation is probably the mobility of students and researchers. Besides creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, access to the global knowledge of universities and to international net-works of knowledge is of central importance for the innovative strength of an economy.

International networking in the field of research and innova-tion is therefore indispensable if today’s economy and knowledge society are to prosper. Switzerland continues to be more integrated within international research networks than any other country, and this success factor and advantage of Switzerland as a centre of knowledge and thought should be safeguarded. A number of factors indicate this and point to the excellent starting position that Switzerland enjoys: scientific publications resulting from international collaborations, participation in international research programmes and joint patenting activities. Thus, for example, Switzer land has the largest share of all the co-publications5 and

3 European Commission 2015 report: “Innovation Union Scoreboard 2015”4 SERI (publ.) 2016: Swiss Participation in European Research Framework Programmes.

Facts and figures 2015, p. 8.

5 State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI: Bibliometrische Untersuchung zur Forschung in der Schweiz 1981–2009, editors Isabelle Maye, SERI; Sylvie Rochat, SERI, Bern 2011, p. 23.


co-inventions in the world6 (patents taken out jointly with partners from abroad). What is more, according to surveys by the World Intel-lectual Property Organization (WIPO / CDIP), the total number of inventors among the people who moved to the universities of Swit-zerland and the USA is particularly high, when compared globally7.

Strong nations competing with Switzerland are hoping to spe-cifically improve their performance in innovation through a pro-active policy of innovation. The OECD, in its Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2014 for the highly developed countries, identi-fied the following trends8: The national policies of innovation are increasingly aimed at strengthening the domestic advantages in the global value chain. The nations wish to attract and secure locally the innovation-oriented fields such as R&D and design, which make the greatest contribution to added value and to creating workplaces. This also includes direct investments from abroad, with science-based activities, talents, technology expertise and pat-ents. The countries are promoting national “Research ecosystems”,

and especially the appeal of the national research systems. They strengthen the capacities and quality of their universities, their research infrastructure and their openness towards other coun-tries. This includes the creation of employment opportunities for researchers from abroad, brand management, mobility programmes, educational courses, and an improved learning environment. In this context, the ETH Board welcomes the creation of the Swiss Innovation Park “Switzerland Innovation”, in which the institutions of the ETH Domain are actively involved (see p. 73). In the view of the ETH Board, the SIP contributes to the innovative strength of Switzerland and thus its competitiveness. Considering the specific policies of innovation and sponsorship that are being deployed by other countries in the international competition for the best loca-tion, increased endeavours and additional investments in promis-ing research fields are essential for the continuing success of Swit-zerland as a centre of thought and industry, in the coming years and decades.

6 Arvanitis, S., Seliger, F., Veseli, K., Wörter, M.: Patentportfolio Schweiz, study commissioned by SERI, KOF Studies No. 62, Zurich 2015, p. 46 ff.7 Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP): Study on intellectual property and brain drain – a mapping exercise; Twelfth Session, Geneva, 2013, S. 42 ff.8 OECD, Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2014, OECD Publishing.

DEVELOPMENT | Environment | Political, economic, international

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Student numbers rising, greater knowledge and technology transferThe appeal of the two Federal Institutes of Technology led to a further increase in the number of students in 2015, both at the Bachelor’s and Master’s level. The research of the ETH Domain ranks at the highest international level, while the transfer of scien tific findings to business and society has been strengthened further.

TeachingIn 2015, a total of 29,357 students and doctoral students were en -rolled at the two Federal Institutes of Technology (2014: 28,537; see fig. 1). The total number rose by 2.9 % compared to 2014; hence the growth was higher than in the previous year (1.8%). Both re-corded an increase on all levels, a total of 2.5 % at Bachelor’s, 4.4 % at Master’s, and 1.6% at doctoral level. The number of students and doctoral students from abroad rose by 3.6%; their percentage share is 43.6 % (2014: 43.3 %), with the proportion of Bachelor’s degree students being the lowest, and Master’s degree students the high-est, as in previous years.

The number of students and doctoral students at ETH Zurich reached a new record level of 19,233 (2014: 18,616). This corresponds to a growth of 3.3 % compared to the previous year (2014: 2.4 %), made up of growth rates of 3 % for Bachelor’s, 5.6 % for Master’s, and 1.3 % for doctoral degree students.

At EPFL the total number of students and doctoral students crossed the 10,000 mark for the first time, to reach 10,124 (2014: 9,921) in 2015. This represents a growth of 2 % over the previous year (2014: 0.5%), with a comparable rate at all levels: 1.6 % at Bach-elor’s, 2 % at Master’s, and 2.2 % at doctoral degree level (see fig. 15, p. 117, Academic achievement report).

The number of new admissions to Bachelor’s courses at the two Federal Institutes of Technology in 2015 was 5,290. Following a slight decrease in 2014 (5,041), the number of new students in 2015 was even slightly higher than the previous record in 2013 (5,255). With the exception of the subject Life Sciences, which saw a slight decrease, the number of new students in all subject areas rose in

comparison to 2014. It was found that the number of new students varied considerably among the individual subjects, but the subject areas with the highest number of new students enrolling on the Bachelor’s programme are still engineering (1,550), the exact sciences and natural sciences (1,001), and life sciences (695) (see fig. 17, p. 118, Academic achievement report).

The range of courses in up and coming, socially relevant subject areas was further expanded at all levels (Bachelor, Master and MAS) in 2015. Examples here are study programmes and courses in “Dig-ital Humanities“, “Architecture and Digital Fabrication”, “Science, Technology and Policy” (see p. 56, Obj. 1). ETH Zurich is planning a study programme in medicine in collaboration with the Universities of Basel and Zurich as well as the Zurich University Hospital and the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). For this, ETH Zurich will offer a new Bachelor’s degree course for approximately 100 medical stu-dents, who will then be able to do their Master’s degree at one of the partner universities (see p. 56).

The range of online courses was expanded as well. ETH Zurich will continue to pursue the two complementary approaches, MOOCs (massive open online courses) and TORQUEs (Tiny, Open-with- Restrictions courses focused on Quality and Effectiveness). EPFL fa vours MOOCs, which are partly incorporated within the teach-ing pro grammes on campus, complementing them in an effective manner.

The staff-student-ratio at Bachelor’s / Master’s level rose slightly, calculated at 28.6 students per professor (2014: 28), and at doctoral level it remained stable at 7.8 doctoral students per professor.

Fig. 1: Number of students and doctoral students

2004 2008 2012 2013 2014 2015

Students 14,354 16,233 21,251 22,099 22,530 23,254

on Diploma programmes 7,741 751 0 0 0 0

on Bachelor’s degree programmes 5,969 10,138 13,359 13,995 13,944 14,292

on Master’s degree programmes 0 4,649 6,981 7,241 7,781 8,126

on MAS / MBA programmes 644 695 911 863 805 836

Doctoral students 3,987 4,823 5,836 5,947 6,007 6,103

Students and doctoral students 18,341 21,056 27,087 28,046 28,537 29,357

Science


DEVELOPMENT | Science

The ETH Board has been backing a programme at the two Federal Institutes of Technology to support the exchange of students between the institutions of the ETH Domain and the different lin-guistic regions of Switzerland. Students can apply for financial sup-port if they work on their Bachelor’s and Master’s thesis at the other Federal Institute of Technology, or at one of the research insti-tutes, or if they attend summer / winter school. During the Spring and Autumn semesters in 2015, 71 students from EPFL attended a semester at the ETH Zurich or completed a Master’s thesis there or at a research institute. 31 students from ETH Zurich have spent one or two semesters studying at EPFL or completed their Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis there. In 2015 more than 200 students and doctoral students from the ETH Domain benefited from the summer / winter schools programme.

The research institutes make an important contribution to the supervision of students and doctoral students. The number of Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral theses supervised by the research institutes in 2015 remained at a similar level to previous years (see fig. 2). Of the 814 supervised Doctoral theses, almost 70 % of the doctoral students are enrolled at one of the two Federal Insti-tutes of Technology, and 30 % at a cantonal or foreign univer-sity. In addition to the supervision of Bachelor’s, Master’s, Diploma and Doctoral theses, the staff of the research institutes in the ETH Domain and at other universities delivered instruction amounting to a total of nearly 17,000 hours in the form of lectures and courses (see p. 119, fig. 20, Academic achievement report).

first time, ETH Zurich moved up to qualify as one of the best ten universities of the world in both rankings, THE (Times Higher Edu-cation) and QS (Quacquarelli Symonds). In 2015 EPFL was honoured as the best university among those founded in the past 50 years (Times Higher Education “100 Under 50” Ranking).

The institutions of the ETH Domain have been highly successful in applying for grants from the European Research Council (ERC grants) in the period since 2007 when these grants were intro-duced. However, the year 2014 was marked to some extent by tran-sitional measures which became necessary in the wake of the initi-ative against mass immigration, after it was accepted (see p. 31). Thus in the period from the end of February to mid-September 2014 researchers at Swiss institutions were excluded from applying for ERC grants under the Horizon 2020 research programme. The tem-porary exclusion of Switzerland also meant that “ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants” awarded in 2014 were not transferable to Switzerland. To ensure that Switzerland retains its appeal as a centre of knowledge and research, the SNF has offered “ERC transfer contributions” by way of compensation, since 1 Septem-ber 2015.

One female scientist and six male scientists from ETH Zurich were awarded an “ERC Advanced Grant”, for two of them this was already the second time they had been successful. At EPFL four male scientists were awarded an “ERC Advanced Grant”. One female researcher at ETH Zurich, six researchers at EPFL and one researcher at Empa were awarded an “ERC Consolidator Grant”.

Fig. 2: Doctoral, Bachelor’s and Master’s theses supervised at the research institutes*

2004 2008 2012 2013 2014 2015

Doctoral theses supervised at research institutes 545 700 807 797 784 814

Bachelor’s, Master’s and diploma theses supervised at research institutes

286 391 542 532 585 521

* of students and doctoral students at ETH Zurich, EPFL or other universities

9 SERI (publ.) 2016: Swiss Participation in European Research Framework Programmes. Facts and figures 2015, p. 8.

ResearchBasic research and applied research carried out by the institutions of the ETH Domain contribute to scientific progress, to social and economic development, and to the innovative strength and long-term competitive standing of Switzerland. The activities and the-matic priorities of research at the institutions in 2015 are described under Objective 2 (see p. 62 ff.), and the excellent research output is reflected in the international rankings of the institutions of the ETH Domain (see p. 120 ff., Rankings). This is borne out by the highly acclaimed university rankings, where ETH Zurich and EPFL were able to improve or maintain their positions in 2015. For the

One female scientist and three male scientists of ETH Zurich, and three male scientists of EPFL, were awarded a “Proof of Concept Grant”.

The institutions of the ETH Domain were also successful in par-ticipating in the “ERC Starting Grants” 2015. Four female research-ers and three male researchers at ETH Zurich, four researchers at EPFL, and one researcher at Empa were awarded the grants. Not-withstanding these excellent results, the participation of Swiss institutions in Horizon 2020 has diminished greatly, compared to the situation under the 7 th Research Framework Programme.9

34

DEVELOPMENT

Swiss road map for research infrastructure The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) has updated the Swiss road map for research infrastructures, with a view to the ERI period 2017–2020, and published the new ver-sion in June 2015. This roadmap provides an overview of the exist-ing and planned research infrastructures of national significance, and served as one of the basic papers for producing the ERI Dis-patch 2017–2020.

The institutions of the ETH Domain are responsible for major research infrastructures of national and international importance. As part of the ETH Board’s strategic planning for the ETH Domain for 2017–2020, and the updating of the roadmap, it has prioritised the expansion and renewal of existing research infrastructures, setting up plans for new research infrastructures in strategic focus areas. In the first phase, the SNSF reviewed the applications for research infrastructures. In a second phase, the responsible insti-tutions of the ETH Domain examined their feasibility based on their strategies. The ETH Board ratified the plans for implementation of the following research infrastructures, which were then included

in the roadmap: The High Performance Computing and Networking (HPCN-20) strategy at the CSCS of ETH Zurich, the ATHOS beamline of the X-ray Free Electron Laser SwissFEL at PSI, the renovation of the Swiss Light Source (SLS 2.0) at PSI, the “Initiative for Data Science in Switzerland” (IDSS) at EPFL and ETH Zurich, the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) at EPFL, and the platform for Sustainable Building Technolo-gies (NEST) at Empa and Eawag. Additionally, there are plans to extend and further develop the following research infrastructures: The neuroinformatics Blue Brain project at EPFL, and the CMS detec-tors at CERN under the leadership of ETH Zurich (see p. 76 ff., Obj. 4). Whether, and in what scope, these research infrastructures that are of central importance for Switzerland are actually implemented in the ERI period 2017–2020, will depend on the funds that are avail-able. The most important decisions about the direction ahead will be made by the Swiss Federal Council and Parliament in 2016, during the consultancy sessions on the planned cut-backs in the ERI area as part of the stabilisation programme 2017−2019 and the ERI Dispatch 2017–2020.

FET flagship Human Brain ProjectThe Human Brain Project (HBP), coordinated by EPFL, was selected by the EU in January 2013 to be the FET flagship, as part of the Euro-pean Initiative “Future and Emerging Technologies” (FET). The ten- year HBP unites the three scientific and technological communities: neurosciences, medicine and computer science. The aim of HBP is to produce an ICT research infrastructure to simulate and better understand the structure and function of the human brain, using 10 www.startupmonitor.ch

Fig. 3: Number of spin-offs

2004 2008 2012 2013 2014 2015

Spin-offs 25 46 38 43 49 48

the computer-based brain models that are developed (see p. 77). At the end of March 2016 the thirty-month setup phase of the HBP, financed by funds from the 7 th EU research framework programme (FP7), comes to an end. The next phase of the project, the opera-tional phase, starts in April 2016 and is set to last for seven and a half years.

At the end of October 2015, the European Commission and the HBP consortium signed the Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA). The FPA describes the work-plan for the operational phase of the HBP. With the signing of the FPA, funds have been made available for the second phase of the HBP, from the 8th FP Horizon 2020. The project was modified in response to the first evaluation by the Euro-pean Commission and the recommendations of the HBP Mediation Group, which was set up in the wake of the public science debate that flared up in June 2014. Thus the FPA is focussing on the re-search infrastructures and technology platforms of the project, and on the modified governance structure. Furthermore the cognitive neurosciences were integrated within the project and allocated the required funding.

Knowledge and technology transferThe institutions were again active in the field of knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) in 2015, as shown by the survey data that was recorded. The high figures of the previous years were exceeded; the number of patents rose to over 219, and licences to 311. With 48 spin-offs the institutions of the ETH Domain achieved a record level (see fig. 3). However, these monitoring figures only cover a small part of the knowledge and technology transfer activities of the institutions and can only describe them in a very limited way.ETH Zurich is a co-founder, together with the University of St.Gallen (HSG) and the University of Basel, of the “Swiss Start-up Monitor”10 initiative, which serves to monitor the development of start-ups, promote the exchange of knowledge, and serve as an information platform.

The graduates of the two Federal Institutes of Technology and also the students and doctoral students make a decisive contribu-tion to the knowledge and technology transfer. Both during and after their study programmes they contribute their knowledge, experience and the latest findings to industry and the public administration, in this way contributing significantly to innova-tion. This process will be encouraged by the lively exchange and close collaboration between the two Federal Institutes of Technol-ogy, the research institutes, as well as industry and the public administration (see p. 70 ff., Obj. 3).

Stand 5.2.2016Annual Report 2015 on the ETH Domain 35

DEVELOPMENT | Intermediate Evaluation

An intermediate evaluation of the ETH Domain is made in the mid-dle of the performance period. Unlike previous years, in 2015 the intermediate evaluation did not focus on academic performance of the ETH Domain, but rather on its overall social significance. The central questions assigned to a group of eight experts by the direc-tor of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) were therefore focused on the knowledge and technology transfer and the ETH Domain’s contribution to innova-tion. Additionally, questions were examined concerning the gen-eral framework conditions for scientific policy and concerning the role of the ETH Domain within Switzerland as a centre of science and university education. Finally the mandate included a study of the contribution the ETH Domain could make towards the further development of medical research and education in Switzerland. The expert committee, consisting of well-respected international and national specialists, was present in Switzerland from 22nd to 27th March 2015. It held in-depth discussions with representatives from the institutions of the ETH Domain, and also with external stakeholders from the politics of science, the universities, trade associations, trade unions, and from medicine.

The experts used the self-evaluation report of the ETH Board as the practical basis for the report on the intermediate evaluation. This addressed the questions of the mandate, and included a bib-liometric analysis as well as a comprehensive general analysis of the strengths, weak points and challenges that characterise the ETH Domain and its position within the Swiss university system. In its intermediate evaluation report the expert committee drew up 13 recommendations for the ETH Domain and the actors of the ERI system. The ETH Board then produced a position statement, in which it responded to the recommendations of the expert com-mittee. All three documents were published by the State Secretar-iat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

Firstly, the experts’ report confirms the great importance of the institutions for the Swiss economy and for the whole society. Sec-ondly, it also emphasises the global scientific competitiveness of the institutions, their significant contributions to education, and

their excellent role in knowledge and technology transfer. The main topics addressed by the experts’ report and the ETH Board are as follows:

The experts’ group considers the autonomy of the institutions of the ETH Domain to be indispensable for the achievement of excel-lent results, and one of the most important preconditions for the successful positioning of the ETH Domain and its institutions. The ETH Board endorses this view in its response statement. It consid-ers the preservation and expansion of this autonomy as important goals with a view to ensuring a governance and management struc-ture of the ETH Domain that is equipped to deal with future chal-lenges.

The expert committee attributed great significance to the coop-eration among institutions of the ETH Domain and actors within the Swiss university system. Therefore, their report examines in detail the relations with the Cantons (including the sites of institutions of the ETH Domain), the cooperation with the universities of applied sciences, and the role of the institutions in the creation of the Swiss Innovation Park “Switzerland Innovation” (see p. 73). The experts’ report and the ETH Board are in favour of a further strengthening of the collaboration between the institutions of the ETH Domain and the universities and universities of applied sciences. However, this form of cooperation must be based on common interests and complementary skills. It can be most successfully realised if the circumstances enable and encourage “Bottom-up” initiatives in research and teaching.

Finally, the expert committee approves the efforts of the ETH Domain to maintain its leading position as the provider of large-scale research infrastructures, and to achieve a more prominent role in medical research and teaching (see p. 59). Here too, the experts’ report greatly esteems the variety of contributions made by the ETH Domain to Switzerland’s innovative strength, research, aca-demic education, and to university system, as well as to the soci-ety as a whole.

The Expert Report and the Position of the ETH Board are pub-lished on www.ethboard.ch (→ Publications).

Expert committee confirms great significance of the ETH Domain for SwitzerlandAs part of the 2015 Intermediate Evaluation an international group of experts examined the significance of the ETH Domain for Switzerland’s economy, innovative strength and university system. The expert com-mittee gave an excellent testimony regarding this, and among other things emphasised the central value of the autonomy of the institu-tions of the ETH Domain.

36

DEVELOPMENTFinance and personnel

Enhanced transparency thanks to new accounting policiesDuring the year under review the ETH Domain had funds at its disposal totalling 3,475m CHF. By far the greatest proportion was provided directly by the Federal Government (total federal contribution) or by government research sponsorship institutions. 2015 saw a stagnation of revenue from other official sources, from cooperative ventures with the business sector and from donations and bequests; however, this was offset by a moderate increase in total federal contribution. The annual result for 2015 amounts to 214m CHF. By adopting IPSAS, the Interna-tional Public Sector Accounting Standards, the transparency of the ETH Domain’s annual financial statements and its comparability with other institutions was further enhanced.

Financing of the ETH DomainThe ETH Domain is primarily (approx. 71 %) financed by way of direct financial contributions made available by the Federal Government (total federal contribution) and indirect financial contributions via competitive acquired research funds and government-funded research (approx. 15 %). Further funding is provided by research contributions and contracts, and by way of scientific services (consisting of competitively acquired funds from private sources), donations and bequests, tuition fees and other utilisation fees, and from other revenue.

Total federal contribution: Development of the 2013–2016 budgetary framework and resulting annual credit

With the Federal Decree of 25 September 2012, the Swiss parliament approved the 2013–2016 budgetary framework for the ETH Domain in the amount of 9,583.9m CHF and the concomitant performance mandate of the Federal Council with which the ETH Domain is tasked. In March 2013 parliament approved an increase of 60m CHF earmarked for energy research; and after it was established with the Federal Financial Budget for 2014 that the ETH Domain is permitted to use proceeds from the sale of real estate property for projects for the benefit of teaching and research, as of the end of 2015 the approved funding amounted to 9,657.9m CHF (see fig. 4).

Following from subsequent budget cuts by parliament, the ETH Domain does not have all the funds of the budgetary framework originally approved: the implementation of the Consolidation and Task Evaluation Package (KAP 2014) resulted in a reduction of avail-able funding by 58m CHF (2015: – 29m CHF, 2016: – 29m CHF). In addition, the 2015 budget of the ETH Domain was burdened with an across-the-board cut (– 26.7m CHF) and the 2016 budget with a cost-of-living correction (– 75.9m CHF). When the proceeds from

IPSAS – Implications for the annual financial statements of the ETH Domain

Since 1 January 2015 the consolidated annual financial statements and budget of the ETH Domain have been prepared in accordance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). The purpose of IPSAS is to improve the quality, transparency and comparability of financial reporting; they are part of a general tran-sition to governance in accordance with business management principles. The recognition of income and expenses is done in the period in which the resources are created or consumed from a business standpoint.

The conversion to IPSAS has resulted in an increase – purely for accounting purposes – of the balance sheet total in the consoli-dated annual account of the ETH Domain (restatement 2014: + 1,169m CHF). This applies to the “Non-current receivables” item, which is particularly affected by IPSAS 23.

the sale of real estate properties (+ 24m CHF) in 2015 and 2016 are included, this results in net cuts of 136.6m CHF for 2015 and 2016. Therefore the ETH Domain provisionally has approved funding totalling 9,521.3m CHF at its disposal for the 2013–2016 period (see fig. 5). As a consequence, average annual growth during the 2013–2016 performance period has fallen from an originally pro-posed 4.1 % to 3.1 %, with a low nominal growth of 1.7 % and 1.5 % for 2015 / 2016.


DEVELOPMENT | Finance and personnel

Fig. 4: Development of the budgetary framework of the ETH Domain 2013–2016

m CHF 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2013–2016

ERI Dispatch of 22 February 2012 (12.033) 2,174.5 2,227.4 2,303.2 2,414.6 2,535.7 9,480.9

Nominal growth 2.4 % 3.4 % 4.8 % 5.0 %

Average annual growth 2013–2016 (based on 2012 budget) 3.9 %

Federal Decree of 25 September 2012 “equalisation increase” 32.0 45.0 26.0 – 103.0

ETH Domain 2,174.5 2,259.4 2,348.2 2,440.6 2,535.7 9,583.9

Nominal growth 3.9 % 3.9 % 3.9 % 3.9 %


Increase in funds, “Coordinated Energy Research Switzerland” action plan (12.079)

12.0 16.0 16.0 16.0 60.0

ETH Domain 2,174.5 2,271.4 2,364.2 2,456.6 2,551.7 9,643.9

Nominal growth 4.5 % 4.1 % 3.9 % 3.9 %

Average annual growth 2013–2016 (based on 2012 basis budget) 4.1 %

Increase in funds, streamlining of property portfolio – BB I VA2014 14.0 14.0

Budgetary framework of the ETH Domain 2013–2016 2,174.5 2,271.4 2,378.2 2,456.6 2,551.7 9,657.9

Nominal growth 4.5 % 4.7 % 3.3 % 3.9 %


Fig. 5: Available funding (December 2015)

m CHF 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2013–2016

A2310.0542 Federal financial contribution 2,040.7 2,073.9 2,195.0 2,233.5 2,252.4 8,754.8

A4100.0125 Investment credit for ETH Domain constructions 134.7 197.5 183.2 184.4 201.4 766.6

Total credit, taking into account the budgetary framework 2,175.4 2,271.4 2,378.2 2,417.9 2,453.8 9,521.3

Nominal growth 4.4 % 4.7 % 1.7 % 1.5 % 3.1 %

38

DEVELOPMENT

Source of funds

FIg. 6*: Consolidated statements 2015 of the ETH Domain: structure of revenues (%)Operating income, 2015 financial statements: 3 386m CHF

Investment credit for ETH Domain constructions 5.4 %

Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) 7.2 %

Other third-party funds 2.4 %

Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) 1.4 %

Other revenue 3 %

Special federal funding of applied research 2.4 %

EU Framework Programs for Research and Innovation (FP) 4 %

Private industry oriented funding 3.8 %

Total federal contributions (budgetary framework (71,4 %)Federal financial contribution

Investment credit for ETH Domain constructions

Indirekt financial contributions from the Federal Government (15 %)

Swiss National Science Foundatinon (SNSF) Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI)

Special federal funding of applied research EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation (FP)

Third-party funds (12,6 %)

Research contributions from cooperation with the private sector Research contributions from other third-party resources

Donations and bequests Other revenue

Tuition fees and others

utilisation fees (1 %) Financial result (0 %)

Federal financial contribution 66 %

Donations and bequests 3.4 %

Allocation of funds

Fig. 7**: Consolidated statements 2015 of the ETH Domain: structure of expenditures (%)Operating expenses / expenditures, 2015 financial statements: 3,340m CHF

Other expenditure 22.1 %

Investments in tangible assets / intangible assets 8.7 %

Personnel 63.7 %

Investments in government-owned properties 5.5 %

Tuition fees and other utilisation fees 1 %

* Fig. 6 shows the revenues from the standpoint of financing. They amount to 3,386m CHF and comprise the following: financing contribution from the Federal Government; investment credit for buildings of the ETH Domain; donations and bequests; research contributions, mandates and scientific services; school fees and other utilisation fees; other revenues.

** Fig. 7 shows the expenditure from the standpoint of financing. It amounts to 3,340m CHF and comprises the following: personnel expenses; adjustment to the net pension expenditure in accordance with IPSAS 25; investments in government-owned buildings; investments in tangible assets and intangible assets; materials expenses excl. accommodation expenditure; transfer expenses.


Slight growth with increasing internationalisation in personnel Personnel policy objectives and strategies are always characterised by a long-term orientation in the ETH Domain. This means there have been no surprises or sudden developments with regard to person-nel. Instead the trends of the past few years have continued, personnel key figures have remained stable year on year and end of 2015 the number of full-time equivalents (FTE) amounted to 18,068.6. The number of employees has increased slightly by 2.3 %, and thus is a little smaller than in previous years. Scientific person-nel continues to be the largest function group with 10,975.5 FTE.

The long-standing trend towards increasing internationalisation in the ETH Domain continues unabated: already over half of all em -ployees are foreign nationals. Internationality is strongest among the scientific personnel and teaching faculty. This development confirms that the ETH Domain offers internationally competitive, attractive hiring and employment conditions – a working envi-ronment in which talent and top-flight experts from various cul-tures can play a part and feel at ease.

Priority was again given to identifying and supporting young scientific talent as an essential prerequisite for maintaining a high standard of teaching and research. To prepare them for the com-petitive international environment and to help them in planning their careers, young researchers have access to a comprehensive range of funding schemes. In the process great importance is at -tached to fostering young female scientific talent in all of the insti-tutions of the ETH Domain.

DEVELOPMENT | Finance and personnel

Fig. 7a: Headcount and employment level by function group (see also fig. 30, p. 129)

Men Women ETH Domain

2015 EC FTE ø EL % EC FTE ø EL % EC FTE ø EL %

Professors (F/A) 592 570.8 96.4 75 71.7 95.6 667 642.5 96.3

Assistant professors with tenure track 70 69.7 99.6 26 26 100.0 96 95.7 99.7

Assistant professors without tenure track 42 40.9 97.4 11 10.1 91.8 53 51 96.2

Scientific personnel 9,014 7,881.8 87.4 3,717 3,093.7 83.2 12,731 10,975.5 86.2

of whom senior scientific personnel 709 677.4 95.5 100 88 88.0 809 765.4 94.6

Technical personnel 2,849 2,681.7 94.1 855 656.9 76.8 3,704 3,338.6 90.1

Administrative personnel 1,003 879.9 87.7 2,192 1,632.4 74.5 3,195 2,512.3 78.6

Trainees 316 316 100 137 137 100.0 453 453 100

Total 13,886 12,440.8 89.6 7,013 5,627.8 80.2 20,899 18,068.6 86.5

Headcount (employments contracts, EC) and employment level (EL) of men, women and the entire ETH Domain by function group. As of 2010, the senior scientists and maitres d’enseignement et de recherche (MER), as well as the other senior personnel are counted separately, but nevertheless still included under scientific personnel. A total of 6,103 doctoral students are enrolled at the two Federal Institutes of Technology. Of these, all who are employed in the ETH Domain are included under scientific personnel.

40

DEVELOPMENT

Real estateThe demand for available space continues to rise

The continued growth in the number of undergraduate and PhD students and research needs have been driving the demand for more available space. The main usable area of both Federal Institutes of Technology has been growing by an annual average of 2 % since 2008. One of the particular challenges faced in the management of education and research properties is maintaining the real estate portfolio in an increasingly difficult environment so that it continues to be attractive to the scientific community using these resources, possesses a long-term perspective and is operated sustainably, while using available funding in as efficient a manner as possible.

Successful teaching and research at an international level of excel-lence is preconditioned on a high standard of quality of structural and technical infrastructure. The growing demand for main usable area in general, and at both Federal Institutes of Technology in par-ticular, is due not least to the steady rise in the number of under-graduate and PhD students. Providing facilities in a timely man-ner and at economically attractive conditions is premised on the long-term strategic and sustainable planning and management of the real estate portfolio and of investments and follow-on costs.

The computed current value of the properties used in the ETH Domain – which are virtually exclusively owned by the Federal Government – remains at a constant high level (current value in 2015: 82,6 % of original value) – despite the pronounced age of some of the buildings and their intensive use. The ETH Domain also supports the objectives of the Federal Council with regard to the sustainable development of Switzerland by employing exem-plary technologies in the construction of buildings and facilities and in the systematic, step-by-step transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

All this is taking place in an increasingly difficult environment in view of Switzerland’s overall economy and the financial situa-tion of the Federal Government. Under certain conditions it makes sense to source supplementary funding for suitable construction projects from private investors, which is why the ETH Board pushed forward the standardisation of investor models and simplified the approval process in 2015. However, it is clear that a cautious ap -proach and clear-cut governance strategy will continue to take front and centre stage in the management of real estate in the ETH Domain in the future given the challenging economic environment and the complexity of projects.

Environment and energyETH Domain: Use of renewable energies on the increase

The reporting year 2015 was characterised by targeted actions for boosting energy efficiency and expanding the use of renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels. The institutions also imple-mented measures to benefit the environment, e.g. in the area of biodiversity.

The ETH Domain provides detailed accountings of its activities in the areas of the Environment and Energy in two publications of the Federal Government: in the annual report “The Confederation: Ex -emplary in Energy” published by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) 11 and in the report entitled “Resources and Environmental Management of the Swiss Federal Administration” (RUMBA) pub-lished by the Swiss Federal Department of the Environment, Trans-port, Energy and Communications (DETEC) 12. In “The Confederation: Exemplary in Energy” the ETH Domain is committed to implement-ing measures for improving energy efficiency. Under the RUMBA programme the ETH Domain reports every two years on the pro-gress achieved by the institutions with regard to resource and envi-ronmental management. The detailed reporting in the ETH Board’s annual report on the ETH Domain (see p. 142 ff.) supplements that of RUMBA since they are based on the same measurement criteria.

The first resource and energy consumption trends are available for 2015. However, precise information on consumption – includ-ing, for example, details of the energy mix used by electricity sup-pliers or of the analyses of measurements taken from building ser-vices systems – will not be released until sometime towards the middle of the second quarter of 2016. Table 44 (see p. 145) presents the validated key values for 2013 and 2014 that are available so far.

The energy consumption of the ETH Domain fell slightly by 0.9 GWh, or about 0.2 % in absolute figures, from 2013 to 2014. This tendency of past years and the trend for 2015 are remarkable given the continued increase in the number of students and staff. The steady increase in the use of renewable energies in the ETH Domain is also encouraging, their share already accounting for 32 % in 2014. At the same time CO2 emissions dropped to 57,966 tonnes in the same year.

11 Published in July 2015 by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE).12 Published in September 2015 by the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport,

Energy and Communications (DETEC).

Real estate, environment and energy


GovernanceThe Federal Government clearly defines the constitutional mission to operate the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in the ETH Act. It also forms the legal foundation for the operation of the four research institutes of the ETH Domain.

42

Governance

Structure and Leadership of the 44 ETH Domain

Members of the ETH Board 48

Monitoring and audit 50

Risk management 51

Personnel matters 53


GOVERNANCE | Structure and Leadership

Structure and Leadership of the ETH DomainThe mandate to operate the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology is anchored in the Federal Constitution. The ETH Act as the law concerning the ETH Domain defines this mandate. It also forms the legal foundation for the operation of the four research institutes of the ETH Domain.

The ETH Domain: legal basisThe Federal Act on the Federal Institutes of Technology of 4 October 1991 (ETH Act) defines the status, structure and mission of the ETH Domain. The ETH Domain is autonomous within the framework of the law, and it is affiliated to the responsible department pursu-ant to the ETH Act. Since the beginning of 2013 this has been the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER). The ETH Act also defines the autonomy of both Federal Institutes of Technology and the four research institutes. The ETH Board is the strategic governing and supervisory body of the ETH Domain.

Mission and leadershipAccording to the objective set out in Art. 2 of the ETH Act, both Federal Institutes and the four research institutes (institutions of the ETH Domain) shall:

—— educate students and specialists in scientific and technical fields and provide ongoing continuing education,

—— expand scientific knowledge through research,—— foster upcoming young scientists,—— render scientific and technical services,—— perform public relations activities,—— exploit their research findings.

The institutions of the ETH Domain discharge their mission in obser-vance of internationally recognised standards. They take account of Switzerland’s needs and promote international cooperation.

Performance mandate and fundingThe ETH Domain is managed according to an effect-oriented lead-ership model. The political authorities specify performance stand-ards and key financial parameters, while the ETH Board is respon-sible for implementing the specifications.

Political leadership is the responsibility of the Federal Parlia-ment and the Federal Council. The following elements serve as core leadership tools: the Federal resolution about the four-year fund-

ETH Domain

Research institutes

Federal institutes of Technology

ETH Board

ETH Zurich EPFL

over 15,000 students11,116 employees*

over 8,000 students5,776 employees*

PSI

2,018 employees*

WSL

496 employees*

Empa

942 employees*

Eawag

501 employees*

11 membersStaff: 50 employees*

* Employment contracts including doctoral students as of 31 December 2015

44

GOVERNANCE

ing for the ETH Domain, which is passed by Parliament and is based on the Federal Council’s Dispatch on the Promotion of Edu-cation, Research and Innovation; a Performance mandate between the Federal Council and the ETH Domain, which is tailored to the budget; and the annual credit allocation from Parliament. These political tools are supplemented by financial controlling, which provides information on the accounts and mission fulfilment. The common principles for management of companies and entities with close links to the Swiss Federation are presented in the cor-porate government reports of the Federal Council.

The ETH Board reports on its activities in various ways: In the Annual Report, it focuses on the achievement of the performance goals, and illustrates how the ETH Domain has used the annual federal financial contribution. Based on the ETH Board’s Annual Report, the Federal Council informs Parliament by issuing a Summary Report and a detailed report. In a self -evaluation report in each half of the performance period, the ETH Board indicates the extent to which the goals of the performance mandate have already been met. At the end of the performance period, the ETH Board produces a final report showing how the ETH Domain ful-filled the performance mandate during the whole of the perfor-mance period that has just ended. The final report must be approved by the Swiss Federal Assembly.

The self-evaluation report of the ETH Board serves as the basis for the evaluation of the ETH Domain by outside experts (peer review) which is to be carried out by the competent department. Along with the application for funding for the next performance period, the competent department informs Parliament on the status regarding the achievement of objectives in an interim report (Art. 34a ETH Act) produced during half of the performance period.

The ETH Board is responsible for the strategic leadership of the ETH Domain (see next section). The Executive Boards of both Fed-eral Institutes and the Directorates of the four research institutes are responsible for the operational leadership of the individual institutions of the ETH Domain. In accordance with Art. 4 (3) of the ETH Act, the institutions of the ETH Domain assume all responsi-bilities which are not assigned to the ETH Board by the ETH Act.

The ETH Board: Mission and operating principlesThe ETH Board defines the strategy of the ETH Domain within the framework of the performance mandate, represents the ETH Domain to the policy-makers and the government authorities at federal level, issues directives about the financial controlling, and carries out strategic controlling. It also approves the development plans of the institutions of the ETH Domain, oversees their implementa-tion and supervises the ETH Domain. It agrees targets with the insti-tutions and allocates Federal funding on the basis of the institu-tions’ budget requests. It submits requests to the Federal Council for the selection of the Presidents of both Federal Institutes of Technology and of the Directors of the four research institutes. It also appoints the other members of the Executive Boards of both Federal Institutes and of the Directorates of the four research insti-tutes. Finally, the ETH Board appoints professors at the request of the Presidents of both Federal Institutes of Technology.

The ETH Board performs its supervisory function through the use of the following tools: periodic reporting by the institutions on resources (finances, human resources, real estate), annual reporting by the institutions on the status of mission fulfilment with regard to agreed targets, annual discussions (known as dia-logues) between the ETH Board and the institutions as part of the

EPFLNeuchâtel

WSLBellinzona

ETH BoardBern

ETH ZurichBasel

PSIVilligen

EPFLFribourg

EmpaSt.Gallen

WSLDavos

ETH ZurichLugano

EPFL / WSL Lausanne

ETH Zurich / ETH Board Zurich

EPFL Geneva

EPFL / WSL Sion

Empa Thun

Eawag Kastanienbaum

Empa / Eawag Dübendorf

WSL Birmensdorf

ETH Domain in the regions


GOVERNANCE | Management bodies

President’s Office and members of the ETH Board

The ETH Board of the current term of office (2012–2016) is made up of the following members:

—— Dr Fritz Schiesser 1, President—— Prof. Dr Paul L. Herrling 2, Vice- President—— Prof. Dr Lino Guzzella 1

—— Prof. Dr Patrick Aebischer 1

—— Prof. Dr Joël Mesot 1

—— Beatrice Fasana—— Dr Dr h. c. Barbara Haering 2

—— Beth Krasna2

—— Jasmin Staiblin—— Dr Markus Stauffacher 1

—— Olivier Steimer

1 Member of the Executive Committee2 Member of the Audit Committee

ETH Zurich

—— Prof. Dr Lino Guzzella, President—— Prof. Dr Sarah Springmann, Rector—— Prof. Dr Detlef Günther, Vice- President Research and Corporate Relations

—— Dr Robert Perich, Vice -President Finance and Controlling

—— Prof. Dr Roman Boutellier, Vice -President Human Resources and Infrastructure (until Dec. 2015)

—— Prof. Dr Ulrich Weidmann, Vice -President Human Resources and Infrastructure (since Jan. 2016)

EPFL —— Prof. Dr Patrick Aebischer, President—— Prof. Dr Philippe Gillet, Vice- President for Academic Affairs

—— Prof. Dr Karl Aberer, Vice -President for Information Systems

—— Dr Adrienne Corboud Fumagalli, Vice -President for Innovation and Technology Transfer

—— Dr André Schneider, Vice- President for Resources and Infrastructure

PSI—— Prof. Dr Joël Mesot, Director—— Dr Kurt N. Clausen, Deputy Director—— Prof. Dr Alexander Wokaun, Deputy Director

—— Dr Peter Allenspach, Member of the Directorate

—— Prof. Dr Leonid Rivkin, Member of the Directorate

—— Prof. Dr Gebhard F. X. Schertler, Member of the Directorate

—— Prof. Dr Gabriel Aeppli, Member of the Directorate (since Jan. 2016)

WSL —— Prof. Dr Konrad Steffen, Director—— Dr Christoph Hegg, Deputy Director—— Prof. Dr Rolf Holderegger, Member of the Directorate

—— Dr Andreas Rigling, Member of the Directorate

—— Dr Jürg Schweizer, Member of the Directorate

—— Prof. Dr Niklaus Zimmermann, Member of the Directorate

Empa—— Prof. Dr Gian-Luca Bona, Director—— Dr Peter Richner, Deputy Director—— Dr Brigitte Buchmann, Member of the Directorate

—— Dr Alex Dommann, Member of the Directorate (since Sept. 2015)

—— Dr Pierangelo Gröning, Member of the Directorate

—— Dr Urs Leemann, Member of the Directorate

Eawag—— Prof. Dr Janet Hering, Director—— Prof. Dr Rik Eggen, Deputy Director—— Prof. Dr Jukka Jokela, Member of the Directorate

—— Prof. Dr Peter Reichert, Member of the Directorate (until July 2015)

—— Dr Christian Zurbrügg, Member of the Directorate (since Aug. 2015)

—— Dr Tove Larsen, Member of the Directorate

—— Prof. Dr Bernhard Wehrli, Member of the Directorate (until Feb. 2016)

—— Prof. Dr Alfred Johny Wüest, Member of the Directorate (since March 2015)

Status as at 31 December 2015 (unless stated otherwise)

strategic management accounting, and reports from the institu-tions within the framework of their risk management systems. Moreover, the ETH Board’s “Internal Audit” staff evaluate the risk management processes, internal control system and governance processes of the institutions and report on them to the ETH Board, in particular the ETH Board’s Audit Committee.

The rules of procedure of the ETH Board are published in the compilation of Federal law. The ETH Board usually meets five times a year for two days at a time, and arranges additional meeting days for dialogues with the institutions of the ETH Domain.

The President of the ETH Board is responsible for holding peri-odic individual discussions with the Presidents of the two Federal

Institutes of Technology and the Directors of the research institutes, who report on the strategic development of their institutions.

Discussions are held twice a year between the proprietor, rep-resented by the EAER and the Federal Department of Finance (FDF), and the ETH Board, represented by its President.

Audit and Executive CommitteesThe Audit Committee assists the ETH Board in financial supervision and in the monitoring of risk management, of the internal control system and of financial auditing activities. It is generally com-posed of three ETH Board members who are independent of the executive leadership, but may also involve additional people in a

46

GOVERNANCE

consultative capacity. The head of the Internal Audit department and the head of the Finance section of the ETH Board’s staff attend the meetings.

The Executive Committee assists the ETH Board in preparing for and following up on meetings, in appointing the heads of the institutions of the ETH Domain, and in fulfilling its duties as an employer. It also liaises with social partners. It is composed of the President of the ETH Board (chair), the Presidents of both Federal Institutes of Technology, the representative of the research insti-tutes and the delegate of the University Assemblies. The Executive Director and, if necessary, other members of the ETH Board’s staff attend the meetings.

Remuneration of the ETH BoardIn 2015, the President of the ETH Board received a salary of 280,046 CHF (the employer also paid social insurance contributions amounting to 84,875 CHF) for his 80 % FTE position. In addition, he received an entertainment allowance of 5,000 CHF. The Presi-dent is insured by the Swiss Federal Pension Fund, the rules of which determine the employer’s contribution. The other six mem-bers of the ETH Board who are not employees of one of the insti-tutions of the ETH Domain each received a lump sum of 20,000 CHF in 2015. Additional fees for their work at meetings of the ETH Board amounting to a total of 47,000 CHF were paid, and the actual expenses incurred were reimbursed in accordance with the expenses regulations. Those members of the ETH Board who are employees of one of the institutions of the ETH Domain do not receive addi-tional fees for their activities on the ETH Board. For the scope of a 60 % FTE position, the ETH Board covers the wage and social costs incurred by ETH Zurich for the representative of the University Assem-blies of both Federal Institutes of Technology, in order to guaran-tee this representative’s independence from any institution.

Reporting and information policyThe law and the performance mandate direct that the ETH Board has to report periodically about the achievement of objectives, and the state of the properties, the staff and the finances. For this the ETH Board submits an annual report to the Swiss Federal Council, which – after the latter has approved it – also serves as additional documentation for the ratification of the financial accounts in the Swiss Parliament and as an instrument of com-munication for the public.

Its statutory role makes the ETH Board an interface between science, politics and society. Within its rules of procedure, the ETH Board undertakes to ensure honest, appropriate and transparent communication for the benefit of society and aims to explain its decisions and reinforce the role and reputation of the ETH Domain. Responsibility for this resides with the President. The key commu-nication tools are the ETH Board’s annual report to the Federal Government, the website www.ethboard.ch, targeted media relations work and the case -by -case illumination of relevant facts and positions, particularly regarding policies on education, research and innovation.

Appeals authority

ETH Internal Appeals CommissionThe ETH Internal Appeals Commission reports to the ETH Board and decides on appeals against rulings made by bodies of the institu-tions of the ETH Domain. It is an independent judicial authority based in Bern and is administratively assigned to the ETH Board, to which it reports. Appeals mainly relate to matters arising from legislation on human resources and higher education. Appeals against the rulings of the ETH Internal Appeals Commission can be made to the Federal Administrative Court.

—— Prof. Dr Hansjörg Peter, President—— Beatrice Susanne Vogt, Vice -President—— Astrid Forster, Member (until Dec. 2015)—— Consuelo Antille, Member—— Jannick Griner, Member (until Dec. 2015)—— Jonas Philippe, Member (since Jan. 2016)—— Dr sc. nat. Dieter Ramseier (since Jan. 2016)—— Yolanda Schärli, Member and Head of the commission secretariat

—— Prof. Dr em. Rodolphe Schlaepfer, Member

ETH Board support

Internal AuditThe ETH Board employs Internal Audit staff (as per Art. 35a of the ETH Act), who report directly to the President of the ETH Board.

—— Patrick Graber, Head

Staff of the ETH BoardThe ETH Board’s staff support it in fulfilling its legal mandate, particularly regarding strategic leadership, supervision, promotion of cooperation in the ETH Domain and liaising with the Federal authorities.

Executive Team—— Dr Michael Käppeli, Executive Director—— PD Dr Kurt Baltensperger, Science—— Alex Biscaro, Communication—— Dr Dieter Künzli, Finance and Human Resources (incl. Human Resources since July 2015)

—— Dr Urs Müller, Legal Services—— Michael Quetting, Real Estate—— Martin Sommer, Human Resources (until June 2015)


GOVERNANCE | Members of the ETH Board

Fritz Schiesser * 1954, Swiss citizen, Dr iur.President of the ETH Board (80 %) and Chairman of the Executive Committee since 2008.Lawyer at RHS & Partner solicitors and notaries since 1998 (part -time)

Fritz Schiesser gained a doctorate in law at the University of Zurich and has been a lawyer and notary in the Canton of Glarus since 1998. From 1990 to 2007, he was a member of the Swiss Council of States, where he served as President from 2003 to 2004, and he was President of the Foundation Board of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) from 1999 to 2007. Today Fritz Schiesser is a member of the Foundation Board / Board of Directors of the SNSF, and member of the board at the Sandoz Family Foundation, member of the Development Board of Glarus Süd, Proto Chemicals, Schweizerische Mobiliar and Hefti AG. He is also member of the Foundation Board of the think tank Avenir Suisse, the Swiss Science Center Technorama in Winterthur, and the Swiss Innovation Park.

Barbara Haering* 1953, Swiss and Canadian citizen, Dr sc. nat., Dr h.c. sc. pol.Member of the ETH Board and of the Audit Committee since 2008.President of the Board of Directors of econcept AG.

Barbara Haering studied natural sciences and obtained a doctorate in spatial planning at ETH Zurich in 1996. From 1979 to 1983, she was a member of the Cantonal Council of Zurich and she served on the Swiss National Council from 1990 to 2007. Barbara Haering is President of the Board of Directors of econcept AG and member of the Board of Directors of Ernst Schweizer AG (metal construction). She is also member of the high level group “Research, Innovation, Science Expertise” (RISE) of the European Commission, and is the President of the Foundation Board of the Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration of the University of Lausanne, as well as the Geneva Internation-al Centre for Humanitarian Demining. Moreover, she is member of the Foundation Board of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Board of Governors of Dresden University of Technology, and the Conseil d’orientation stratégique of the University of Geneva.

Paul L. Herrling* 1946, Swiss citizen, Prof. Dr phil.Member of the ETH Board since 2004, Vice-President since 2008 and member of the Audit Committee since 2012.Chair Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases since 2012.

Paul L. Herrling obtained a doctorate in natural sciences at the University of Zurich. From 1996 to 2002 he headed the research of Novartis Pharma and from 2002 to 2010 the group research at Novartis International. Then he led the Novartis Institutes for Developing World Medical Research until the end of 2011. At the University of Basel, he has been professor of drug discovery science since 2001 and member of the University Council since 2007. He is on the Board of Directors of Evotec AG, on Boards of Trustees in the Novartis Group and in various foundations.

Beth Krasna* 1953, Swiss and US citizen, Dipl. Ing.Member of the ETH Board since 2003 and President of the Audit Committee since 2008.Independent member of the Board of Directors.

Beth Krasna has a degree in chemical engineering from ETH Zurich and a Master’s degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, USA). She is member of the Board of Directors of Coop, and is also on the Boards of Raymond Weil AG, Symbiotics SA and Alcosuisse. Additionally, she is Vice-President of the Foundation Board of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, and member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences.

Lino Guzzella* 1957, Swiss citizen, Prof. Dr sc. techn.Member of the ETH Board and of the Executive Committee since 2015.President of ETH Zurich since 2015.

Lino Guzzella obtained a doctorate in mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich. After gaining industrial experience in research and development at Sulzer in Winterthur and Hilti in Schaan (Liechtenstein), in 1993 he was appointed assistant professor at the Depart-ment of Mechanical and Process Engineering of ETH Zurich. Since 1999 he has been a full professor of Thermotronics. From 2001 to 2003 he headed the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering. Lino Guzzella served as Rector of the University in the period from mid-2012 until the end of 2014. Lino Guzzella is a member of the Board of Directors of Kistler Holding and Kistler Instrumente AG. He is also a member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences, a member of the Foundation Board of Swiss Innovation Park, and works on various international and national research committees.

Jasmin Staiblin* 1970, German citizen, Dipl. Ing.Member of the ETH Board since 2012.CEO of Alpiq Holding Ltd. since 2013.

Jasmin Staiblin studied Electrical Engineering and Physics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany) and at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (Sweden). After joining the ABB Corporate Research Center in Dättwil as a research assistant in 1997, she advanced through various positions at ABB. From 2006 until 2012 she was Country Manager and President of the Executive Board at ABB Schweiz. Since 2013 she has been CEO of the energy company Alpiq Holding Ltd. She is also member of the Board of Directors of Georg Fischer AG and Rolls-Royce plc., as well as being Vice-President of swisselectric, and she is on the Board of economiesuisse.

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GOVERNANCE

Patrick Aebischer* 1954, Swiss citizen, Prof. Dr med.Member of the ETH Board since 2004 and of the Executive Committee since 2008.President of the EPFL since 2000.

Patrick Aebischer studied medicine and neurosciences at the universities of Fribourg and Geneva. He then worked as a professor at Brown University (Rhode Island, USA). In 1999, the Federal Council elected him President of EPFL. Patrick Aebischer conducts research on the molecular mechanisms of neuro-degenerative diseases. He is a member of the respective Boards of Directors of the Lonza Group, Nestlé, and Amazentis, a biotechnology start-up company that he founded. He is also a member of various scientific advisory bodies, such as the Advisory Board Novartis Venture Fund (as Chairman), and the Singapore International Advisory Committee for Biomedical Sciences.

Markus Stauffacher* 1952, Swiss citizen, Dr phil.Member of the ETH Board since 2007 and of the Executive Committee since 2008.Representative of the University Assemblies of ETH Zurich and EPFL.Senior Scientist at the ETH Zurich.

Markus Stauffacher studied natural sciences at the University of Basel and he obtained a doctorate in zoology at the University of Bern in 1988. This recipient of prestigious research prizes, and three time winner of the Golden Owl teaching award, has been a senior scientist at ETH Zurich since 1994. From 1996 to 2011 he was also responsible for specialist areas at the University of Zurich’s Vetsuisse Faculty. He has been an animal protection expert on the Council of Europe since 1997, and was the ETH Zurich Executive Board’s animal welfare delegate from 2010–2014.

Joël Mesot * 1964, Swiss citizen, Prof. Dr sc. nat.Member of the ETH Board and of the Executive Committee since 2010 (repre-sentative of the research institutes).Director of PSI since 2008, dual Professor at ETH Zurich/EPFL since 2008.

Joël Mesot studied physics at ETH Zurich, obtaining a doctorate in solid state physics in 1992. In 2002 he was awarded the Latsis Prize of ETH Zurich. After residing abroad, he came to the ETH Zurich and joined PSI, where he became head of the Laboratory for Neutron Scattering in 2004. He was elected Director of the PSI in 2007. Joël Mesot is a senator of the Helmholtz Associa-tion of German Research Centres, a member of the board of the European Association of National Research Facilities (ERF), and member of various non- European expert committees. Additionally, he is second Vice-President of the Marcel-Benoist Foundation Board, member of the Foundation Board of the grant-making foundation Technopark Aargau, and the Swiss Innovation Park, as well as member of the Board of Directors of PARK innovAARE AG.

Olivier Steimer* 1955, Swiss citizen, Master’s degree in law Member of the ETH Board since 2012.Chairman of the Board of Directors of Banque Cantonale Vaudoise since 2002.

Olivier Steimer studied jurisprudence at the University of Lausanne. He is Vice -Chairman of the Bank Council of the Swiss National Bank. He is chairman of the Foundation Board of the Swiss Finance Institute, and among the various positions he holds, he is member of the Board of Directors of Chupp Ltd in Zurich and of Allreal Holding AG in Baar. He also is Vice -President of the Foundation Board of the think tank Avenir Suisse, and a member of the Executive Committee at economiesuisse.

Beatrice Fasana* 1969, Swiss citizen, Dipl. Ing. LmMember of the ETH Board since 2012.Managing Director at Sandro Vanini SA since 2013.

Beatrice Fasana studied food sciences at ETH Zurich. After a traineeship at the Nestlé Research and Development Center in New Milford (Connecticut, USA), she worked in various leadership roles for several large food and beverage production companies in Switzerland, including Chocolat Frey and Coca Cola. Until the end of 2012, she ran her own company BeFood Consulting SA. Since 2013 she has held the position of Managing Director at Sandro Vanini SA, a company of the Haecky Group.


GOVERNANCE | Monitoring and audit

Monitoring and audit

Internal control systemThe institutions of the ETH Domain have an internal control sys-tem, which was introduced in line with Federal regulations. The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) can thus audit the accounting system and finance -related business processes using the same methods as for other Federal institutions or private sector enter-prises of comparable size.

Internal AuditThe Internal Audit department conducts internal audits for the institutions of the ETH Domain (Art. 35a bis Para. 1 of the ETH Act and Art. 11 of the Federal Audit Office Act). This department reports directly to the President of the ETH Board and its activities are supervised by the Audit Committee. The Internal Audit department provides independent, objective auditing services and supports the ETH Domain in achieving its aims. It is also responsible for coordi-nating and supporting the external audits of the ETH Domain.

AuditorsThe SFAO performs external auditing duties for the ETH Domain (Art. 35a bis Para. 3 of the ETH Act). In 2015, it audited the financial statements of the two Federal Institutes as well as the consoli-dated financial statements of the ETH Domain. The audit of the research institutes it performed jointly with the firm Pricewater-houseCoopers. The SFAO’s audit report on the consolidated balance sheet of the ETH Domain comprises a confirmation report and an explanatory report (comprehensive report), which was discussed with representatives of the SFAO in the Audit Committee of the ETH Board. In 2015 the SFAO invoiced the ETH Board for the total amount of 427,489 CHF (236,585 CHF for the 2014 annual review and 190,904 CHF for the reviews of the second part of the 2014 new accounting standard restatement).

In 2015, in its capacity as the highest financial supervisory body of the Federal Government, the SFAO inspected the effectiveness of the ETH Board’s management of the ETH Domain. In its review report of 12 October 2015, the SFAO expressed a generally positive assessment of the management of the ETH Domain by the ETH Board. However, it also identified some potential for improve-ment and development in the ETH Board, which serves as a link between the institutions of the ETH Domain and the Federal Gov-ernment and politics. Further, it drew up three recommendations for the ETH Board – in the areas of composition and functioning of the bodies, approval procedures for secondary duties of manage-ment personnel, and reduction in administrative outlay of the institutions. Moreover, from the point of view of SFAO one should strive after the long-term goal of a fully independent ETH Domain, which is only bound to the Federal Government by the strategic objectives and the generally allocated funds. Within the Domain, the purely administrative tasks should be grouped together and unified.

50

GOVERNANCERisk management

The two Federal Institutes of Technology and the four research institutes each have a procedure for risk management, based on the regulations of the ETH Board, which covers the identification and evaluation of the individual risks as well as strategies for their control and an appropriate supervision. Each institute has a risk manager and/or risk committee to coordinate the risk manage-ment activities and direct the risk management process.

The six institutions have given a detailed description of the risks identified and their potential damages in a risk catalogue, and assessed them under the two aspects: probability of occur-rence and financial consequences (possible level of damages). Additionally, special consideration is given to the possible effect a risk could have on the reputation. The institutions update their individual risk catalogues at least once a year, taking into account new developments and changes in the risk situation.

As part of their annual reporting to the ETH Board as the man-aging and supervisory body of the ETH Domain, the institutions provide information about their core risks, in particular their status, scope and possible consequences. Core risks are those that could lead to significant financial consequences and that have an above-average probability of occurrence. They directly endanger the fulfilment of the legal duties of the respective institution. The reports on the core risks are then submitted to the government department responsible for the ETH Domain. Moreover, the ETH Board must be informed directly and promptly by the institu-tions about any extraordinary changes in risk or extraordinary damage events.

The individual profile of each institution is reflected in their risk catalogues. Thus the two Federal Institutes have different core risks than the four research institutes. The particular orientation and size of the institution also have an effect on the risks. The assessment of the same risk may therefore vary from university to university and from research institute to research institute.

The most important core risks for the ETH Domain indicated in the 2015 reports are:

—— Negative developments in funding (ERI Dispatch 2017–2020, stabilisation programme 2017–2019).

—— Violation of commercial secrecy (loss of data and unauthorised publication of confidential data).

—— Inadequate governance (excessive financial, thematic or timing obligations of the institutions; loss of control and ability to supervise caused by setting up external structures).

—— Violations against scientific integrity and good scientific practice (fraud/forgery in research; manipulation of measurement results and data; plagiarism).

—— The Human Brain Project (extensive project management with 112 partner institutions; financial and IT-related risks; scientific results).

—— Restrictive political and legal circumstances (threatened termination of the bilateral agreements Switzerland-EU; exclusion from EU research programmes; increased difficulties in implementing the performance mandate; difficulty in recruiting top-calibre staff).

—— Obligations/liability (lack of proper overview of long-term financial obligations).

—— Unity/identity of the institution, taking into account the external sites (loss of unity and coherence of the institution; more complicated coordination of operations due to autonomy of the faculties; heightened risk due to setting up satellites outside the campus).

—— SwissTech Convention Center (where the strategic focus is not compatible with the reality of the STCC).

—— Violence and/or threats against persons (incl. riots).

The risk situation and risk managementThe six institutions of the ETH Domain are responsible for their risk management, within the framework of the directives issued by the ETH Board, while exercising the autonomy that is anchored in the ETH Act. Therefore the presidents of the ETH Zurich and EPFL, and the directors of the research institutes, bear the top-level responsibility for risk management in their institutions.

Geschäftsbericht 2015 über den ETH-Bereich 51

Despite a careful risk management it cannot be ruled out that an institution may be affected by a damage event which endan-gers the fulfilment of its duties anchored in the law. In such a case the ETH Board will submit a request to the competent government department, for the attention of the Federal Council, to modify the performance mandate or increase the federal financial contri-bution, in accordance with Art. 30 (2) of the Ordinance on Finance and Accounting of the ETH Domain of 5 December 2014. When assessing this risk, which is subsidiary for the Federal Government, as a contingent liability under Art. 19 (1) of the Government Liabil-ity Act, the insurance policies taken out by the institutions of the ETH Domain play an important role.

The principles of risk management require that the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the four research institutes take out insurance against possible damages, subsidiary to other meas-

ures, where such insurance is feasible and the funding is suffi-cient for it. Each institution is itself responsible for taking out insurance cover and administering its insurance portfolio. When doing this, they have to take into account their specific risk situ-ation, and strive for an appropriate cost/benefit ratio as well as compliance with the federal regulations governing public sector procurement. These insurance policies must meet the standards usual for the Swiss insurance market. They must be concluded with an insurance institution that is licensed in Switzerland. Therefore the institutions have taken out property and employers’ liability insurance policies as well as lesser insurance policies for specific risks. The properties owned by the Federal Government are not insured, because the Confederation follows a strategy of self- insurance.

GOVERNANCE | Risk management

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GOVERNANCE

Personnel matters of the Federal Council

At the request of the ETH Board, on 18 February 2015, the Federal Council re-elected the President of EPFL, Prof. Dr Patrick Aebischer, for a further term until 31 December 2016. Patrick Aebischer had earlier informed the ETH Board that he intended to resign from the President’s Office at the end of 2016 after more than 15 years at the helm of the university. The ETH Board started the procedure to find a successor, and in summer 2015 it advertised the post both nationally and internationally. On 24 February 2016, the Federal Council appointed Prof. Dr Martin Vetterli, professor at EPFL and President of the National Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), as the new President of EPFL as from 1 January 2017. The Federal Council thus followed the unanimous proposal submitted by the ETH Board.

Personnel matters of the ETH Board

Appointment to the Executive Board of ETH ZurichAt the request of Prof. Dr Lino Guzzella, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed Prof. Dr Ulrich Weidmann (*1963) to succeed Roman Boutellier as new member of the Executive Board and Vice-President Human Resources and Infrastructure as of 1 January 2016. Ulrich Weidmann has been director of the Department of Civil, Environment and Geomatic Engineering since 2013; prior to that he served as deputy director of this department for four years. Since 1 June 2004 he has been a full professor for Transportation Systems at ETH Zurich, and since then he has been involved as expert in several projects in the field of railway regulation and the development of infrastructure, also outside the university.

Ulrich Weidmann succeeded Prof. Dr Roman Boutellier, who retired at the end of 2015. During his seven years in office as a member of the Executive Board Roman Boutellier contributed greatly to the strengthening of the ETH in the strategically essen-tial area of real estate, human resources and IT infrastructure, and to developing its position as an internationally top-ranking uni-versity.

Appointment to the Executive Board of PSIAt the request of the Director of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Prof. Dr Joël Mesot, the ETH Board appointed Prof. Dr Gabriel Aeppli (*1956) as new member of the Directorate as of 1 January 2016. Gabriel Aeppli has been working at PSI since April 2014 as Head of Research Synchrotron Radiation and Nanotechnology. Addition-ally, the international award-winning solid-state physicist holds a professorship at ETH Zurich and at EPFL. In 2002 he set up the London Centre for Nanotechnology, a leading science and tech-nology centre, and in 2007 he was co-founder of a consultancy firm for biomedicine and nanotechnology.

Appointment to the Directorate of EmpaAt the request of the Director of Empa, Prof. Dr Gian-Luca Bona, the ETH Board appointed Dr Alex Dommann (*1958) as new mem-ber of the Directorate as of 1 October 2015. Since summer 2013, Alex Dommann has headed the department “Materials meet Life”, and the Centre of Competence in Research “Health and Performance”. He has also successfully set up and established the new centre for X-ray analysis.

Appointment to the Directorate of EawagAt the request of the Director of Empa, Prof. Dr Janet Hering, the ETH Board appointed Dr Christian Zurbrügg (*1962) as new member of the Directorate. On 1 August 2015 Christian Zurbrügg succeeded the former incumbent Prof. Dr Peter Reichert, who resigned from his post at the end of July 2015. Christian Zurbrügg is Senior Scien-tist at Eawag and since 2004 director of the Department of Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries. He is a lecturer at ETH Zurich, and assists the teaching work at other universities and universities of applied sciences. At EPFL he coordinates the Mas-sive Open Online Course series of Eawag “WASH in Developing Countries”.

Election of the ETH Internal Appeals CommissionWith a view to the new term of office 2016–2019, the ETH Board carried out the re-election of the ETH Internal Appeals Commission at the end of 2015. The ETH Internal Appeals Commission is a spe-cial first-instance administrative court, which decides on appeals against rulings made by bodies of the institutions of the ETH Domain. In addition to the former President Prof. Dr Hansjörg Peter, four previous members and now also the biologist Dr sc. nat. Dieter Ramseier and ETH Zurich student Jonas Philippe have been appointed to serve on the Commission. Commission members Astrid Forster and Jannick Griner stepped down at the end of 2015.

ETH Domain Pension FundIn September 2015 the ETH Board appointed a substitute for an employer representative in the equal representation body of the ETH Domain Pension Fund, and appointed Kurt Zurbuchen of ETH Zurich with immediate effect to be the successor of Piero Cereghetti, who retired.

Professorial mattersRegarding the appointment of professors please see the section Personnel key figures, p. 135.

Personnel matters

Geschäftsbericht 2015 über den ETH-Bereich 53

Research infrastructures and large- scale research projects

“The ETH Domain operates existing research infrastructure of national importance, runs projects under the ‘Swiss Road map for Research Infrastructure’ and, if its bid is successful, will participate in European Flagship projects.” → p. 76

Research“The ETH Domain is further strengthening its leading position in international research.” → p. 62

Energy research → p. 66

Knowledge and techno - logy transfer (KTT)“In order to reinforce Switzerland’s innovative strength and competitive-ness, the ETH Domain will promote the transfer of its insights and competencies to society and the economy.” → p. 70

Swiss Innovation Park → p. 73

Strategic goals

1 2 3 4Teaching“The ETH Domain offers students an attractive education that is first rate by any international standards.” → p. 56

Education in human medicine → p. 59

Performance mandateThe performance mandate sets out the Swiss Federal Council’s targets and sub-targets for the ETH Domain for the period from 2013 to 2016. As well as stating strategic goals, it includes financial, infrastructural and personnel-related objectives.

54

Financial and infrastructural objectives

8Staff objectives

10 9Real estate management“The ETH Domain will coordinate the management of properties and real estate and ensure that both value and functionality are maintained.” → p. 100

Sources of financing and allocation of funds“The ETH Domain will enhance its financing basis and efficiently deploy the available funds.” → p. 96

Working conditions, equal opportunities and young scientific talent“The ETH Domain creates attractive and family- friendly working conditions, supports equal opportunities and trains young scientists.” → p. 103

Equality of opportunity → p. 106

Performance mandate

Strategic goals

5 6 7National cooperation“The ETH Domain will ensure greater cooperation within both the Domain and the Swiss higher education landscape.” → p. 84

Centres of Competence and strategic initiatives → p. 86

International positioning and cooperation

“The ETH Domain will continue to expand its cooperation and networking in teaching and research with the best institutions in the world and strengthen its international profile.” → p. 80

Role in society and national tasks“The ETH Domain maintains a dialogue with society and performs tasks in the national interest.” → p. 90

National tasks → p. 92


PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 1 | Teaching

The ETH Board’s perspective

Both Federal Institutes of Technology offer first-class research-based teaching. The attractive range of courses on offer are extremely popular, with both schools exhibiting an increase in the enrolment of undergraduate and PhD students by 2.9 % in 2015. The number of new admissions to the Bachelor’s degree course rose again after a slight decline in 2014, slightly exceeding the high mark in 2013.

The curricula are continuously adapted in line with scientific, social and economic developments and requirements. Of par-ticular significance are the proposed medical training courses at both Federal Institutes of Technology in collaboration with the cantonal universities and university hospitals. New degree courses with a pronounced interdisciplinary focus have been introduced in the currently highly topical areas of digital sciences and at the interface of science, technology and political policy- making. Alongside the continued development of content, the teaching methodology is being further developed, taking the needs of students into account. The offerings are rounded off by online courses which are integrated with lectures on campus or are primarily targeted to a wider range of interest groups outside of the campus.

The research institutes supplement the course offerings of the universities in their specific areas and contribute to supervising Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD theses. With their well-attended continuing education programmes in particular they again made a significant contribution in 2015 to society and the economy.

ETH Zurich3,246 young men and women were newly admitted to one of the 23 Bachelor’s programmes of ETH Zurich in the autumn semester of 2015 (+3.5 %). At 32.2 % the percentage of women among the new admissions rose slightly (2014: 30.6 %). By contrast, the propor-tion of foreign students among the newly admitted Bachelor’s students (excluding visiting and exchange students) fell slightly and, at 10.9 %, is at the lowest level of the past few years. Mechan-ical Engineering is still by far the most popular Bachelor’s degree course, with 509 new students enrolling on the course, followed by Architecture with 317 new students at the Bachelor’s level.

The Master’s degree course of ETH Zurich is extremely popular among its own Bachelor’s graduates and those of other institu-

tions of higher learning. About 95 % of the Bachelor’s degree graduates at ETH Zurich go on to do their Master’s at this univer-sity. Approx. 60 % (1,497) of the 2,375 new students who enrolled on Master’s programmes in 2015 had obtained a Bachelor’s degree from ETH Zurich. Some 3,000 applied for admission to the Master’s programme. 1,399 (47 %) were accepted, and 894 (64 %) of these have started their course. The total number of undergraduate and PhD students at ETH Zurich again increased slightly to 19,233 (+ 3.3 %) in 2015.

ETH Zurich has been offering the Master’s course on Science, Technology and Policy since the autumn term of 2015. The purpose of this course is to provide students with basic training in archi-tecture and the natural and engineering sciences and thus give them the skills to support and shape decision-making processes in policy-making, business and society at large. This Master’s degree programme is offered by the institute of the same name, the institute uniting professors from various disciplines and belonging to the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences. The new degree programme dovetails optimally with ETH Zurich’s Critical Thinking Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to foster the ability of its students to engage in reflective thought and cultivate an independent mind (see p. 10).

In parallel with the Università della Svizzera italiana, the Uni-versity of Zurich, the Zurich University Teaching Hospital and the University of Basel, ETH Zurich launched the creation of a new Bachelor’s programme in Medicine in 2015, to start in the autumn term of 2017. This programme, which takes into account the devel-opments in medical technology, biomedicine and medical infor-matics, enhances diversity in the training of medical doctors and significantly contributes towards alleviating the shortage of doctors in Switzerland. The Bachelor’s degree in Medicine of ETH Zurich will qualify the student for a Master’s degree course in Medicine at one of the partner universities as well as for at least one Master’s degree course at ETH Zurich.

The Master’s degree course in Applied Geophysics jointly offered by ETH Zurich, TU Delft and RWTH Aachen celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2015. This course is currently one of the most important education programmes in this area in Europe. The Department of Management, Technology and Economics (D-MTEC) of ETH Zurich also celebrated its tenth anniversary. Its proximity to technology lends its degree courses a unique profile throughout Europe, in addition to giving its graduates a significant competi-tive advantage in the labour market.

ETH Zurich is endeavouring to foster continuing academic edu-cation even more, which is why it created the post of Prorector for Continuing Education in 2015. The comprehensive continuing edu-cation programme was expanded in 2015 by the addition of a Master of Advanced Studies in Architecture and Digital Fabrication, the product of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) “Digital Fabrication”.

In the area of online courses, ETH Zurich has been experiment-ing during the past couple of years with MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and with TORQUEs (Tiny, Open-with-Restrictions courses focused on Quality and Effectiveness). The latter are based

1 “The ETH Domain offers students an attractive education that is first rate by any international standards.”

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on a close link between independent study and classroom instruc-tion and thus are related to a course unit of ETH Zurich. Upon the completion of the pilot phase the Executive Board of ETH Zurich decided in 2015 to continue fostering both formats, with TORQUEs primarily serving to further develop active learning in the class-room and MOOCs serving as a walking advertisement of ETH Zurich’s teaching prowess for the outside world. During the reporting year, a total of six MOOCs with over 55,000 participants and eight TORQUEs were offered.

EPFLWith a total of 10,124 enrolled undergraduate and PhD students, the student population topped the symbolic 10,000 mark for the first time in the autumn term of 2015. After fewer students with foreign education qualifications embarked upon a Bachelor’s course in 2014 on account of a change in the admissions requirements, the number of new first-year Bachelor’s students rose again to 1,714 in 2015 (14 % more than 2014). The first-year Bachelor’s courses for Mechanical Engineering (46 %) and Environmental Engineer-ing (40 %) exhibited the strongest growth. For the first time, Mechanical Engineering and Micro-engineering were the fields with the most first-year students.

The number of registrations in MOOCs since 2012 reached one million (with 212,000 active participants and 56,000 who have successfully completed the course). These freely accessible online courses are integrated in the lecture programme on campus. The annual award given by students for the best instructor went to two lecturers who were actively involved in the conceptual design of the MOOCs.

At the beginning of the 2015/2016 academic year, the College of Management of Technology (CDM) launched the new minor in “Systems Engineering”, consisting of modules in various subjects.

The College of Humanities (CDH) revised its course catalogue of curricula and developed the Digital Humanities degree, designed to provide for a convergence of the engineering sciences and the humanities. The introductory Global Issues lectures – which create a bridge between the natural and engineering sciences on the one hand and the humanities and social sciences on the other – will continue to be offered. The China Hardware Innovation Camp was also created: it enables students to work in interdisciplinary teams, for example to develop a baby bottle that measures the milk tem-perature and links up to a mobile phone, which is then manu-factured in China (see p. 60).

The Teaching Support Centre (CAPE) developed its continuing education catalogue in 2015 for undergraduate and PhD students working as teaching assistants, expanding its existing range of programmes for lecturers.

As to quality assurance, the definition of study programmes based on learning objectives was concluded in 2015, a quality manual was provided for the improved integration of academic and advisory bodies in the individual departments, and new guidelines were adopted for improving the quality and raising the status of teaching.

EPFL continues to encourage its students to gain experience abroad at excellent partner institutions of higher learning. In the 2014/2015 academic year, 452 EPFL students were able to take part in an exchange programme (24 students more than in 2013). Thanks to EPFL’s international position, 522 visiting and exchange students pursued studies there, 77 % of them coming from Europe. In addition, almost 150 EPFL undergraduate and PhD students received a special grant from the ETH Board for fostering national mobility in the ETH Domain.

Based on the recommendations that were formulated in the context of the audit of the EPFL-UNIL Continuing Education Foun-dation conducted in 2014, EPFL launched new continuing educa-tion programmes. In particular, an alumni survey showed that there was strong demand for traditional courses and events in several areas. Continuing education activities were initiated in these areas, e.g. maintenance of large databases and the subject of renewable energies. The survey also prompted offerings in the form of “Blended learning”, i.e. combining online courses and classroom instruction (face-to-face events).

PSIThe PSI provides complementary and practice-oriented teaching services within and outside of the ETH Domain so as to substan-tially assist in the education and training of the next generation of young scientists. Over 100 scientists were engaged in teaching at various institutions of higher learning in Switzerland and abroad in 2015, in the process providing 5,500 hours of instruction. For this they were assisted by the approx. 300 doctoral students and over 150 postdoc students of the PSI. Active integration in the aca-demic system is institutionalised by virtue of appointments of PSI’s researchers to professorships at Swiss institutions of higher learning, resulting in a win-win partnership for both sides. The students benefit from the direct link to PSI’s research areas and the access to large-scale research facilities; in return the PSI is afforded the opportunity to include the best students in its research activities by way of their Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD the-ses. In 2015 more than 140 Bachelor’s and Master’s theses were supervised at the PSI.

The user statistics of PSI’s SLS (Swiss Light Source), SINQ (Swiss Spallation Neutron Source) and SµS (Swiss Muon Source) large-scale research facilities are not only evidence of their attractive-ness for users from the professional practice, but also of the pro-nounced educational character of these facilities since approx. two-thirds of all users are upcoming young scientists (24 % post-doc students, 33 % doctoral students, 8 % Master’s students).

In addition to the annual summer schools (see p. 60), the PSI also took part in the 25th HERCULES European School 13 for the culti-vation of young scientists in 2015. This one-month course is tar-geted to doctoral and postdoc students of European universities and research institutes, and consists of a series of lectures and expert presentations followed by work placements at various European synchrotron and neutron sources. The PSI organised a

13 hercules-school.eu


PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 1 | Teaching

EmpaApart from research and technology transfer, providing instruction is one of Empa’s core tasks. In 2015, the Empa staff spent almost 3,800 hours teaching at universities in Switzerland and abroad. The majority of these hours, approx. 2,400, take place at the two Federal Institutes of Technology, where 14 Empa researchers also hold professorships.

Another important contribution to education is made in the form of supervising just under 130 Master’s and Bachelor’s stu-dents and more than 210 doctoral students. The doctoral pro-gramme at Empa possesses a pronounced interdisciplinary focus: soft skills are taught in various courses such as the creation of scientific posters, drafting project proposals, intercultural com-munication, language courses, to name only a few. Empa is also an active provider of non-university specialist training and con-tinuing education. Last year more than 6,000 people took part in the over 120 courses and events organised by the Empa Academy.

EawagTeaching at Eawag extends beyond the ETH Domain and is based on the institute’s own latest research, covering special subject areas and addressing in particular the various different uses of water and how they affect the ecosystem. Researchers from Eawag gave a total of over 3,000 lecture sessions at the two Federal Insti-tutes of Technology in 2015, thus contributing significantly to edu-cation in environmental systems and environmental engineering sciences. They also gave over 1,000 hours of instruction at other institutes of higher education – mainly at the cantonal universi-ties. Eawag researchers supervised more than 140 doctoral stu-dents, around 100 of whom were employed at Eawag, as well as over 130 Bachelor’s and Master’s degree theses. Eawag maintains partnerships with cantonal universities in Bern (aquatic ecology and social sciences), Neuchâtel (hydrogeology), Zurich (biodiver-sity and environmental psychology), St.Gallen (innovation research), and Basel (water resources and regulation). Eawag is in the process of strengthening collaboration with the universities of applied sciences at selected sites in a targeted manner. In 2015 Eawag also expanded its offerings of freely accessible MOOCs in cooperation with EPFL. Another mainstay of Eawag’s teaching activities is its internationally oriented summer schools, the latest being a course on Environmental Systems Analysis held in Dübendorf in 2015.

one-week intensive practical training for a total of 20 upcoming young physicists, chemists and biologists in small groups at the SLS (Swiss Light Source).

WSLIn 2015 WSL staff taught a total of 3,134 hours at universities and other institutions of higher learning, a figure comparable to pre-vious years: the largest share of these hours – about half – took place in the ETH Domain (ETH Zurich and EPFL: 1,752), 886 at Swiss universities and universities of applied sciences, and the rest at institutions of higher learning outside of Switzerland. These teaching sessions are primarily given at the Master’s, PhD and continuing education level in specialist fields that supplement the educational offerings of the institutions of higher learning. Having a direct line to students and doctoral students is of great signifi-cance for WSL in order to motivate young people with excellent qualifications to complete their degree thesis at WSL. In 2015, WSL supervised 118 Bachelor’s and Master’s and 136 PhD theses. The slight decline in the Bachelor’s and Master’s theses compared to 2014 is within the usual range of fluctuation.

During the reporting year, the first joint professorship of WSL and ETH Zurich was set up with the hiring of Loïc Pellissier. an assistant professor for Landscape Ecology on tenure track in the Department of Environmental Systems Sciences. This has enabled the high level of course offerings at WSL in Forest and Landscape Management, a specialisation in the Environmental Science Mas-ter’s programme, to be further expanded.

Many WSL topics require knowledge of special fieldwork tech-niques, which is why the field weeks and the summer and winter schools are key components of WSL’s course offerings. Although the European Snow Science Winter School was conducted for the first time, the International Dendroecology Field Week – initiated by WSL – has been an established institution for many years, being conducted for the 26th time. 23 Master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral students of 15 universities from eleven countries and four continents examined tree rings in the Polish Carpathian Mountains and their significance for climate reconstruction, archaeology, tree physiology or ecological issues. This field week is so successful that it is organ-ised as the North American or Asian Dendroecology Field Week by numerous institutions following WSL’s example. The summer school of the forest network of research centres located in Nancy, Fribourg and Zurich was also organised by WSL, the students discussing the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems.

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Contribution of the ETH Domain to education in human medicineClinical medicine and translational research are becoming increasingly technology-based. This development is resulting in a greater demand for medical doctors with a strong technical and scientific knowledge.

The ETH Domain intends to strengthen and expand its role in the education of these professionals. For this reason the ETH Zurich and EPFL are preparing educational programmes that will contrib-ute to a strengthening of scientific and engineering skills of med-ical doctors in Switzerland. By doing this, the ETH Domain will also help to overcome the shortage of doctors in Switzerland, support-ing the measures being taken by the Federal Government. 14

The ETH Zurich is collaborating closely with the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), the University of Zurich, Zurich University Hospital and the University of Basel as it prepares a new Bache-lor’s degree programme in medical sciences. This course is set to start in autumn semester 2017, with 100 students. Successful com-pletion of this three-year Bachelor’s degree should qualify the graduate for continuing to a Master’s degree in medicine at one of the partner universities. EPFL also has plans to contribute to an increase in capacity for education in human medicine. Together with the universities of Lausanne and Geneva, it is preparing a project to integrate an individual qualifying education in an insti-tutionally based “Pre-med school” in Western Switzerland for the existing “passerelle” bridging clause for Bachelor’s degree gradu-ates. This new course should likewise be ready by autumn semes-ter 2017.

In the intermediate evaluation of spring 2015 the ETH Domain confirmed its intention to promote medicine (see p. 36). Therefore it will be more actively involved in the education of medical per-sonnel with a strong background in sciences, engineering and information technology. Moreover it intends to design its research in a way that is closer to the patients, i.e. to be much more active in translational research. This applies in particular to the fields medical technology, medical computing, genetics, biotechnology and imaging techniques for diagnostic and therapeutic applica-tions. The “Swiss Personalized Health Initiative” that is planned by the Federal Government also offers an opportunity to promote the forward-looking area of “Personalized medicine”, by joining the local and regional technical, scientific and clinical skills. As a result, the ETH Domain in its strategic planning for 2017–2020 wishes to participate in this initiative. However, due to the tense financial situation of the Federal Government, funding for this ini-tiative is not yet secured. From the viewpoint of the ETH Board a delay in this initiative would have a negative impact on the development of medical research in Switzerland.

14 See Dispatch of the Promotion of Education, Research and Innovation for 2017–2020.


PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 1 | Teaching | Examples

PSI

The full range of possibilitiesThe PSI summer school “Solid-state Phys-ics” has a tradition going back many years. Physics students learn how they can use the large-scale research facilities of the PSI and their state-of-the art technology to perform challenging experiments that are unique in Switzerland. The lecturers are PSI staff members who developed the experimental stations or supervise them. The aim is not just to understand how an installation works, but also to find out which method of investigation can best be used to approach a specific scientific question. Information obtained with the aid of a neutron experiment could be sup-plemented by other information gained about the same question by an experi-ment using photons. The six-day summer school of 2015 was held in August and was divided into a theoretical part in Zuoz and a practical part at the PSI. The focus was on carrying out spectrometric exper-iments. These can, for example, be used to determine the structure and qualitative composition of samples.

ETH Zurich

More time for reflectionIn the spring semester of 2015 the ETH Zurich asked Bachelor’s and Master’s degree stu-dents how satisfied they were with their studies. The evaluation showed that 82 % of the students were “satisfied” to “very satisfied” with their situation. They gave a positive assessment of the general teach-ing and studying ambience, the fairness of the performance assessments, and the respectful treatment at ETH Zurich. On the other hand, the students would like to have a clearer understanding of the con-nection between the individual course units, and more time to prepare or revise the instruction sessions and to reflect crit-ically on the contents. The ETH Zurich has already launched various initiatives and projects to address such areas where ac-tion is indicated, for example the Critical Thinking initiative, the ETH Week (see also p. 10) and the Student Project House.

EPFL

Students invent the futureThe “China Hardware Innovation Camp” (CHIC), held for the first time in 2015 by the “Collège des Humanités” (CDH) of EPFL, gave 15 students from Lausanne the op-portunity to take part in developing as-tounding prototypes in Shenzen. The par-ticipants worked in interdisciplinary teams made up of students from EPFL, the “Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne” (ECAL), and the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Lausanne (HEC). They de-signed and built three “intelligent” inven-tions: a baby bottle with a base fitted with sensors to measure the milk temperature and record the child’s drinking behav-iour, and connected to a mobile phone. The “Dory” water analysis kit in the form of a games console, to measure the water quality. And the “Vesta” tablet for senior citizens which displays images and news like a virtual postcard, to facilitate com-munication.

Items created at the first CHIC included this net-worked baby’s bottle. (Image: Alain Herzog / EPFL)

More than four fifths of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their studies at ETH Zurich. (Image: Alessandro Della Bella / ETH Zurich)

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Empa

Education and further training in future technologies The Empa “Briefings” – half-day or full-day education and further training events dealing with current research topics – are increasingly popular. Depending on the topic, some 100 to 300 participants at-tend the events, which are regularly held in cooperation with partners such as the “Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Micro-technique” (CSEM) or the PSI. Last year the focus was on technologies of the future. “Additive Manufacturing”, for example, which explores new types of manufactur-ing processes and methods, and the sci-entific principles for them. And the “Pow-er-to-Gas” concept, where sustainable (or surplus) electricity is used to produce hydrogen and other chemical fuels – this is also the key topic in “move”, the Empa demonstration platform for a sustainable mobility (see p. 64). Other subjects, which were also studied by the PhD students of Empa, included critical materials without which the future technologies such as ICT, batteries and solar cells would be incon-ceivable, and – matching the Internation-al Year of Light – innovations in light and photonics.

Eawag

China honours Eawag doctoral student The Chinese government has bestowed on Yang Yue of Eawag the “National Award for Outstanding Doctorial Students”. With this prize the Chinese Scholarship Council pro-motes scientifically outstanding work of Chinese doctoral students who are study-ing abroad. In his thesis Yang investigated how gill cells of the rainbow trout assim-ilate silver nanoparticles and how these particles spread out in the cells. He carried out the doctoral project as part of the Na-tional Research Programme “Opportunities and risks of nanomaterials” (NRP 64).

WSL

Training in modern methods to measure snowIn February 2015 a “Snow Science Winter School” was held in Finland for the first time. The course was initiated by the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) and the Finnish Meteorological Insti-tute (FMI) with the goal of instructing up-coming young scientists and researchers in modern measuring techniques for the characterisation of snow. The Lapland re-gion of Finland provided an ideal location for the course, because all the typical vari-eties of Arctic snow can be found here. The participants coming from many countries of Europe, as well as the USA and Cana-da, represented almost the entire breadth of cryosphere research. The students left the course with new knowledge about the Arctic snow cover and modern fieldwork techniques. The next “Snow Science Winter School” will be held in 2016 in Davos.

Students at the winter school were also shown the right way to use the SnowMicroPen, developed at the WSL. (Image: Anna Kontu / FMI)

Structured samples from the 3D printer, made of tita-nium aluminide with embedded ceramic particles – an extremely lightweight alloy with potential for aircraft constructions. These types of manufacturing methods were the main topic at the packed-out “Additive Manufacturing” briefing. (Photo: Empa)

Recipient of the “National Award for Outstanding Doctorial Students”: Eawag doctoral student Yang Yue (standing, 4th from right). (Image: Eawag)



By orienting its research programmes to the major global chal-lenges of today, the ETH Domain has been further strengthening its leading position in international research. The institutions of the ETH Domain actively contribute to scientific advances in sus-tainable energy supply and utilisation, leading-edge medicine and in the management of big data, to name only a few. In 2015 both Federal Institutes of Technology appointed several profes-sors in these areas. In addition, the ETH institutes also act as the leading house in seven of the eight Swiss Competence Centers for Energy Research (SCCER), in doing so assuming a leadership role in the energy sector. Thanks to the activities of its six research institutions the ETH Domain has an excellent international rep-utation. They lead in a wide variety of fields ranging from basic to applied research, are involved in interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary research, and develop innovative analytic methods. The research excellence of the ETH Domain can be measured in concrete terms on the basis of the numerous prizes and ERC grants awarded to its researchers, the quality and number of its publications, its participation in numerous international co-op-erative alliances and consortiums, and the position of both Fed-eral Institutes of Technology in international rankings. In 2015 ETH Zurich placed among the ten best universities in the world (Times Higher Education, THE and Quacquarelli Symonds, QS), with EPFL taking first place in THE’s “100 Under 50” ranking.

ETH ZurichResearch is the key source of innovation of a knowledge-based society. In recognition of this, ETH Zurich invests in forward-look-ing and socially relevant research areas. In 2015 it continued the targeted expansion of its unique expertise in energy research in Switzerland by establishing four new professorships. Among other things, this will serve to further strengthen the SCCERs. Under the SCCER “Supply of Electricity”, ETH Zurich, in concert with Nagra, is also investing in the construction of a deep underground labora-tory. In this rock laboratory at Grimsel, problems and risks are investigated which may occur in the construction and use of deep geothermal repositories. Together with Empa and the PSI, ETH Zurich’s Energy Science Center is designed to create a modular and flexible research platform in the multidisciplinary project Renew-able Management and Real-Time Control Platform (ReMaP), which

analyses the synergies inherent in multi-component energy sys-tems at the level of the distribution network.

Under its thematic priority Big Data and Digital Sciences, ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Society founded the Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems in 2015. This virtual centre deals with the theoretical and experimental aspects of the development of learning systems, an extremely dynamic research field. Thanks to a donation from Zürcher Kantonalbank, ETH Zurich was also able to expand its Zurich Information Security & Privacy Center (ZISC) in 2015. ZISC promotes the exchange of knowledge among research-ers, students and industry partners, on the one hand, and the transfer of research results in the area of IT security to practical applications, on the other. When establishing the Swiss Data Sci-ence Center in 2015, ETH Zurich created two new professorships in Data Science (see p. 78).

ETH Zurich systematically implemented its strategy in the area of health sciences and technology in 2015 as well. With the sup-port of the Wilhelm Schulthess Foundation, another professorship was filled in this area and collaboration with the Schulthess Clinic strengthened. The Wyss Translational Center Zurich (WTZ), founded at the end of 2014, started up successfully with five projects in 2015. It promotes the collaboration of engineering and medical researchers for the purpose of efficiently transforming the findings of basic and preclinical research into new medical therapies and innovative products. The WTZ is made possible by an endowment from Hansjörg Wyss amounting to 120m USD.

The importance of ETH research is documented by the numer-ous prestigious awards that ETH researchers have garnered; 2015 was no exception. Apart from Prof. Nicola Spaldin, who was awarded the Körber Prize (see p. 2), Prof. Ursula Keller received the Charles Hard Townes Award for her outstanding work in the field of quantum electronics, making her yet another ETH professor to receive a prestigious distinction. Lucie Tajcmanová, assistant pro-fessor in the Department of Earth Sciences, was honoured with the 2015 Prix Zonta. Other key distinctions include the IEEE William E. Newell Power Electronics Awardgiven to Professor Johann Kolar, the IEEE Robotics & Automation Award and Engelberger Robotics Award given to Prof. Raffaello D’Andrea, and the Eni Award in New Frontiers of Hydrocarbons given to Prof. Johan Robertsson.

Finally, ETH Zurich researchers were also extremely successful in 2015 in competing for the prestigious grants of the European Research Council (ERC): six male researchers and one female researcher received an ERC Advanced Grant, one researcher an ERC Consolidator Grant. Three male scientists and one female scientist were awarded a Proof of Concept Grant, and of the total of seven ERC Starting Grants for ETH Zurich, four went to female researchers. Three other project proposals of ETH researchers were considered worthy of support but could not be financed due to lack of funding.

EPFLIn 2015 EPFL succeeded in advancing to first place in the Times Higher Education (THE) “100 Under 50” ranking, illustrating the quality of the work of the scientists at EPFL (see p. 125), who received numerous prizes over the course of the year. We would

2 “The ETH Domain is further strengthening its leading position in international research.”

PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 2 | Research

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like to mention Professors Paul Dyson and Lyndon Emsley, who were both awarded a prize by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Paul Dyson was recognised for his research on new compounds for treating cancer based on organometallic chemistry, and Lyndon Emsley for the development of new NMR spectroscopy methods, enabling the structure of complex materials to be determined. Professor Stéphanie Lacour was selected as Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum. Her research work deals with the development and fabrication of electronic devices whose mechan-ical properties mimic those of skin: they are used in neuropros-thetics and soft robotics.

Pioneering scientific advances were made in a number of research areas on the EPFL campus: EPFL researchers developed a coating that enables heat to be simultaneously absorbed and deflected so that an excess production of energy and overheating of thermal solar collectors can be avoided. A method was also developed that enhances the precision of DNA sequencing by up to a factor of one thousand. This method, in which the individual nucleotides are analysed with the aid of nanopores, will pave the way to an improved and more cost-effective DNA sequencing. In an international co-operative partnership, a mobile “cancer breath-alyser” was developed that enables certain cancers to be diag-nosed by way of a breath test. The Blue Brain Project in the field of neuroinformatics, – the simulation centre of the Human Brain Project, – submitted a key proof of concept for the digital model-ling and simulation of a part of the neocortex (see p. 77).

After the grants awarded in 2014, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) approved three new Assistant Professor (AP) Energy Grants and one Ambizione Energy Grant for scientists of EPFL. Opened in 2015, the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) heightens the significance of EPFL’s Tokamak, one of three research institutes in the world selected by the EUROfusion consortium for the develop-ment of nuclear fusion in the international ITER project (Interna-tional Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) (see p. 77).

At the European level, Swiss institutions again took part in calls for proposals of the Horizon 2020 EU framework programme. In 2015 the ERC awarded EPFL four Advanced Grants, four Starting Grants, three Proof of Concept Grants and six Consolidator Grants. The number of ERC grants thus totalled 17, underscoring the out-standing achievements of EPFL in this fiercely competitive pro-gramme. The EPFL Fellows exchange programme was also extended, enabling 48 new postdoctoral students to receive a two-year grant.

EPFL’s Research Office developed a Research Ethics Package for its researchers, the package examining the central importance and complexity of ethical issues at all levels from doctorate to professorship.

PSIThe PSI develops, builds and sells complex one-of-a-kind large-scale research facilities (SLS, SINQ, SµS) and makes them available to the national and international research community, while sig-nificantly benefiting from their use and continued further devel-opment in its own key areas of research (Matter and Material; Energy and the Environment; and Human Health). In 2015, these facilities were made available to some 2,500 external users from academic research and industry. With the beginning of the instal-lation phase in the beam channel of the new SwissFEL large-scale research facility, another key step on the way to commissioning in 2016 was completed.

With the development of a new spin echo method employing supercooled neutrons, the product of an international collabora-tive venture, the PSI was able to create the conditions for a more precise determination of the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) in 2015. The knowledge of this property may have far-reach-ing consequences for our current understanding of the origin of the universe. By conducting measurements of the SµS (Swiss Muon Source) it could be shown for the first time how an intrinsically non-magnetic metal can be made magnetic — an effect that might be applied in the development of innovative magnets.

In 2015 the activities in general energy research were focussed on the two SCCERs “Storage” and “Biomass” and on the establish-ment and integration of individual topics in the Energy System Integration platform (see p. 85, Objective 6). Environmental research at the PSI made key contributions to the understanding of the impact of fine dust, or aerosols, from petrol motors and the result-ing damage to lung tissue. Employing the measurement methods developed at the PSI, it could also be shown that identifying var-ious sources of emissions involving the discharge of lead into the environment is possible.

As shown above, the activities of the PSI cover the broad range of basic and applied research and thus contributed to the investi-gation of fundamental natural phenomena, resolution of present and future technical and social challenges, and fostering Switzer-land’s innovative capability.

Prof. Christian Rüegg, head of the laboratory for Neutron Scat-tering and Imaging, was awarded one of the prestigious ERC Con-solidator Grants in 2015. Two other applications by PSI researchers were assessed as excellent, but funding was not possible for them because the budget had been used up.


EmpaThe scandal involving the Volkswagen Group and other car man-ufacturers and their manipulated diesel exhaust figures has caused the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions produced by diesel vehicles to (again) be the subject of controversy. These emissions are higher than those produced by petrol-powered cars due to the difference in motor technology, although diesel motors consume less fuel. If it were possible to denitrify diesel exhausts the result would be an economical, clean motor. Empa researchers have been working with the utmost urgency (albeit not since the advent of the scan-dal) to optimise the catalytic converter technology for diesel motors in a purpose-built high-temperature gas dynamics labo-ratory. They have examined the various injection processes for urea solutions – urea transforms NOx compounds into harmless nitrogen – in order to achieve optimal atomisation and homoge-neous distribution in the exhaust gas flow. The Empa researchers – together with colleagues of ETH Zurich, the Milan Polytechnic and various industrial partners – then use the experimental results to develop computer simulations of the urea injection process. This will enable the conversion rate of catalytic converters to be predicted under various operating conditions in the future. This project is funded by the Competence Center for Energy and Mobil-ity (CCEM) of the ETH Domain and by the Federal Office of the Envi-ronment (FOEN).

Clean, sustainable mobility is also at the heart of the “move” demonstration and technology transfer platform, which was inaugurated at the end of November on the Empa campus in Dübendorf in the presence of renowned energy and mobility experts. “move” enables Empa researchers and their partners to test new vehicle propulsion designs providing for significantly lower CO2 emissions under real-world conditions. The energy source used for this is excess electricity generated by photovoltaic systems or hydroelectric plants. They enable batteries in electric cars to be charged; the electricity can also be used to generate hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles or transformed into synthetic meth-ane for natural gas vehicles.

Empa researchers were extremely successful in securing ERC grants. Rolf Erni, head of the Electron Microscopy Center, received an ERC Consolidator Grant for studying the creation of minute agglomerates of atoms that lead to the nucleation of crystallites by way of in situ transmission electron microscopy. The goal of the project is to obtain fundamental insights into the very early stages of crystallisation that have been unexplored for the most part. Josep Puigmarti also received an ERC Starting Grant in 2015. This young researcher is working on the development of a new kind of microfluidic technology to grow crystals. This would make it pos-sible to observe especially the early stages of crystal growth and develop new materials that have special properties.

WSLThe goal of the Energy Change Impact research programme – oper-ated jointly with Eawag and funded with 1.5m CHF under the Coordinated Energy Research Switzerland action plan 2014–2016 – was to forecast the impact of the Energy Turnaround on the environment and society and thus contribute to its sustainable implementation. Nine projects (seven of WSL, two of Eawag) receive direct funding, another 15 projects are financed by WSL via third-party resources or from WSL’s fixed allowance. The first four pro-jects were completed in 2015. One of them was a study entitled “Aargau Renewable Energies” – conducted in concert with the cantonal authorities and energy utilities – in which the question was examined whether the target values of the various renewable energies established in Energy Strategy 2050 are achievable. The study shows that restructuring the energy system is possible in the canton of Aargau, thanks primarily to the abundance of hydro-electric power and the potential offered by solar energy. It also underscores the importance of taking a holistic view by consider-ing not only the power supply but also the thermal and fuel sup-ply, in addition to all the potentials and possible applications offered by various energy sources (water, sun, wind and biomass).

WSL’s internal research programme “Room for People and Nature” was concluded as of the end of 2015. In addition to pro-ducing scientific publications the team of programme head Silvia Tobias also issued publications and guidelines of a practical nature, e.g. guidelines on managing land use conflicts, so that planning experts benefit directly from the research programme.

Anna Hersperger, head of the Landscape Ecology research group, received one of the coveted SNSF Consolidator Grants of approx. 2m CHF under the Temporary Backup Schemes. This funding is being used to conduct research of theoretical spatial planning: the findings will contribute to a sustainable use of land resources. The SNSF Consolidator Grants belong to the Temporary Backup Schemes launched in March of 2014 and are comparable to the ERC Consolidator Grants.


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EawagWith the experimental research building Aquatikum, which has been commissioned stage by stage since the beginning of 2015, and the 36 ponds that were completed at the end of 2015, Eawag has been researching the correlations between the molecular level in the laboratory and the level of ecosystems (see p. 3, Selected Highlights). Central questions being examined relate to the stress behaviour, speciation and biodiversity of aquatic life. Eawag is studying how quickly lake fish in Switzerland and Africa have been able to develop genomic diversity. Since the spring of 2015 it has also been investigating the different migratory behaviour of brook and lake trout in Lake Lucerne using high tech chips (pit tags) that are inserted in their abdomen. Other research areas extend to waterways, ground water and potable water that are interlinked, e.g. in a large-scale project in concert with the canton of Basel- Landschaft (see p. 25). The first phases of the EcoImpact interdisci-plinary internal research project on the impact of micropollutants on natural aquatic ecosystems were completed in 2015. In concert with partners including those from the PSI and a department of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzer-land (FHNW) in Windisch, Eawag launched the Autarky project for further developing the Blue Diversion Toilet, an innovative toilet system, for third-world countries employing separate processing of urine, waste water and faecal matter. Established in 2015, the umbrella project Water and Sanitation Innovation for Non-grid Solutions (Wings) is available for decentralised development work like this.



A boost for energy research

The Swiss Federal Council and Parliament have resolved to phase out nuclear power plants. The competencies and research activities in the ETH Domain form the spearhead of energy research in Switzerland, and are set to make a significant contribution to the Federal Government’s Energy Strategy 2050.

Expansion of energy research in the ETH DomainAs part of the Dispatch on the “Coordinated Energy Research Swit-zerland” action plan, in order to strengthen energy research the Federal Councillors have increased the funding for the ETH Domain for the years 2013–2016 by 60m CHF and extended the Performance mandate between the Federal Council and the ETH Domain. These funds are to be used for the additional promotion of skills (20m CHF) and to expand the research infrastructure (40m CHF). The amount allocated in 2015 was 6m CHF for research teams and 14m CHF for infrastructure, divided up among all institutions of the ETH Domain.

Examples for the development of academic skills in 2015 at ETH Zurich are the formation of research teams for “Efficiency” (build-ings, industrial efficiency and energy technology), “Production of electricity” (geothermal), “Networks” (complex energy systems, reliability and risk engineering), and “Energy policy”; and at EPFL for “Production of electricity” (hydroelectricity, fuel from renew-able energy, carbon separation and storage). Examples for the development of infrastructure in the ETH Domain in 2015 are, at EPFL, the investments in hydropower, solar technologies, and in the Smart Campus; at ETH Zurich in the sustainable campus; and at the PSI and Empa the investments in research platforms for “Conversion of biomass into methane”, and for the “Harvesting, storage and valorisation of intermittent renewable energies” (Energy System Integration, Future Mobility Demonstrator “move”, NEST). Eawag and WSL are taking part in the action plan by address-ing questions concerning the conflicts of use and the social impli-cations of the energy turnaround.

Participation of the institutions in promotion initiatives outside the ETH Domain

Besides supporting energy research in the ETH Domain, the Federal Government promotes a total of eight Swiss Competence Centers for Energy Research (SCCER). The SCCERs, which are coordinated by the CTI and started operation in 2014, are engaged in searching for solutions to the technical, social and political challenges posed by the energy turnaround. In this way they intend to contribute to the Energy Strategy 2050 and strengthen the structures for teach-ing and research in the field of energy for the long term. All the SCCERs research into and develop solutions that are marketable and that can be seamlessly adopted by industry. The institutions of the ETH Domain are involved in all eight of the SCCERs, and manage seven of them. This has led to a close cooperation with industry, the universities and universities of applied sciences.

15 www.kti.admin.ch/kti/en/home/ueber-uns/foerderbereiche/foerderprogramm- energie.html

16 You will find further details at www.ethrat.ch/de/energie

The resulting network effect is an important added value provided by the SCCERs, which have been set up in seven “action fields”15, 16:

1. EfficiencyThis action field is concerned with the efficiency of energy provision and the rational utilisation of energy. It covers the whole building sector as well as industrial processes.

—— SCCER Future Energy Efficient Buildings & Districts (SCCER FEEB&D)Leading House: Empa

—— SCCER Efficiency of Industrial Processes (SCCER EIP) Leading House: ETH Zurich

2. Networks and their components, energy systemsHere the focus is on electrical networks. Besides their stability and the reliability of supply in Switzerland, other central topics are the integration of intermittent renewable electricity sources and Smart Grids – including the use of appropriate storage technologies.

—— SCCER Future Swiss Electrical Infrastructure (SCCER-FURIES) Leading House: EPFL

3. StorageImportant elements in a future energy system with a large pro-portion of renewable energies are the storage of heat at various levels of temperature, the storage of electrical, chemical and mechanical energy, and converting these into a usable form.

—— SCCER Heat and Electricity Storage (SCCER HaE) Leading House: PSI

4. Electricity supplyThis relates to technical innovations for existing and new hydro-electric plants as well as mechanisms for the optimum regulation and connection of water balance and electricity production. The large, unused potential for geothermal energy and ground storage is to be tapped by using deep geothermal energy for base load electricity.

—— SCCER Supply of Electricity (SCCER-SoE) Leading House: ETH Zurich

5. Economy, environment, law, behaviourBesides the technological innovations, the energy turnaround calls for institutional innovations in politics and in the energy markets. By applying social science skills, the social, political and economic implications that result from certain institutional structures and incentive systems are being investigated.

—— SCCER Energy, Society and Transition (SCCER CREST) Leading House: University of Basel

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6. Efficient concepts, processes and components in mobilitySome 34 % of the total energy requirement in Switzerland is used for the mobility of persons and transport of goods by road, rail and air. The road traffic has the most potential for innovation in regard to efficiency. The main areas of research are: more efficient vehicles, electrochemical batteries with a higher performance and good operating safety (the crucial bottleneck in electro-mobility), and new urban concepts to reduce the amount of occupational mobility required.

—— SCCER Efficient Technologies and Systems for Mobility (SCCER Mobility) Leading House: ETH Zurich

A major step in methanisation using algae

The research team of the Swiss Competence Center for Bio-energy Research (SCCER BIOSWEET) have demonstrated that it is possible to efficiently obtain bioenergy in the form of methane gas from algae. Methane gas is the main component of natural gas and so it can be transported and stored using the natural gas network. While EPFL and its partners 17 concentrate on the production of algae, the University of Applied Sciences HSR in Rapperswil is searching for possible ways to harvest and dehydrate the algae biomass. The PSI is working with the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) and EPFL to develop a process for manufacturing methane that could improve the energy effi-ciency by several times compared to the conventional process.

Algae grow rapidly and are a sustainable resource for many types of application. The range of possible uses extends from nat-ural cosmetics, to healing remedies, nutritional supplements, production of pigments, manufacturing threads for textiles, and

making bio-fuels and fine chemicals. Although it is possible to achieve profits from highly priced products, the short term to medium term economic conditions for utilisation of bio-energy are still rather difficult. Cost is the main reason why bio-fuels from algae have not been able to gain acceptance until now.

While working on the SunCHem project, researchers from the SCCER BIOSWEET managed to achieve a breakthrough. They took micro-algae from the bio-reactor of ZHAW in Wädenswil and fed them into the PSI plant for hydrothermal methanisation, and were thus able to produce energy-rich gas continuously for more than 100 hours. This proves the technical feasibility of the contin-uous hydrothermal methanisation of micro-algae. A study was made comparing the various methods to produce biofuels from algae. The techno-economic potential and the probability of con-tributing to the energy system in the year 2050 were classed as high for the new PSI process.

7. BiomassThe precondition for the efficient and widespread production of renewable energy from biomass is the market availability of efficient utilisation technologies. The main research areas of this SCCER are the preparation and use of biomass; biogas to produce electricity and heat; and gaseous and liquid fuels derived from biomass.

—— SCCER Biomass for Swiss Energy Future (SCCER BIOSWEET) Leading House: PSI

The SNSF has put out calls for tender for the recruitment of young talents to expand the capacity of the universities and the SCCER in the field of energy. The candidates from the ETH Domain (ETH Zurich, EPFL and PSI) have been particularly successful in their applications: five were accepted for “Ambizione Energy” and four were accepted for “Assistant Professor Energy Grants”.

17 Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Haute Ecole d’Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud (HEIG-VD) and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO).


PSI

Seven nanometres for electronics of the futureTo manufacture ever faster and more effi-cient computers and mobile telephones, the various components of the computer chips, such as electrical wires and tran-sistors, have to be made ever smaller. This in turn poses a constant challenge to the methods used to manufacture these com-ponents inside the chip. Researchers at PSI have now succeeded in achieving another important milestone here. They produced a regular pattern of parallel lines just seven nanometres in width in a semiconductor material, packing the components 16 times more tightly than in the currently availa-ble chips. The industry expects structures of this order of size to be the norm by the year 2028. The lines were produced using extreme ultraviolet light from the Swiss Light Source of the PSI.

ETH Zurich

A laboratory for sustainable buildingAfter one and a half years in construction, ETH Zurich opened the “House of Natural Resources” in June 2015. The two-storey office building is also a research laborato-ry for sustainable building. Six professors in total have completed research pro-jects on the actual building site. The core of the house is the skeletal load-bearing frame made of hardwood. It serves as an example of how the indigenous raw ma-terial wood can be used in an improved, sustainable way. Additionally, an adaptive solar façade was mounted on a part of the building envelope, which produces elec-tricity and regulates the energy require-ments for heating and cooling the build-ing. The scientists now plan to collaborate in testing the systems they have developed over a longer period.

EPFL

An implant against paralysisThe “e-Dura” neural implant offers new therapies for patients paralysed by a spi-nal cord injury. As the first surface neural implant designed for long-term use, it fits precisely on the surface of the spinal cord or brain without damaging the nerve tissue. It releases both electrical impuls-es and pharmacological substances, and enabled rats that had been paralysed by a spinal injury to walk again. The implant is almost identical it its elasticity and flex-ibility to the dura mater tissue that sur-rounds the spinal cord. This reduces abra-sion and inflammation to a minimum. The e-Dura prototype used in rats did not lead to any injuries or rejection even after a pe-riod of two months. Until now the e-Du-ra implant has only been tested on rats. But it has great potential, for example to combat epilepsy or Parkinson’s, or to treat pain symptoms. The researchers now hope to start clinical trials on human beings, to prepare the prototype for market launch.

The flexible e-Dura implant to combat spinal cord injuries. (Image: Alain Herzog / EPFL)

The frame of the House of Natural Resources is made of Swiss timber. (Image: Marco Carocari / ETH Zurich)

PSI researcher Yasin Ekinci at the SLS, where the fine structures that are needed for electronic components of the future are being produced. (Image: Scanderbeg Sauer Photography)

PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 2 | Research | Examples

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Empa

The pros and cons of nanomaterialsNanoparticles are revolutionising many ap-plications from sunscreen to wood-protec-tion agents, to medicine. But their manu-facture, use and disposal could pose risks to people and the environment. To identify and minimise such risks, while at the same time using the opportunities offered by nanotechnology, in 2010 the SNSF started a five-year National Research Programme (NRP 64), in which Empa was actively in-volved, carrying out five projects. Thus Empa researchers modelled the material cycles of various nanoparticles over their whole life-cycle in order to find out how the particles spread out in nature and where they might collect. Although nano zinc oxide and nano silver are chemi-cally converted in the water treatment plant itself, titanium oxide nanoparticles are extremely stable and end up in the sludge, the ocean and the ground. Other Empa projects investigated how nano-particles can be used to transport med-icines; whether nano-fibres made from biodegradable polymers could be suitable for use as bone-substitutes; and wheth-er carbon nanotubes are released during the processing of plastics – if yes, whether these are harmful to health.

Eawag

Invasive species as stowawaysWhen recreational boats are transport-ed overland, zebra mussels often take a ride, clamped firmly to the hull. The for-eign invaders are carried to other bod-ies of water in this way. An Eawag study in 2015 presented the transport routes of these invasive species. The quagga mussel was also detected, for the first time, in the Rhine near Basel. Both zebra and quag-ga mussels can displace native species by their massive spreading, and cause high maintenance costs, for example when they settle in cooling systems or drinking wa-ter preparation plants. In its study Eawag shows what preventative measures can be taken.

WSL

Eight times more trees in the world than previously assumedFor the first time an international team of researchers have mapped the numbers of trees in the world’s forests with a resolu-tion of one square kilometre, using satel-lite data, forest inventories and modern supercomputers. According to the study published in the specialist journal Na-ture, there are more than three billion trees in the world today – which is about eight times more than previous estimates. The study draws on data from more than 400,000 terrestrial sampling areas around the world, including the 6,500 of the Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI) operated by the WSL and the Federal Office of the Envi-ronment (FOEN). The results allow a much more accurate modelling of large-scale ecosystems, and a more accurate predic-tion of carbon storage, global diversity and the effects of climate change.

Data of great scientific value: the LFI surveys the condition and changes to the forests in the whole country. (Image: Beni Basler, Aarau)

A boat engine colonised by zebra mussels. (Image: Eawag)


PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 3 | Knowledge and techno logy transfer


The continuing innovation pressure in the present tense eco-nomic situation has led to even closer links between businesses and the institutions of the ETH Domain. This is shown by the large number of new research contracts and the research framework agreements with several major companies. Once again it was possible to secure a significant amount of funding for collabora-tive projects from industry, as well as from the Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI).

Promotion of the entrepreneurial mode of thinking and acting of students and staff of the institutions of the ETH Domain once again proved to be very productive. In 2015 an impressive num-ber of patents, licences and spin-off companies were achieved by the ETH Domain, in comparison to top universities of other coun-tries. The spin-offs enjoy an above-average success, as various indicators demonstrate.

The knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) was also advanced by service contracts, practice-oriented courses, sharing of knowl-edge with government authorities and implementing offices, technology briefings, and special software applications. In this way the ETH Domain is contributing to the high quality of public assets such as water, landscape and forests, and protection against natural hazards. Besides the businesses, the public administration also benefits from the wide range of events arranged by the institutions of the ETH Domain. The institutions’ participation at the various sites of the Swiss Innovation Park is already bearing the first fruits in the form of cooperation with newly acquired companies.

ETH ZurichIn 2015 Swiss firms were keener to cooperate with research-ori-ented universities in order to cope with the continuing innovation pressure in the prevailing tense economic situation. This is reflected, for example, in the large number of research contracts that the university was again able to conclude with third parties in 2015 (688, of which 177 with Swiss companies; total volume 130m CHF).

Framework agreements for research were signed with several large companies, such as Alstom, Oracle and Google. 350 guests took part in the Industry Day of ETH Zurich in August 2015 – a new record attendance. ETH professors gave concise talks detailing their research in the fields of sensor technology, robotics and personal-ised medicine.

The ETH was very effective in promoting the entrepreneurial mode of thinking of its students and staff. The heightened aware-ness of the potential economic benefits that research results can have is evidenced by the great number of inventions (171, + 33 %) and software registrations (24, + 50 %) in the past year. Added to these are 84 new licence and technology transfer agreements which were concluded in 2015 (+ 31 %), for example to assess patents. ETH Zurich gives out the “Spark Award” to honour the best invention of the year. In 2015 the prize went to Prof. Manfred Kopf and his team for a new method to identify the specific properties of immune cells.

With its “Pioneer Fellowships”, of which a further nine were granted in 2015, the ETH Zurich is supporting promising ideas on how to exploit outstanding research results. The university has awarded 50 of these grants in the period since 2011, and 27 have led to companies being founded. In 2015 two “Pioneer Fellows” qualified to take part in the prestigious international competition for upcoming young scientists, the “Falling Walls Lab” in Berlin. More than 1,300 young researchers from over 40 countries had applied. The first prize was won by “Pioneer Fellow” Sabrina Badir for her work developing a device that detects the risk of a prema-ture birth for pregnant women, reliably and at an early stage.

These “Pioneer Fellows” work in one of the two “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Labs” (ieLabs), which again reached full capacity in 2015. More than 30 experienced entrepreneurs are available as coaches in the ieLabs. They now tend to include increasing numbers of former founders of ETH spin-offs.

In 2015, 25 more spin-off companies emerged from ETH Zurich. Their success is attested to by takeovers (also see p. 74) and rounds of funding, among other factors. For example, the ETH spin-off InSphero benefited from a round of funding of 20m CHF. Jan Lichtenberg, the CEO of InSphero and an alumnus of the ETH, was chosen as “Emerging Swiss Entrepreneur of The Year 2015”. The ETH start-up companies CellSpring, Inositec, rqmicro and Bitsplitters were awarded the prestigious “Heuberger Winterthur” young entre-preneurs’ prize.

In the Venture Business Plan competition of 2015, the ETH spin-off Pregnostics received an award for the best business idea, while ZuriMed achieved second place in the rankings for the best busi-ness plan. The ceremony, which was held for the tenth time by ETH Zurich together with its partners, is now being held annually in order to cover the increased demand in the successful Swiss start-up landscape.

ETH Zurich is resolutely working with the Canton of Zurich and the Zürcher Kantonalbank to establish the Zurich Innovation Park. In September 2015 they set up the Zurich Innovation Park founda-tion. Ten companies, consortia and technology platforms have already indicated their interest in leasing premises on the Zurich Innovation Park.

3 “In order to reinforce Switzerland’s innovative strength and competitiveness, the ETH Domain will promote the transfer of its insights and competencies to society and the economy.”

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EPFLEPFL is continuing its work to valorise the research carried out on its campus. As part of the innovation process, the researchers and students are encouraged to collaborate with Swiss and interna-tional companies – be they start-ups, SMEs or big corporations.

In 2015 the funding obtained for start-ups reached an extra-ordinary high level of over 111m CHF. Furthermore, 18 new spin-offs were founded in that year. The flotation of Biocartis in Brus-sels, and the sale of FaceShift and Lemoptix, testify to the current interest in EPFL start-ups. The rankings of the 100 best start-ups in Switzerland show the quality of the spin-offs, as it was only the EPFL that managed to reach the podium, with its start-ups LESS, Abionic and Flyability, while ten other EPFL firms were among the top 20. The Innogrants programme proved its worth in 2015, with more than 11 grants awarded (an average of one approved grant per seven applications).

A total of 48 new licensing agreements were concluded and 88 new patents were applied for. The direct funding of research pro-jects at EPFL laboratories by industry runs to 28.7m CHF. The EPFL “Centre de Nutrition et d’Alimentation” concluded contracts with eight large Swiss and international companies in the food sector, adding to the value chain in the sector. These businesses joined in the funding of exploratory and pre-competitive research projects at the EPFL laboratories. Their main focus is on ground-breaking new approaches that could help to master the challenges faced by the food sector in future.

The Alliance KTT programme (www.alliance-tt.ch) was inte-grated within the regional innovation network of the cantons of western Switzerland (RIS-SO). In 2015 the advisors to the Alliance programme set up more than 40 cooperative projects between Swiss businesses and EPFL. For the EPFL laboratories, the funding from the Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) for such projects was around 12.4m CHF. To mark its tenth anniversary, the Alliance programme also organised a major conference with the theme “Smartwatch”, which is of central importance for the posi-tioning of the Swiss watch-making industry.

This year the EPFL Innovation Park accepted three new big cor-porations: Intel, which recently took over two EPFL start-ups, Val-tronic, and Voisin Consulting. Its capacity utilisation is currently at 92 %. What is more, in 2015 a new service was introduced, allow-ing large firms to make use of a small area in the EPFL Innovation Park, while also using the partnership services for large industrial companies.

In the framework of Park Network West EPFL, the firm Abengoa, one of the leading companies in the photovoltaic sector, took up premises in the EPFL external site Energypolis in Sitten (Valais). This was the first time a large company of international repute took up premises in an innovation park located outside the EPFL Innovation Park.

PSIAt the PSI the main focus of knowledge and technology transfer in 2015 was again on activities related to PARK innovAARE, the net-working site of the Swiss Innovation Park in Aargau. The proximity to the local region, which facilitates networking between lead-ing-edge research and entrepreneurial innovation in the fields of advanced materials and processes, accelerator technologies, energy, and humanity and health, should make a significant con-tribution to promoting the innovative strength of Switzerland. Since September the PARK innovAARE has been visibly present on the PSI estate with its new “deliveryLAB” (see p. 2, Selected High-lights). Among the first tenants at deliveryLAB there is the firm “Advanced Accelerator Technologies AG” founded in 2015, which pursues the commercialisation of PSI expertise in the field of accelerator technologies; and “leadXpro AG”, which specialises in the development of pharmaceutically relevant substances.

The foundation for a successful and lasting KTT is a close coop-eration between business and the PSI, the execution of service agreements, joint research projects and project development work, and the registration of patents for the implementation and commercial utilisation of research results. The PSI was active in all these areas in 2015.

Under the leadership of EPFL the PSI is participating in a project of several research institutes which is to develop an x-ray device specially suitable for developing countries. It is hoped that this device will allow these countries access to modern methods of diagnosis – inexpensive to manufacture and yet meeting the high demands of the special climatic conditions (temperature, humid-ity, levels of dust). The task of the PSI was to develop an efficient and robust digital x-ray detector, a specialised field in which the PSI has an excellent track record. The prototype of the x-ray machine is currently being evaluated on site.

For a closer networking and dialogue with the industry, in November the PSI joined Empa, CSEM (Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique) and the Hightech Zentrum Aargau, in organ-ising a Technology Briefing. Here, for example, SMEs presented innovations and potential applications of light-based technolo-gies, and discussed the specific needs of their industrial partners.


Empa’s patent portfolio currently comprises 86 patents. In 2015, it registered 12 new patents, either alone or in partnership with industry, and 19 new licensing and exploitation contracts were signed. One of the patents is for a newly developed coating that protects the interior of business jets from fire. This agent is not only more environmentally friendly than previous fire retardants, it can also be applied more quickly – which reduces the down-time on the ground – and could also be used on furniture and wall or ceiling coverings.

There are currently eight start-ups with premises in the glaTec business Incubator. One of these, the company Polarmond, has developed a self-heating “All-in-one” tent system in close col-laboration with Empa. This is designed to provide a constant pleasant climate by using a special dehumidifier. For this devel-opment Polarmond won the Gold Industry Award at the leading European trade fair “Outdoor 2015”. This prize is considered to be one of the highest awards that a company can receive in the outdoor sector. Nine other projects are being supervised that are aiming at setting up companies. In St.Gallen, Empa was very active in setting up the technology centre “Feld 3” (Field 3), which was opened as a new innovation campus next to the Empa grounds. Empa is also a member of the Swiss Innovation Park foundation that was established in October 2015, and is active at various sites – especially in Dübendorf.

EawagEawag cultivates dialogue with specialists at the annual “Info Day”, and with its practice-oriented courses (PEAK). The Info Day was held in French at the EPFL for the first time in 2015 (see p. 89). In connection with PEAK a German-language conference was held together with the Swiss Gas and Water Industry Association (SVGW), on the topic of “Trace substances in drinking water”. Two conferences were held with the Swiss Water Association (VSA) that dealt with the first municipal use of ozonisation to remove micro-pollutants. A French-language course of the Swiss Centre for Applied Ecotoxicology, arranged jointly by Eawag and EPFL, focussed on the subject of risk evaluation for complex matrices. An information sheet was issued on microplastics in the environ-ment. For all these fields, the sharing of knowledge with the authorities and implementing offices was of great importance. Eawag was able to discuss this matter with the Committee for the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy (UREK) of the Swiss National Council, during its visit in August 2015, presenting the current research projects. This visit helped to strengthen the bridge between science and politics. Together with the Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN), Eawag provided funding for Fiber, its associated fisheries consultancy, for a further four years. At the end of October 2015 the SVGW launched a “Groundwater App”, which was created with Eawag’s support, and shows the interrelationships between rivers, groundwater and climate.

WSLThe WSL, which is primarily concerned with public assets such as forests, landscapes and the accompanying natural hazards, also traditionally conveys its knowledge transfer mainly to the state sector. Various federal offices – primarily the Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN), and also the Federal Offices for Civil Protec-tion (FOCP) and for Spatial Development (ARE) – as well as numer-ous cantonal and municipal offices, from forestry departments to offices for soil protection, benefit directly from the findings, pub-lications and expertise of the WSL. Here there are various different forms of cooperation. These range from jointly funded and man-aged research programmes – for example on the subject of “Forest and Climate Change” – to overarching expert reviews on complex investigations into possible natural hazards, as well as the research activities made possible by the basic funding. The latter also give rise to the WSL series of “Practical Guides”, which are very popular among forestry experts. There are also various programs, online tools, courses and advisory services that benefit engineering, planning and environmental offices as well as winter sports regions, helping them to provide their services in an economical and reliable way.

For example, in 2015 the WSL issued an online tool that draws on current daily weather data to calculate the stages of develop-ment of bark beetles. This helps the forestry experts in their coun-ter measures. The “Swiss Forest Protection” department of the WSL provided more than five hundred consultations on forest pests and tree diseases, while the online diagnostic tool already clari-fies many questions without the need for a personal consultation. The experts from the “Protective Measures” team produced some thirty expert reports on the complex snow and avalanche issues in Switzerland and other countries, as well as the guidelines “Account-ing for avalanche and snow pressure risks to cable cars”. The SLF trained more than 130 avalanche safety officials, on courses held in German, French and Italian. Last but not least, the Energy Change Impact scheme set up a working group for “KTT in large-scale energy research programmes” (for example the SCCERs or the National Research Programmes NRP), which reviews and coordi-nates the activities of the various actors.

EmpaIn 2015 Empa was once again able to demonstrate its excellent connections with industry by 130 new research agreements. Such projects lead to successful innovations on the market, for example the extremely sharp and long-lasting cutter blades for wood-mill-ing machines made by Oertli Werkzeuge AG, which make the processing method 20 % more efficient than when using con-ventional tungsten carbide blades. The doctoral student on this project is now working in development for the industrial partner. These projects also lead to valuable information products, such as the online tool “Metal Risk Check” developed with Ernst Basler+Partner AG for Swissmem (the association for this sector), which helps Swiss SMEs in estimating their procurement risk for more than 30 metals, among other things.

PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 3 | Knowledge and techno logy transfer

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The Swiss Innovation Park comes to life The Swiss Innovation Park “Switzerland Innovation” is designed to contribute to Switzerland’s leading role as an innovative nation and thus secure its competitive edge over the coming decades. The ETH Domain plays an important role in this.

Switzerland Innovation is being brought about by the local can-tons, private industry and various institutions of higher learning. It’s based on the key idea of creating optimal conditions for inno-vation at the interface of university research and entrepreneur-ship. Plans are to primarily attract renowned companies with an international focus, in addition to SMEs and start-ups, the com-panies already operating in Switzerland or having an interest in permanently relocating to Switzerland owing to their proximity to public research and their strong private R&D base. These compa-nies will create mature, market-ready products based on the the-oretical expertise developed by neighbouring research partners or develop solutions for customer problems with the aid of research actors located on site. In the process they will offer university graduates attractive training and employment opportunities.

In their 2015 autumn session the National Council and Council of States adopted the concept for the organisation and funding of Switzerland Innovation. Both houses approved the subsidiary financial support for Switzerland Innovation by way of a fixed-term guarantee amounting to 350m CHF and by selling building rights for building plots owned by the Federal Government at cur-rent market prices. Switzerland Innovation commenced opera-tion at the beginning of 2016.

The Federal Government and the Cantons have designated five sites or network locations for the time being: Park Zurich, Park Net-work West EPFL, PARK innovAARE (AG), Park Basel Area in concert with the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Jura, and Park Biel/Bienne. With the exception of Park Biel/Bienne, institu-tions of the ETH Domain have been involved in the planning of all Switzerland Innovation sites, and are contributing their scientific and technical expertise at all locations.

ETH Zurich and EPFL have partnered with the competent can-tons to work on planning the two hubs in Zurich and Lausanne. To be sure, the two hubs differ significantly, both in their point of departure and proposed conceptual designs. The Park Zurich pro-ject is being managed by the Department of Economic Affairs of the Canton of Zurich, and is sponsored by ETH Zurich and Zürcher Kantonalbank in tandem with the canton. Empa is another key partner in the project. Park Zurich is an important element in the spatial development concept of the Canton of Zurich, taking into account the town planning for the Dübendorf location – specifi-cally the military airfield site.

Featured as the “decentralised EPFL hub of western Switzer-land”, Park Network West EPFL is conceived more broadly and is more advanced in its completion. The EPFL, in collaboration with the cantons of Vaud, Geneva, Valais, Neuchâtel and Fribourg, has founded the Park Network West EPFL Association. The purpose of the association is to coordinate the implementation of the con-

cept: apart from the main Lausanne site (EPFL Innovation Park) the concept – following EPFL’s “outposts” strategy – includes the five further sites of Lausanne (Biopôle), Geneva (Campus Biotech and the Wyss Center), Sion (Energypolis), Neuchâtel (Microcity) and Fribourg (blueFACTORY). The supervision of the implementation of these sites and their financing are the responsibility of the Can-tons, while the EPFL is the academic partner. In contrast to EPFL’s outposts and the existing innovation park on its campus, EPFL is not involved in the financing of Park Network West EPFL, however. The responsibilities and the obligations incumbent upon EPFL and the respective actors of a site are set out in separate agreements.

The national sponsorship of Switzerland Innovation is realised as a foundation – the Swiss Innovation Park foundation. It serves as an umbrella organisation of the sites and serves as a link to the Federal Government. The foundation’s tasks include the interna-tional positioning and marketing, the (joint) financing of invest-ment projects at the Switzerland Innovation sites by tapping into the guarantee provided by the Federal Government, and creating a funding instrument for building infrastructures. The founda-tion also serves to network the Switzerland Innovation sites and ensures that they comply with the quality standards established by the Conference of Cantonal Economic Directors. Since the foun-dation was established in October of 2015, the ETH Domain has been represented on the foundation’s board of trustees by the President of the ETH Board, the President of ETH Zurich, the Vice-President of EPFL and the Director of PSI. The three latter are also members of the executive committee of the board of trustees, which is responsible for the decision-making for individual Swit-zerland Innovation sites. The foundation is supported by an advi-sory board consisting of 20 top-flight representatives of leading companies and of economiesuisse.


ETH Zurich

Successful spin-offsA number of spin-offs of ETH Zurich have had an extremely successful business year. The founders of the company GlycoVaxyn reported a major advancement: this start-up founded in 2004 was taken over by the pharmaceuticals group GlaxoSmithKlein for a total price of 212 million US dollars. Over the past few years GlycoVaxyn has developed a platform that can be used to manufacture a new generation of vaccines against bacterial infections, based on a technique invented at the ETH. The spin-off Arktis Radiation Detectors developed a system that was also based on research results of the ETH Zurich. This company, founded in 2007, brought its first commer-cial product to market in 2015: a new type of detector that can be used to reliably identify radioactive and nuclear substances. For example, they can be used to monitor commercial goods or nuclear plants.

PSI

A decisive step forwardResearchers from the PSI, ETH Zurich, the pharmaceutical company Roche, and the British MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, have discovered new details of the way cells in living organisms process internal and external stimuli. The study focusses on so-called G proteins, which are partly re-sponsible for conducting stimuli arriving at the cell from outside, into the interior of the cell. Using a technique developed at the PSI, the researchers identified which part of these proteins is crucial for this function. Specifically, they showed that only a few protein components have a significant effect on this function. Other components could be modified without impairing it. This knowledge represents a decisive step forward in the development of medicines that act by activation of a G protein coupled receptor and the associ-ated G protein. The potential benefits can-not be overestimated: already now some 30 % of all available medicines achieve their effect by this means.

EPFL

Intel at the heart of EPFL campusIntel acquired Composyt Light Labs and Lemoptix in 2015, two EPFL spin-off, that integrated Intel’s “New Devices” division. Composit Light Labs offers key technology for wearable displays and Lemoptix enables augmented reality with its patented MEMS18 laser scanning micro projection technology solutions. Both co-developed smartglasses that include a direct retina projection and a patented holographic combiner. After those two acquisitions, Intel Corporation decided to settle down at the EPFL Inno-vation Park. Where the American company now occupies a full floor in one of the thir-teen buildings. A significant presence for Intel being interested to benefit and in-teract with the crowd intelligence of this academic environment.

Smartglasses is one of the product that interested Intel. The technology includes a direct retina projection and a holographic combiner. (Image: DR)

18 micro-electro-mechanical systems

PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 3 | Knowledge and techno logy transfer | Examples

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Eawag

VSA, FOEN and Eawag set up Water Quality platformThe Swiss Water Association (VSA), the Fed-eral Office of the Environment (FOEN) and Eawag have established a platform for expertise and exchange of ideas on water quality. It is occupied with the new chal-lenges in Swiss water protection, espe-cially in the field of micropollutants. How to design the measuring networks and monitoring programmes? How to evaluate smaller bodies of water? What success con-trols are needed? The platform is intended to bring together the most important ac-tors, process the expertise, and secure the exchange between research and practice.

Empa

Solar spin-off starts operating pilot plantIn June 2015 the firm Flisom, a spin-off of Empa and ETH Zurich, was able to start operation of a 4,500 m² pilot plant for the production of thin-layer solar modules, in Niederhasli near Zurich. The inauguration was held in the presence of the Minister of Education, Research and Innovation, Mauro Dell’Ambrogio, and the president of the Zurich Executive Council, Ernst Stocker. Flisom plans to provide an annual produc-tion amounting to a capacity of 15 megawatts for installed solar energy. It is also securing the company’s development by a second financing round of 10 million CHF, following an earlier investment of 42.5 million CHF just two years ago. The Swiss startup com-pany develops innovative technologies for the production of inexpensive, flexible and high-performance thin-layer solar modules, and it has grown over the past two years from 15 to 55 employees.

WSL

On-site assessment of avalanche riskEvery day in winter, officers responsible for the safety of ski resorts, residential areas and traffic routes in the mountains have to ask: where are avalanches likely to hap-pen? They have to decide whether and where to close roads and ski pistes, or det-onate avalanches. To help in making the assessment, the SLF provides an avalanche prognosis model, “ProNXD”, which has been available since winter 2014 as a fully re-vised web application with GIS function-ality (Geographic Information System) and comprehensive visualisation options. It is based on the “Nearest neighbour” princi-ple, and describes the avalanche situation and the success of safety measures on sim-ilar days in the past. The application can also record avalanche observations, explo-sives and successful detonations, and link them to geographical data.

The ProNXD web application for avalanche safety officers offers benefits such as map displays and convenient evaluation methods. (Image: screenshot / Eawag)

Manufacture of thin-layer solar modules by the firm Flisom. (Image: Heidi Hostettler / Empa)

Tests at Eawag to measure micropollutants The new VSA platform for water quality promotes the transfer of research results to the practical field. (Image: Eawag)


PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 4 | Research infrastructures and large-scale research projects


The institutions of the ETH Domain are responsible for setting up, expanding and running the research infrastructures of national and international importance. In 2015 SERI updated the Swiss roadmap for research infrastructures for the ERI period 2017–2020. This takes into account the ETH Domain’s priorities for expanding and updating existing research infrastructures, as well as the strategic planning of new research infrastructures. These include the strategy for supercomputing and networking (HPCN-20) of the CSCS at ETH Zurich; the Blue Brain neuroinformatics project and the Swiss Plasma Center at EPFL; the “Initiative for Data Sci-ence in Switzerland” (IDSS) at EPFL and ETH Zurich; the ATHOS beamline of the SwissFEL X-ray Free Electron Laser and the upgrading of the Swiss Light Source (SLS 2.0) at the PSI; the plat-form for Sustainable Building Technologies (NEST) at Empa and Eawag; and the further development of the CMS detectors at CERN under the leadership of ETH Zurich.

The operation and expansion of the existing research infra-structures went very well in 2015 and to the full satisfaction of the ETH Board. The expansion of SwissFEL progressed according to plan and the appropriate embedding of the system in the environment was completed ahead of schedule. Close coopera-tion with the domestic industry allowed it to benefit directly from this innovative cutting-edge technology. Strategic plan-ning ensures that in future the research infrastructures of the ETH Domain will continue to create considerable added value for Switzerland as a centre of innovation and research, and also for researchers from around the world.

ETH ZurichUniversal Supercomputer Platform for Research and BusinessThe Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) has been operat-ing as a User Lab since April 2015 with “Piz Daint – Piz Dora”, a universal supercomputer platform for various requirements in the field of high performance computing. The hybrid Cray XC30 super-computer “Piz Daint”, which entered into operation in 2013, forms the basis for the new platform. The computer consists of conven-tional processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) and achieves a theoretical peak performance of 7.8 petaflops. With 3.2 billion arithmetic operations per watt, it is one of the most energy-efficient supercomputers of this performance class in the world. Thanks to the GPUs and a special program, “Piz Daint” can display the calculated results even while the simulations are run-ning. By expanding “Piz Daint” to incorporate “Piz Dora”, a Cray XC40 which is based exclusively on CPUs, the system can now also analyse and structure data in addition to the conventional calcu-lations and visualisations. The universal supercomputer platform is available for research and business in Switzerland.

The University of Zurich, the PSI and the NCCR “Materials’ Rev-olution: Computational Design and Discovery of Novel Materials”, have a share in “Piz Dora”. Furthermore, the CSCS operates the com-puter on which the data obtained by the Swiss Institute of Particle Physics at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in Geneva is analysed, as well as the computer of the Blue Brain project at EPFL.

MeteoSchweiz, whose supercomputer used for the daily weather forecasts is also located at CSCS, received a new computer in the second half of 2015. Its high performance enables it to calculate models with twice the resolution that was possible before. This allows a more detailed prediction of thunderstorms and valley winds in the Swiss mountains. This is made possible by a new com-puting architecture that is based on GPUs as well as a fundamen-tally upgraded program for the weather modelling. Both the com-puter architecture and the software are based on the results of the two research initiatives “High Performance and High Productivity Computing” and “Platform for Advanced Scientific Computing”. These were launched in 2009 as pillars of the national High Per-formance Computing and Networking strategy (HPCN) and financed by the Swiss university conference (SUC). Through close coopera-tion between MeteoSchweiz, the CSCS, researchers at ETH Zurich and the industry, a high-performance yet comparatively cheaper, more compact and more energy-efficient supercomputer was cre-ated. Thanks to the progress achieved, more precise weather sim-ulations can now be calculated quicker and more cheaply while saving on energy.

4 “The ETH Domain operates existing research infrastructure of national importance, runs projects under the ‘Swiss Road map for Research Infrastructure’ and, if its bid is successful, will participate in European Flagship projects.”

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The Minergie building, the cooling of the supercomputer with lakewater and the energy efficient computers all contribute towards overall energy efficiency at CSCS, and now this is further improved by two micro turbines. These were installed in the lakewater pump station in summer 2015 and generate electricity using the cooling water that is fed back in the circuit.

Currently there are around 70 CSCS employees in the User Lab who provide support for more than 750 users working on some 90 projects in all aspects of computational science, as well as offering software and application services. Besides the usual manufacturing projects, currently around 30 % of the computing resources are used for so-called large-scale CHRONOS projects (Computationally-Intensive, High-Impact Research On Novel Out-standing Science).

EPFLThe Blue Brain project is proving its worthThe team working on the Blue Brain neuroinformatics project suc-cessfully completed an initial project stage in 2015 to image part of the neocortex of rats. This initial step towards brain simulation was published in the prestigious “Cell” journal. The simulation or digital mapping includes around 30,000 neurons that are con-nected to each other via almost 40 million synapses. It reproduces a range of observations that were made in earlier experiments about the brain. This fully confirmed the biological precision. Better still, the simulation delivers new insights into how the brain works that traditional experiments could not have given us. This work forms the highlight of 20 years of biological experiments for the fundamental data resource. It is also the culmination of ten years of scientific IT work to develop algorithms and create the software ecosystem that is required to image and simulate brain tissue.

The scientific publication with its 37 pages and contributions from an 82-strong editorial team of scientists from eight different countries is one of the most comprehensive publications in the history of neurosciences. It provides the conceptual confirmation for the approach taken by Blue Brain. It ultimately aims at the sim-ulation of the entire human brain. “We cannot and do not have to measure everything”, explains Professor Henry Markram, Head of the Blue Brain project. “The brain is a well-organised structure. When we begin to understand this order, we can derive a large part of the missing data from it.”

Thus the researchers have found, for example, a close relation-ship between the connectivity statistics for the digital simulation and the experimental measurements for biological tissue. Javier de Felipe, co-author and researcher at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), confirms that the digital simulation actually corre-sponds to the data that his laboratory found using electronic microscopes. The researchers have observed that different neu-rone types in the digital simulation demonstrate a great similarity to those examined in the laboratory. Ultimately the team was able to obtain findings from the simulations that would not have been possible from the biological experiments. For example, the dis-covery of the unexpected yet important role of calcium for certain underlying processes in the brain was possible thanks to the sim-

ulation. This shows that the simulation is an indispensable tool that enables researchers to gradually understand how the brain functions.

The Federal Government is supporting this ambitious project by providing special funding. The highly regarded research results published in October 2015 propelled Switzerland into the heart of global brain research, as part of an extremely significant interna-tional cooperation. The 82 scientists involved in this are mainly from Switzerland, but there are also those from Israel, Spain, Hungary, China, Sweden, Great Britain and the USA. Blue Brain is also one of the pillars of the European research flagship Human Brain Project, which is coordinated by EPFL.

A “Swiss Plasma Center” for using solar energy The Plasma Physics Research Center (CRPP) at EPFL was renamed Swiss Plasma Center (SPC). The name change expresses how its area of activity has widened as a result of upgrading the facilities. The laboratory in Lausanne thus confirms its place among the top three research institutes that the EUROfusion consortium has selected for the development of nuclear fusion within the frame-work of the international ITER project.

Energy for all humanity If nuclear fusion is used efficiently it can produce all the energy mankind needs over the next few centuries, reliably and without polluting the environment. Unlike nuclear fission there is no radi-oactive waste with a long half life. Nuclear fusion is also based upon substances that are widely available and are less problem-atic than uranium in terms of decomposition. One of the biggest challenges that the various international projects are faced with is that of plasma confinement. This involves the efficient use of gas that has been heated to more than one million degrees – a much higher temperature than that of the sun’s core – so that the hydrogen atoms contained within it can be fused and huge amounts of energy can be released. So that these extremely high tempera-tures do not damage the reactor, the plasma must be confined in a ring-shaped chamber with the help of a magnetic field – in what is known as a tokamak – and kept away from the walls.

A unique systemThe TCV (“Tokamak à Configuration Variable”) at EPFL that was built in 1992 was always at the forefront of the research systems in this domain. As its name suggests, the system allows one to generate different plasmas in different forms. In doing so, the scientists can determine the most suitable plasma configuration to produce energy in a reactor. Therefore at the end of 2013 the EUROfusion consortium selected the system as one of the three national facil-ities in Europe to take part in the creation of the ITER test reactor that is currently being built in the south of France, as well as the development of its successor DEMO. DEMO is the prototype for a commercial reactor.


The analysis of huge amounts of data requires scientific and technological progress in scalable data processing, for information systems, machine learning, computer mathematics and statistics as well as human-oriented computing. Furthermore it requires close interdisciplinary teamwork in research between the experts of the different specialist areas on the one hand and the special-ists for data and information processing on the other.

The ETH Domain plays a central leading role for the required competencies in Switzerland. It is crucial and of national impor-tance that competencies in data science and the underlying tech-nologies are expanded in order to be and remain attractive to experts from abroad. Switzerland must quickly train scientific personnel in this field, because the studies indicate that a global deficit of suitable talents is soon to be expected.

Thanks to the financial support from the Federal Government, the centre can now conduct new experiments, in particular in the area of energy generation and the plasma particles in the TCV. This will make it possible to install new systems to heat up the plasma using microwaves and to inject neutral particles. In order to open up new fields of activity, the research centre is creating an area for plasmas with a lower density and lower temperature. The focus is upon applications in medicine, the food industry and astrophysics. These improvements provide an incentive for many researchers from Switzerland and Europe to bring new experiments to Lausanne.

EPFL and ETH ZurichA national centre for data scienceThe ETH Domain has launched an “Initiative for Data Science” in order to speed up the development of the data sciences. The aim of the initiative is not only to expand teaching and research within the field of data science, but also to provide the necessary infra-structure for a wide variety of users and disciplines. For this, EPFL and ETH Zurich will jointly set up a Swiss Data Science Center that will be represented at both sites. The management will be based in Lausanne.

As an essential feature of modern society, information technol-ogy currently represents a sector that is experiencing a new revo-lution – that of big data. On the one hand, the volumes of data that are produced, collated, developed and stored are growing at a speed which conventional IT tools are no longer able to manage. On the other hand, this data enables us to develop new appli-cations and understand increasingly complex systems. This new approach is changing areas such as communication, financial ser-vices, social networks and even telephone services.

The greatest challenge is the description of large, highly com-plex volumes of data into models that are easy to understand and that ultimately expand our knowledge. Today the scientific and mathematical methods that allow a full harnessing of this data explosion are undergoing continual development. Furthermore there is another equally big challenge, the lack of a sufficient number of specialists to manage the data and of trained special-ists who are in a position to collect, manage, synthesise and visualise this data. In order to improve this situation, EPFL and ETH Zurich are developing specific courses of instruction.

What strategies are needed to tackle Big Data, from a technical and a scientific point of view, while at the same time respecting the individual’s right to privacy? The access to networked opera-tions using this amassed collection of data would lead to a whole new level of understanding in business, pharmaceuticals, and real estate management, or the detection of fraud cases in the banking sector. Big Data could encourage intelligent decision- making, for example in the analysis of emotions in advertising, or when searching for the causes of errors in manufacturing, or also in the analysis of the nutrition systems of the world. The solution for some of the larger challenges facing mankind will largely depend upon our current and future capacity to measure and observe the environment on a large scale and to develop mean-ingful models based upon the data obtained.

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EmpaNEST is taking shape Under the leadership of the two research facilities Empa and Eawag, the experimental building “NEST” has emerged on the shared campus in Dübendorf, whose goal is to greatly speed up the market launch of innovations in the building sector relating to construction technology and materials. In the NEST building researchers and innovative companies have the opportunity to test and optimise new technologies, materials and systems under real-life conditions, either individually or in combination.

NEST comprises a central “backbone” and three floors with open platforms on which the independent research and innovation modules (the units) can be installed according to the plug & play principle (and can be dismantled again at the end of the pro-ject). People live and work in these units all day long – they are busy test laboratories where the research institutions and eco-nomic partners can test construction-related innovations.

During the whole of last year, work was focussed on construct-ing the backbone of the building. On 11 September 2015, about a year after the official first cut of the spade, the sponsors from research, industry and the public authorities were able to cele-brate the topping-out ceremony with all the project partners. The basic backbone that supplies the units with water, heat and electricity was completed, and components were added over the course of the next few months.

Besides the activities on the construction site, the year 2015 was also marked by extensive planning works. Planning appli-cations were submitted for the two units “Meet2Create” and “Vision Wood”. In November 2015 work was starting building “Meet2Create” on the NEST site. In this “Office environment of the future”, Lucerne University is studying the interplay of people, space and tech-nology in work processes. The second unit, “Vision Wood”, is a living module that has been developed by Empa for students and academic guests at Empa and Eawag. At the heart of the project are innovations that lend new functions to the well-proven material wood – such as magnetism or water-resistance – thereby creating new possibilities for applications. Both units will already be open and ready for operation at the official opening cere-mony of NEST in May 2016.

Five further units are currently being planned and are expected to be completed in the years 2106–2018. The focus is on ultra-lightweight construction, adaptive façades with mov-able solar panels, the production of high-temperature heat (>80° C) using renewable energy, dynamic glass panes for opti-mum use of daylight, user-centred building automation, the use of secondary raw materials, the use of robots on the build-ing site, and much more.

PSIA tunnel full of high techIn 2015 the installation phase of the SwissFEL X-ray Free Electron Laser began. The first five of the twelve undulator frames were brought into the building of the new large research system at the PSI for final assembly. Ultimately 1,060 magnets in each of these will force the electrons along a slalom course and so produce the characteristic x-ray radiation. The undulators will be manufac-tured on site in the SwissFEL building, and the magnets adjusted for maximum performance. The assembly of the undulators, sev-eral at a time, will take about half a year, before the finished undulators are then brought into the beam channel for final installation. Work has already started on installing the other sys-tem components at their final location. About a quarter of the beam channel was already fitted with components by the end of 2015. Alongside this work preparations were started for installing the first SwissFEL beamline.

Thanks to the favourable weather it was possible to speed up the planting on and around the installation, the wetland biotope was laid out, the wild animal crossing paths were planted with greenery, thus completing the task of embedding the facility within the forested area in an environmentally friendly way.

SwissFEL is a national facility which is aligned to the research interests and experience of the Swiss universities and industry, and addresses their requirements. It will serve as a complement to the large research facilities of the PSI that are already in oper-ation, SLS, SINQ and SµS, which are visited each year by over 2,500 users from research and industry. The new plant is being imple-mented in close cooperation with Swiss industry. As a result, not only is this further strengthening the good relations between domestic research and industry, but the competitiveness of the Swiss economy is also benefiting from the development of inno-vative pioneering technology. At the same time the international cooperation and exchange with colleagues in Germany, Japan and the USA, who are building or operating comparable x-ray lasers of their own, is important for the development of specific compo-nents and a successful realisation of the whole project. The Swiss-FEL building project will be completed in 2016.


PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 5 | International positioning and cooperation


In 2015 the institutions of the ETH Domain were again able to present and position themselves excellently in the international field, as they set up scientific conferences, received high-ranking delegations from abroad, and participated in exhibitions and foreign assignments of the Federal Government. Researchers of the ETH Domain are highly sought-after as partners in interna-tional collaborations, often in connection with environmental and development projects, as well as in the development of research infrastructures and the implementation of pilot projects in other countries. All the institutions provided an international environ-ment for study, teaching and work, for their staff, students and doctoral students, as well as for upcoming young scientists and for visiting academics.

The excellent international positioning of the institutions of the ETH Domain, in relation to academic networks and interna-tional consortia and locations, enhances its appeal for domestic and foreign students, professors and staff members, in teaching and research.

ETH ZurichAt the direction of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), ETH Zurich is coordinating the cooperation of Switzerland with China, Japan, South Korea and other countries in the Asian-South Pacific regions, in research. Funds were pro-vided by SERI for a total of 39 pilot projects with research institu-tions in 16 countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, in 2015. The institutions of the ETH Domain took part in seven of these projects.

The ETH Zurich has been active in South-East Asia through its Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC) since 2010. In September 2015 the sec-ond phase of the “Future Cities Laboratory” (FCL2) was started at the SEC. For another five years, researchers from various disciplines at ETH Zurich and its partner institutions will carry out research on topics relating to sustainable urban development. The second project at the SEC, “Future Resilient Systems”, which started in November 2014, was fully under way in 2015. This investigates how risks and vulnerabilities in complex, interdependent infrastruc-

ture systems can be recognised and assessed, and how the resil-ience of such systems can be strengthened.

At numerous events, researchers from ETH Zurich presented their work, thus contributing to the visibility of the university and Switzerland in the world. In May 2015, at the IDEAS CITY Festival in New York the focus was on the structural and aesthetic potential of waste material as a resource for construction. Architects and students of ETH Zurich designed and built the “ETH Zurich Future Garden and Pavilion”, where public seminars and the exhibition “Building from Waste” were held. ETH Zurich presented itself and its “World Food Systems Center” at the Expo 2015 in Milan, as part of the Zurich exhibition, and at the inaugural event of Zurich Week on the theme “Science on Your Plate”. In September ETH research-ers were present at the “Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2015“ at the WEF in China (see p. 82). In October ETH Zurich presented the solar powered, unmanned aerial vehicle “AtlantikSolar” in Brazil. In cooperation with Brazilian institutions, test flights were carried out and a ship accident was monitored in the Amazon region. These activities were accompanied by five conferences and project presentation events in Belém, São Paulo and Campinas, which stirred up a lively response in the Brazilian media.

ETH Zurich is also a point of attraction for many high-level del-egations from science, business and politics, which come here from all over the world. In 2015 the university received 53 delega-tions, including the Committee on Education, Research and Tech-nology Assessment of the German Bundestag, and a group of US congressional staff. Additionally, over 40 international confer-ences were held at ETH Zurich.

EPFLEPFL was able to considerably expand its international presence in 2015. In September the number of students registered for the online courses (MOOCs) worldwide crossed the one million mark. Moreover, 2,166 persons applied for a Master’s degree course at EPFL (with 273 enrolments), and 3,715 for a Doctor’s degree course (with 518 enrolments).

Regarding international partnerships, in 2015 the neuroscience projects brought together on the Biotech campus in Geneva were greatly expanded. The Blue Brain Project is here, and the Human Brain Project, the European research flagship programme which was initiated by EPFL, in which 110 laboratories in 24 countries across Europe, America and Asia are participating (see p. 77). Prior to this, EPFL hosted the Brain Forum in the STCC, the first interna-tional conference dedicated to European, American and Chinese projects in the field of brain research.

The European network which is of such prime importance for Switzerland was further expanded under the programmes Horizon 2020, Erasmus and ITER, and by the work of the Swiss Space Center. Through the latter, Switzerland is actively involved in the Euro-pean Space Agency (ESA). Also worthy of mention is the ongoing EUROTECH partnership, which for example publishes the journal “Technologist”, and which was founded by EPFL, TU Munich, the Eindhoven University of Technology and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Additionally, EPFL took part in the 25th anniversary of the CLUSTER network.

5 “The ETH Domain will continue to expand its cooperation and networking in teaching and research with the best institu-tions in the world and strength-en its international profile.”

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In the field of global North-South cooperation, the RESCIF 19 network celebrated its fifth anniversary in October 2015 in Mon-tréal. The École Polytechnique de Paris and the Université Poly-technique de Yamoussoukro in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire have joined the network that specialises in the disciplines water, energy, health, town planning and food security. With the support of the Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Edmond de Rothschild foundations, and in cooperation with Eawag’s Department of Water and Sanitation in Developing Coun-tries (Sandec), work was started on developing ten communal MOOCs in RESCIF.

In 2015 EPFL also continued its function as “Leading House” for Switzerland’s bilateral research and innovation programmes with India, Vietnam and Brazil; and also as Co-Leading House for Rus-sia, together with the University of Geneva. This was at the direc-tion of SERI.

PSIEmpa continued to expand its international partnerships with prestigious universities and research institutions in 2015. Thus the PSI was part of a delegation of representatives from SERI, SNSF, the ETH Domain, as well as from the cantonal universities and univer-sities of applied sciences, which visited Argentina in June 2015 and examined the prospects for future partnerships between the universities and in research. During this visit the foundations were laid for a future collaboration between the PSI and the Balseiro Institute in Argentina, for research in the field of mate-rials science.

The PSI is much in demand for the development of large-scale international installations, and is currently very active in devel-oping the European Xray freeelectron laser XFEL in Hamburg and the European Spallation Neutron Source (ESS) in Lund.

Another important form of international collaboration is the education of upcoming young scientists from abroad. As part of the Sciex project, which ended in 2015, a total of 18 doctoral stu-dents and postdocs from the new EU member states were able to stay at the PSI as visiting researchers. This not only provides an important stimulus to their scientific career, in many cases it has also led to the long-term networking of the PSI with the dis-patching universities and research institutes, as the many fol-low-up projects demonstrate. To better highlight the attractive-ness of the PSI and its large-scale research institutes for upcoming young scientists, for the first time it attended the “MIT European Career Fair 2015” in Boston to introduce itself to the graduates of North American universities in this way.

WSLIn 2015 the first “Fellows” came to the WSL, arriving from the USA, Canada and Poland. By this “WSL Fellowships” initiative the WSL intends to allow selected, top international researchers who have advanced in their career to spend several months as a visiting researcher at the WSL in Birmensdorf, Davos, Bellinzona or Laus-

anne. The Fellows receive a grant towards their travel and living expenses, but are basically employed and funded by their original university or research facility. This programme is only for research-ers who are keen to work closely with the WSL’s researchers. This ensures that not only the Fellows of the WSL benefit, but also the experience and ideas of these top international professionals flow into the WSL. Naturally the Fellows should also enhance the rep-utation of the WSL when they return to their institutions and net-works, thereby further strengthening the international position-ing of the WSL.

The Memorandum of Understanding that was signed several years ago with the Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Shenyang in Northeast China, is now to be expressed in specific joint ventures. In 2015 for the first time prepa-rations were made to allow highly promising scientists from China to visit the WSL on a guest residency in the following year (2016).

EmpaNano-safety research continues to be a central issue, which Empa is promoting together with various prestigious international insti-tutes. In 2014 Empa supervised and assisted in setting up the new Korean centre for nano-safety and measuring systems, then in July 2015 the Director of Empa, Gian-Luca Bona, and Hyun Min Park, Vice-President of the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), signed a “Memorandum of Understanding”, which provides for a closer cooperation of the two institutes in the field of nano-safety research.

In 2015 Empa also extended its research cooperation with the US American Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and with other respected international partner institutions. In January a two-day workshop on the subject of Energy Research was held at the Empa in Dübendorf together with LANL researchers. At this event they identified various aspects for a closer cooperation in future. In September representatives of Empa met up with their colleagues at the 6th World Materials Research Institutes Forum (WMRIF), which was held at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab-oratory (LLNL) in California; the main topic was Critical Materials and Computational Science. Already in March 2015, a young LANL researcher – winner of last year’s “WMRIF Young Scientist Award” – had visited Empa on a research exchange programme.

On the political level, the Director of Empa, Gian-Luca Bona, met for discussions with the German Ambassador to Switzerland, Otto Lampe, as well as a delegation of the (unofficial) Embassy of Taiwan in Switzerland, and EU representatives, at an event held by SwissCore20. Pierangelo Gröning, a member of the Empa Direc-torate, and Marc Hansen the Luxembourg state secretary for uni-versities and research, agreed to strengthen the cooperation of Empa with the research institutions in Luxembourg, especially in setting up the new Institute of Science and Technology (LIST).

EawagEawag researchers are actively involved in more than 70 interna-tional committees and networks spanning the globe. If one includes the academic guests, people from over 50 countries carried out research at Eawag in 2015.

19 Réseau d’excellence des sciences de l’ingénieur de la Francophonie20 Office of the SNSF that liaises with the EU in Brussels


Eawag’s research is highly esteemed in Europe. Thus Kathrin Fenner, Eawag’s first researcher, who was awarded the ERC Con-solidator Grant, continued her research into the microbial break-down of pollutants in 2015 with the aid of European sponsorship. Eawag is active on other continents, too. For example, the social science faculty of Eawag, in cooperation with local partners in America, investigated the question of how to achieve acceptance, and thus legitimation, for new technologies in general and spe-

cifically for drinking water recycling in California. The project “Egyptian-Swiss Research on Innovations in Sustainable Sanita-tion” (ESRISS) was completed in 2015 after running for five years. The aim of the project was to create a reproducible model for successful sanitary facilities for small settlements on the Nile Delta. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) supported the pro-ject, which, on a larger scale, will be of benefit to a project by the World Bank.

EPFL

MOOCs@Africa – a pioneering model With its MOOCs for Africa, the EPFL supports teaching and further education at African universities. Created in 2013, the courses concentrate on three areas. Online courses for students at the Master’s, Licentiate or doctoral level, and for further education; the training of African teachers in the new teaching techniques and in MOOCs; and finally the facilitation of local Internet access for students. The EPFL has imple-mented about forty courses in total that are of direct interest to Africa. To date more than 60,000 African students have regis-tered for an MOOC offered by EPFL. The ini-tiative is supported financially and logisti-cally by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Edmond de Rothschild foundations.

ETH Zurich

ETH researchers at WEF ChinaThe annual meeting of the World Economic Forum “New Champions 2015” was held in the Chinese town of Dalian in mid-Septem-ber. Several professors from the World Food System Center of ETH Zurich also took part in this international conference, where sci-entists from around the world discuss in-novative answers to global questions with representatives of politics and business. In their talks the ETH researchers showed how the analysis of large quantities of data can provide an important contribution to ensuring the supply of foodstuffs and the sustainable use of scarce water resources. The role played by food waste that causes 3.3 million tons of greenhouse gases each year, and has thus become one of the main sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gas-es, was also discussed.

In summer 2015, lecturers at the Yaoundé Advanced School of Engineering registered for a MOOC at EPFL. (Image: EPFL)

Taking part in the discussion rounds: Prof. Peter Edwards, Director of the Singapore ETH Centre, Prof. Shana Sturla and Prof. Laura Nystrom, Department of Health Sciences and Technology of ETH Zurich as well as Prof. Hong Yang, Eawag (from left to right). (Image: ETH Zurich)

PSI

More compact, faster, more efficientComputer hard drives store data magneti-cally. To hold greater quantities of data on smaller hard drives in future, attempts are being made to reduce the actual size of the magnetic bits and bytes. To do this, re-searchers at PSI are combining the use of a micro-structured surface and a laser beam. The surface is made up of a regular array of minute squares of a magnetic material. The size of these squares in the various tests was one to five thousandths of a millime-tre. Every square, or even a part of it, is a tiny magnet in itself, and so could one day be used as a storage bit. The second feature of this unconventional approach is that PSI researchers are able to rotate the magnet-ic alignment of the squares using a laser beam. In the hard drives currently in use the magnetic switching, and thus the data storage, is done using a small magnetic head that is passed over the disk surface. The laser beam can switch the micro-mag-nets several hundred times faster than a magnetic head. The researchers at PSI are working on this project with colleagues from the Netherlands, Germany and Japan.

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WSL

Nutrient elements in Europe’s trees are out of balance Each year the International Cooperation Programme for the observation and as-sessment of the effects of air-borne pol-lutants on forests (ICP Forests) assesses the state of forests in Europe via more than 6000 observation plots. The WSL contributes with data from 50 plots, and performs intensive research on 19 plots via the Long-term For-est Ecosystem Research Programme (Lang-fristige Waldökosystem- Foschung, LWF). The clean-air policy in Europe has relied on the research results of this programme for 30 years. Now surprising new results are com-ing in from this measuring network, about the interdependency of air pollution and forest growth rate. In many forests the in-creasing quantity of nitrogen fed in from the air is disturbing the balance of the nu-trient content in the leaves and needles. This can lead to important elements like phosphorus falling to a critical low level.

Taking a soil solution sample from one of the 19 plots of the LWF, which are part of a European network that shows how climate and air pollution affect the forests and soil. (Image: Reinhard Lässig / WSL)

Eawag

Catherine Wagner awarded the Theodosius- Dobzhansky prizeThe “Society for Study of Evolution” has awarded Catherine Wagner, a postdoc at Eawag in Kastanienbaum, the Theodosi-us-Dobzhansky prize. The award endowed with 5,000 US dollars is considered one of the most prestigious in the field of evo-lution research. With this prize the Society honours highly promising young scien-tists for their performance. The prize was awarded to Catherine Wagner for her in-vestigations into the processes of species formation of the African cichlid fish.

Empa

EU project for innovations in nanomedicineEmpa is one of nine partners in the Eu-ropean Nano-Characterisation Laboratory (EU-NCL) founded on 1 June 2015, a project sponsored by the EU framework programme Horizon 2020 with almost five million Eu-ros spread over four years. The aim is to in-troduce a lot more nanomedicines into the routine work in the clinics, and combined with this, provide a top international fa-cility in Europe for the characterisation of nanomedicines for diseases such as cancer, diabetes and infections. The partners work together to develop various interdiscipli-nary preclinical characterisation methods that allow researchers to better understand the biological distribution, pharmacoki-netics, safety profile and immunological effects of their products. The patients are the ones who benefit most, but also the European pharmaceutical industry. For the methods and protocols that are created will be available to all institutions that de-velop nanomedical applications in future, before they are presented to the regulatory authorities for approval of clinical trials.

Empa researcher Cordula Hirsch developing cell-culture based test systems to characterise potential nanomedicines. (Image: Empa)

Catherine Wagner studies the relationships between species diversity and habitat size. In 2015 she was awarded the highest distinction in the field of evolution research, the Theodosius-Dobzhansky prize. (Image: Eawag)



The institutions of the ETH Domain have further strengthened their activity at their sites as part of the expansion of the Swiss Innovation Park. The collaborations with the universities and universities of applied sciences are developing very well for ETH Zurich in the Cantons Zurich, Basel and Ticino, for EPFL in Frei-burg, Geneva, Neuchâtel and Valais, and for the PSI in Aargau. The many new cooperative ventures relate to central topics such as mobility, energy efficiency, health sciences and medicine.

The joint activities of EPFL and ETH Zurich were stepped up with the Wyss centres in Geneva and Zurich and with hospitals and clin-ics in the field of health sciences and human medicine. The med-tech research of Empa is to be expedited by a new model of coop-erating with industry, promoting the interaction with hospitals.

The research institutes strengthened their cooperation with universities and university institutions, within and outside the ETH Domain, in many ways. The institutions of the ETH Domain have also successfully managed various centres of competence in 2015.

ETH ZurichOne way by which ETH Zurich secures added value for society is by cultivating close partnerships with academic institutions in Switzer land. Members of ETH Zurich serve on seven committees of swissuniversities, which were set up at the start of 2015 when the new Higher Education Funding and Coordination Act (HFKG) came into force.

In 2015 ETH Zurich expanded its already close collaboration with the academic institutions at its sites in Zurich, Basel and Ticino. The main focus here was on the health sciences and med-icine (see p. 59).

In Zurich as a centre of tertiary education, the Wyss Transla-tional Center Zurich (WTZ), which was founded in 2014 and run jointly by the University and ETH Zurich, took off to a successful start with six projects (see p. 62). Under the umbrella organisation University Medicine Zurich, among other things a new flagship project was launched which has the objective of diagnosing diseases from the air a person breathes. In 2012 the ETH and the

University of Zurich as well as five university hospitals joined together under the auspices of Zurich University Medicine.

ETH Zurich is also cooperating with other public and private hospitals in the Zurich area. Thus with the support of the Wilhelm Schulthess Foundation another professorship was filled in health sciences, and collaboration with the Schulthess Clinic was strength-ened (see p. 62).

To strengthen the collaboration in the field of personalised medicine between the University of Basel and the Departement Biosysteme (D-BSSE) of ETH Zurich in Basel, the two Cantons Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft granted funding of 10m CHF in 2015. This will be invested to extend the infrastructure of the D-BSSE and to set up the “Personalized Health Platform Basel”.

Moreover, the ETH Zurich is managing the extremely successful national initiative SystemsX.ch for the promotion of systems biol-ogy in Switzerland (see p. 87, strategic initiatives). It is actively involved in the design of the new national initiative “Swiss Per-sonalized Health Network”. It is making important contributions to all eight Swiss Competence Centers for Energy Research (SCCERs), and it leads three of them. In 2015 it took up the co-leadership of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) “Robotics”. So overall ETH Zurich presently leads or co-leads seven NCCRs.

Additionally, ETH Zurich manages the Competence Center for Environment and Sustainability (CCES), and it is involved in three further Competence Centers of the ETH Domain (see p. 87). Together with the WSL and other partners, ETH Zurich founded the “National Centre for Climate Services” (NCCS) in 2015 (see p. 92).

EPFLIn 2015 the development of the EPFL external sites (“Antennae”) was continued with the participating cantonal universities and universities of applied sciences. On 22 May 2015 the Campus Bio-tech in Geneva was opened. This centre of excellence for neuro-sciences, unique in Europe, today houses 650 persons on 40,000 m2, and includes 500 researchers from the EPFL, the University of Geneva, the university hospitals in Geneva, the Wyss Institute for bio and neuroengineering, the Human Brain Project, and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. The platform for human neuro-sciences is already operating, other neuroscience platforms are in development.

The implementation of the project Energypolis EPFL Valais in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences HES-SO Valais has taken a more concrete form with the opening of ten laborato-ries in the new Industrie 17 building, since it opened in April 2015. Five new professors were appointed in 2015. Now the number of EPFL and Empa researchers has reached 130. The first new com-pany (Abengoa) has also taken up premises on the estate. Addi-tionally, EPFL is actively engaged in the Mobility Lab Sion-Valais, in which the EPFL traffic centre TRACE, the HES-SO Valais, the Swiss Post AG (PostAuto Schweiz), the Town of Sitten and the Canton of Valais are participating.

In Freiburg, EPFL is expanding its activities in the fields of sus-tainable building and sustainable architecture. In 2015 the pro-

6 “The ETH Domain will ensure greater cooperation within both the Domain and the Swiss higher education landscape.”

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gramme for the Smart Living Lab was formulated in collaboration with the School of Architecture and Engineering of Freiburg and the University of Freiburg. Two of the planned four professorships have already been filled. The aim of this project is to develop an experimental facility that can be used to evaluate in practical terms the efficiency and acceptance of new technologies in the field of construction.

The EPFL external site in Neuenburg, housed in the Microcity building, was able to increase the number of professors from five in 2009 to eleven in 2015. Three of these were funded by industrial sponsors. In this external site, EPFL is expanding its activities in the field of micro-engineering in cooperation with the CSEM, the University of Applied Sciences Arc (HE-Arc), and the Neode tech-nology park in Neuenburg.

Following the policy decided at the Federal Government level (see p. 59), EPFL and the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva are endeavouring to increase the number of study places in the field of human medicine. The three universities are developing a pro-ject to extend the present “passarelle” bridging clause by provid-ing a “Pre-med school” in Western Switzerland, planned for 2017.

PSIThe group of eight Swiss Competence Centers for Energy Research (SCCER) set up as part of the action plan “Coordinated energy research Switzerland” forms a strong network of all the universi-ties, universities of applied sciences and research institutions that are involved in energy research, as well as many Swiss companies, in order to work out solutions to the technical and socio-political challenges of the Energy Strategy 2050. As Leading House of the two SCCERs, Storage (“Heat & Electricity Storage”) and Biomass (“BIOSWEET”), the PSI is coordinating the interdisciplinary team-work with partners in these subject areas. The long-term goal and also the challenge of the SCCERs is to best combine the individual questions being addressed, and examine the complex interac-tions between the various technologies. The PSI was able to achieve an important milestone on this road by inaugurating the Energy System Integration platform (ESI), which was set up jointly by the two Centres of Competence, “Storage” and “Biomass”, in Septem-ber 2015 (see p. 88). Many years of close and successful coopera-tion between the participating institutions is the basis for inter-action with the Empa technology transfer/demonstration platform “move”, which focuses on the production of renewable fuels from surplus electricity, and provides an opportunity to join forces in promoting decentralised electricity production, storage and mobil-ity for the future.

WSLThe WSL is founding member of the “National Centre for Climate Services” (NCCS) (see p. 92), along with ETH Zurich, MeteoSchweiz, and the federal offices FONES, FOCP and FOEN. Together they have operated the NCCS since autumn 2015. With this NCCS Switzerland is acting on the international recommendation to make climate data and information available in a simple and consolidated form

to interested parties. It forms an interface between the producers of the data on one side, and the users of the data on the other. In the first stage, the WSL mainly provides the knowledge and data concerning all aspects of forest and climate gleaned from the Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research Programme (LWF).

In Graubünden twenty research institutions in the Academia Raetica are stepping up their cooperation to offer more study courses locally for doctoral students working in the Canton, with the “Graduate School Graubünden”. Since the researchers study a wide range of different subjects – from orthopaedics to space research – these are mainly courses to strengthen the general education of young people. To start with, a project management course was held in the premises of the SLF in Davos and attended by 13 doctoral students and postdocs from five institutions in Graubünden.

The WSL participates in three of the national Competence Centers for Energy Research (SCCERs): the “BIOSWEET” SCCER with one project and a place on the board, the “Supply of Electricity” SCCER with three projects, and the “CREST” SCCER with an associ-ated project, as well as the NRP 70 and 71 on energy research. In this way energy research at the WSL is closely interwoven with that of the universities and other research institutes.

EmpaIn 2015 several milestones were achieved by the SCCER “Future Energy Efficient Buildings and Districts” (FEEB&D) under the super-vision of Empa. The planned expansion of capacity was completed, with over 100 researchers from Empa, ETH Zurich, EPFL, the Univer-sity of Geneva, the University of Lucerne, and the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland. Also participating are more than 25 industrial partners. The objectives of the SCCER and its contributions to the Energy Strategy 2050 – such as reducing the energy requirements of the Swiss building stock by a factor of three by 2035 – were published in a research and innovation roadmap21. All the research targets for the year 2015 were achieved in the fields: the building envelope, light and energy manage-ment, decentralised energy systems, and market diffusion of new technologies in construction. The results were presented to spe-cialists at various events, for example at the first ENERGIE+BAUEN convention in St.Gallen, and at CISBAT 2015 in Lausanne.

In 2015 Empa researchers were able to successfully start or conclude various projects in the Competence Centres of the ETH Domain. For example in the field of Energy and Mobility (CCEM) the development of more efficient diesel catalytic converter systems (see p. 64); and in the Nano-Tera strategic initiative the successful development of a computer program that can predict the spread-ing and concentrations of air pollutants in the cities of Lausanne and Zurich with a high spatial and temporal resolution.

21 www.sccer-feebd.ch/roadmap


To further expand its medtech activities in the field of implants and trauma, as well as its network in Swiss hospitals, Empa joined with the company STARTECH managed by Robert Frigg, former CTO of Synthes, and concluded an agreement to appoint a Liaison Officer for Balgrist university hospital and other hospitals, and to initiate interesting research projects. The first projects, to develop new types of hip and shoulder prosthetics, are already underway.

EawagIn addition to ten full or associate professorships with ETH Zurich, EPFL and the University of Bern, Eawag has 11 researchers serving as adjunct professors at Swiss universities. There are also two assistant professorships at ETH Zurich and EPFL (both with Tenure Track), as well as two professorships sponsored by SNSF, one at ETH Zurich and one at the University of Zurich. Eawag’s coopera-tion with the universities of applied sciences is based on shared training and continuing education programmes, as well as via informal contacts within the research community. In its research activities, Eawag also works closely with non-academic partners. The need to consider national concerns plays a significant role in Eawag’s research. This includes work for the pesticide action plan (see p. 95), and Eawag’s contributions to decisions of national importance (see p. 127, Benchmarkings). In “Energy Change Impact”, the coordinated research programme in cooperation with the WSL, in 2015 Eawag made a special study of the use of hydroelectric power, with a view to the energy turnaround in Switzerland.

Centres of Competence and strategic initiatives The Competence Centres of the ETH Domain were created by an ini-tiative of the ETH Board in 2006, and were allocated initial financ-ing for about ten years, which allows them to cooperate across the disciplines, and also in setting up infrastructures, research and teaching platforms. In the year 2015 the final projects that are set to run until 2017 were started. The Competence Centres have laid the path for many new collaborations in the ETH Domain: in interdisci-plinary research and teaching in environmental studies, the setting up and managing of the Swiss Competence Centres for Energy Research (SCCER) by the institutions of the ETH Domain (see p. 66), the professorships and platforms in industry-relevant research areas in materials science, and the many doctoral theses across the institutions. The Competence Centres have stimulated the coopera-tion in the ETH Domain and in many cases advanced it and organ-ised it on a long-term basis.

Centres of CompetenceCCEM – Energy and mobilityIn 2015 work was carried out on 29 projects in the Competence Center for Energy and Mobility (CCEM). Thanks to efficient cost man-agement by the administration, it was possible to allocate addi-tional funds for supplementary studies to several CCEM projects.

All the CCEM projects will be completed by 2017 at the latest. With the focus on the convergence of energy and mobility aspects – also in connection with energy systems and site networks – all made a relevant contribution to research in the Swiss Competence Centers for Energy Research (SCCER).

Since 2006 new options have been provided by the combina-tion of proposals by several institutions, which are of significance both for specific technologies and also for the energy turnaround. CCEM projects have had a decisive effect on the understanding and cooperation within the ETH Domain.

The programme “novatlantis – sustainability in the ETH Domain” further expanded the transfer of knowledge to towns and munic-ipalities in 2015. Thus new municipalities were enlisted for active participation in “Region of the future novatlantis Argovia”. The established cooperation in the pilot region Basel focused on urban challenges of the energy turnaround. Two novatlantis building forums in Lucerne and Zurich met with a great level of interest.

www.ccem.ch, www.novatlantis.ch

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Strategic initiativesSystemsX.chSystemsX.ch is the Swiss initiative for the promotion of systems biology. It is funded by the Federal Government for the years 2008–2016. All the federal funds were allocated to the total num-ber of 250 projects and 400 research groups by the end of 2015. Over 96 % of the funds, that is 210m CHF, were invested in research projects. The costs for the office were well below 2.5 %.

In 2015, SystemsX.ch approved eight new transition postdoc fel-lowships (TPdFs) and ten interdisciplinary doctoral projects (IPhDs). SystemsX.ch funded a total of 32 TPdFs (15 with the participation of the ETH Domain) and 87 IPhD projects (58 with the participation of the ETH Domain). Moreover in 2015 ten “Special Opportunity Pro-jects” were funded (four of these with the participation of the ETH Domain). Swiss researchers are involved in two of the five approved projects in the second transnational call for bids of the EU network ERASysAPP. The approved projects will be completed by no later than December 2018.

For the promotion of upcoming young scientists SystemsX.ch organised a conference, a workshop and, in cooperation with the Swiss Institute for Bioinformatics (SIB), an Autumn School. The “All SystemsX.ch Day” was held in Bern in September 2015, with over 200 participants.

www.systemsx.ch

Nano-Tera.chNano-Tera.ch, the funding programme of the Federal Government for research work to develop complex systems in the fields health, energy and the environment, celebrated its 8th year in 2015. After the selection and start of 25 projects in the fields research, tech-nology and development, “Gateway” was the most important part of the programme last year.

Gateway is a pilot programme initiated by Nano-Tera.ch for the transfer of the results of the funded research work to the Swiss economy. This programme has taken concrete shape as four pro-jects were started in which laboratories specialising in technology transfer (Empa and CSEM) are participating together with indus-trial partners. The goal of these projects is to convert the demon-stration objects developed in the laboratories into industrial pro-totypes with high economic potential.

www.nano-tera.ch

CCES – Environment and sustainabilityTwo of the eight CCES research projects of the second phase were successfully completed in 2015. In the final phase the emphasis was on steps to synthesis and the transfer of the results into prac-tice. The workshop held on 6 November 2015, organised jointly with the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences (SCNAT), on the subject of “Dialogue between politics and science”, again met with a very positive response. By considering the “Energy turnaround” as a case study, forty personalities from politics, business, government and science analysed the role of science in the political deci-sion-making process, and produced proposals on how to further improve the dialogue between science and politics in future. In the field of education, the CCES Winter School was held with great success for the fifth time, while in collaboration with the STEM training centre of ETH Zurich further instruction materials on the subject of biodiversity were produced.

www.cces.ethz.ch

CCMX –Materials Science and TechnologyThe Competence Center for Materials Science and Technology (CCMX) serves as a driver for long-term research partnerships between the ETH Domain and Swiss industry. In line with its 2012–2016 strategy, all four new professorships have been filled with co-funding by the CCMX, two at ETH Zurich and two at EPFL. Two “Materials Challenges” (research platforms co-financed by indus-try for researching scientific issues that are of significance to the Swiss economy) started operation; two others were approved for funding in 2015, while proposals for two more “Materials Chal-lenges” in other areas have been submitted.

In addition to the eight ongoing projects, ten courses and events targeting academic and industrial researchers have also been successfully organised.

www.ccmx.ch

NCCBI – Biomedical Imaging TechniquesThe National Competence Center for Biomedical Imaging Techniques (NCCBI) was established in 2006. 33 dissertations have been funded since the programme started. 20 dissertations were defended to date, in the oral examination. 68 laboratories in 13 Swiss insti-tutes and 86 other external staff are affiliated with the programme. These joint projects have produced 74 articles, all published in prestigious scientific journals.

During the annual congress of the NCCBI in August 2015, Swiss scientists working in this field met to share research results, espe-cially concerning Alzheimer’s, respiratory disorders, osteoporosis and cancer. A communication workshop was also held, and the NCCBI prize for young researchers was awarded.

www.nccbi.ch


PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 6 | National cooperation | Examples

EPFL

Flying robots that save lives2015 saw many new developments under the guidance of the National Centre of Competence in Research “Robotics” (NCCR Robotics). The NCCR Robotics brings togeth-er research activities of EPFL, ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence Research (IDSIA) Lugano. For example, there is the flying robot GimBall, covered in an elastic carbon fibre capsule, which learns how to orient itself from collisions with obstacles. This feature could be useful on collapsed buildings, for example. The robot, which is now being produced by the startup firm Flyability, aroused much interest interna-tionally – especially via the journal Pop-ular Mechanics. In quite a different field, but also with the support of this NCCR, researchers from Lausanne and Zurich and their partners in the USA presented a flex-ible implant “e-Dura”, which is mainly aimed at patients with spinal cord injuries (see p. 68), at the beginning of 2015.

ETH Zurich

Up the stairs in a wheelchairStudents at the ETH Zurich worked with stu-dents from the faculty of industrial design of the Zurich University of the Arts and designed an electric wheelchair that can negotiate stairs. The students built the ve-hicle during a focus project of the Depart-ment of Mechanical and Process Engineer-ing, and presented it for the first time in spring 2015. When travelling on flat surfaces the wheelchair balances on two wheels, like a Segway. Then for stairs it deploys two extendible caterpillar tracks. To ensure that the wheelchair does not lose balance, sen-sors continually monitor its position and apply a counter-force as needed. The stu-dents are now preparing for the Cybathlon in October 2016, where physically disabled persons will take part in a unique competi-tion with the aid of assistive technologies.

PSI

Convert and store The Federal Government’s Energy Strategy 2050 plans to greatly increase the use of modern renewable energies such as solar and wind energy. But what is to be done with all the surplus electricity from these renewable resources? One possible solu-tion is to use it to convert water into an energy- rich gas such as hydrogen or meth-ane (synthetic natural gas). These gases can be stored and later converted back into electrical power, heat or kinetic energy as required. This concept, known as Power-to-Gas, is at the centre of the Energy System Integration platform (ESI) of PSI. The goal of the ESI platform is to combine the com-ponents that have been studied individ-ually at the PSI into a whole system, and investigate their complex interactions. The installation should also be of service to Swiss companies interested in the Power-to-Gas technology, allowing them to test their ideas and innovations.

The ESI platform: shown here are (left to right) the electrolyser, solid biomass and aqueous biomass containers. (Image: PSI)

The GimBall robot surrounded by an elastic carbon ball is immune to damage from collisions when flying. (Image: Alain Herzog / EPFL)

The electrically powered wheelchair Scalevo can climb stairs – extendible supporting wheels ensure the stairs are safely traversed. (Image: ETH Zurich / Scalevo)

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Eawag

Eawag “Info Day” in LausanneIn 2016 the new Swiss Water Protection Act came into force. This means that an addi-tional purification stage for trace elements must be installed in waste water treatment plants near polluted bodies of water. At the Eawag “Info Day” 2015 in Lausanne, spe-cialists from politics, administration, busi-ness and science exchanged ideas about the challenges of implementing this poli-cy. The tenor was clear: efforts were going in the right direction, and alongside these the research had to be promoted. Citing the example of the Canton of Vaud, they dis-cussed how synergies with regional waste water associations could be used. The event, which was held for the first time in French in the western part of Switzerland, was at-tended by some 200 specialists.

Empa

The scientific basis for energy turnaroundAs part of the Energy Strategy 2050, the Federal Council launched the National Re-search Programme “Energy Turnaround” in early 2015, for research into the scientific and technical aspects of the planned en-ergy turnaround; it is set to run until 2018. Empa is actively participating in six of the 15 cooperative projects. For example, Empa researchers worked with the IBM Research Laboratory, the ETH Zurich, PSI and indus-trial partners to develop a new kind of ad sorption heat pump powered by waste heat. Because this system is powered by heat instead of electricity, it could serve to relieve the load on the electricity grid, and utilise the waste heat from factories, power plants and data centres – which is otherwise lost entirely – or the heat from renewable resources such as solar energy, geothermal energy and biomass. For ex-ample, for air-conditioning in buildings. Other Empa projects aim to enhance the efficiency of solar cells and batteries, for example by using improved materials; to greatly reduce the “grey energy” used dur-ing concrete construction work; or to im-prove the methanisation process – the key component in the “Power-to-Gas” con-cept – where methane is produced from renewable hydrogen and CO2.

WSL

Jurists meet ava-lanche specialistsWhen an avalanche incident happens on a road, a ski piste or during a ski tour, there are also legal questions. In June 2015, the SLF invited people to an international sem-inar “Avalanches and the Law”, to promote mutual understanding between the legal representatives and the practitioners in the field of snow and avalanches, and provide suggestions for everyday practice. The num-ber of participants – 250 people from six countries – shows the great interest in the subject. The jurists and avalanche experts held a lively and intense discussion about the predictability of avalanche flows, the duty of care of the decision-makers, and insurance-related questions. This sharing of ideas allowed the coming together of several different disciplines that deal with the same type of events, setting up con-tacts and links between them.

Ski tourers have to assess the avalanche risk for themselves. (Image: Hansueli Rhyner / SLF)

Water experts from western Switzerland met at Eawag’s “Info Day” to exchange information with Eawag researchers. (Image: Eawag)


PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 7 | Role in society and national tasks


The intermediate evaluation of the ETH Domain for 2015 (see p. 36) confirmed that the ETH Domain is of central importance to Swit-zerland in terms of university politics, economics and society. Besides teaching and research and the knowledge and technol-ogy transfer, one can highlight the diverse activities for impart-ing knowledge to specific target groups, and the dialogue with society. In this field, in 2015 the institutions of the ETH Domain again used many channels for knowledge exchange (public events, programmes for schoolchildren, dialogue sessions with stakeholders, publications), and provided the needed infrastruc-ture. The institutions showed special innovation and initiative in the dissemination of research results to the wider public – via their own special events and also at events arranged by other organisations. With their responsibilities of national significance, they continued to perform indispensable services to the whole society, for example with a view to the health (clean air) or safety (protection against natural hazards) of the populace.

ETH ZurichIn many diverse ways, ETH Zurich allows the wider public to gain a closer view of the latest research findings. Alongside Scientifica (see p. 94), the Science City meeting place with its lectures, discus-sion rounds and laboratory visits again proved a magnet for visi-tors young and old. The spring edition was dedicated to the theme of “The universe”, and in autumn the focus was on “Soil as a resource”. With more than 20,000 guests the event marked a new record attendance. ETH Zurich also provided exciting glimpses of its work, its buildings and history by the many guided tours. In 2015 it welcomed over 3,000 people, on a total of 126 guided tours.

ETH Zurich also endeavours to get children and young people interested in its research fields by a variety of different activities. Some 240 children were given a fascinating insight into the varied professional world of ETH Zurich at the National Future Day in November 2015. The children were able to learn what makes bridges strong, or carry out biology experiments, or enter a simu-lator to experience what an earthquake feels like. Various insti-tutes of ETH Zurich again took part in the holiday fun of Pro Juven-tute in 2015. 20 children from ages 10 to 14 were given the chance to design, build and program a dancing robot at the DanceBot workshop. The “Active Sundays” offer an appealing and challeng-ing landscape for children of up to eight years of age to explore in

the Hönggerberg sports hall. This series of events of the Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport of ETH Zurich was further strengthened in 2015.

Again in 2015, there were various information events where many secondary school pupils were given a view of the range of courses on offer at ETH Zurich. More than 6,000 pupils from Swit-zerland and the local areas in neighbouring countries took part in the course information days in September. During the “ETH on tour” programme, ETH Zurich visited nine upper secondary schools throughout the country. Around 100 pupils were able to gain a more detailed view of individual study courses during the study weeks that were held in 2015 by four departments. Lastly, in May the 14th exhibition of school matriculation projects in the STEM subjects was held at ETH Zurich, featuring 28 projects.

Two local events of ETH Zurich on the topics “Digital fabrication in architecture – will robots be building for us in future?” and “Information safety – protection for the lifeblood of the 21st cen-tury?” evoked a lively response. Researchers of ETH Zurich and representatives from industry presented and discussed their visions of the future and possible ways to utilise research findings in business and society. This was also the goal of the “ETH Indus-try Dialogue on the Future” on the subject “Big Data – From Con-cept to Benefit”, at which 130 personalities from business, politics and universities gathered. The opportunities and challenges pre-sented by the digital revolution for business, industry and gov-ernment were also the key subject during the visit of Federal Coun-cillor Johann Schneider-Ammann to ETH Zurich in October 2015.

EPFLEPFL, which is internationally and nationally active in the field of politics, universities, science and the public, organised more than 850 events in 2015. On April 2nd, Iran and the “5+1 Group” (USA, Russia, United Kingdom, China, France and Germany) announced the results of their negotiations to 400 media representatives from all over the world. One other highlight was the visit of the French President François Hollande in April. In August, the Swiss Ambassadors visited the campus. In October, 930 young graduates received their degree certificates in a ceremony attended by over 3,000 guests. Doctorates were also conferred on that occasion. The first EPFL science festival Scientastic took place, dedicated to the subject of energy, attracting 6,000 visitors to the campus.

In 2015 EPFL founded the “Service de promotion des sciences”. This has the aim of introducing science and technology to the younger generation, and promoting scientific and technological findings among the public. During the programme “Les sciences, ça m’intéresse!” numerous courses and competitions for girls and boys aged 7 to 16 were organised in mathematics, IT, science and technology. For the 200th anniversary celebrations of the SCNAT, EPFL produced videos on the subject of energy in three languages for the general public. The competition “Ma thèse en 180 sec” was also held in Switzerland for the first time.

In the year under review, EPFL organised three major events as part of its programme of sustainable development. Firstly, the official opening one of the biggest urban solar park in Switzerland. This installation, covering an area of 15,500 m², built in coopera-

7 “The ETH Domain maintains a dialogue with society and performs tasks in the national interest.”

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tion with Romande Energie, can produce 2.2 million kWh of elec-tricity per year, and is certified with the “naturmade star” label. The EPFL spin-offs Solaronix and SwissInso produced two solar façades, unique in the world, for the STCC and for the ELL building of the EPFL campus, as a demonstration of what is possible.

During the European project CityMobil2, more than 6,000 stu-dents and staff members were driven around the EPFL campus in the six driverless electric shuttle buses. The EPFL spin-off “Best-mile” developed complex software programs for monitoring the vehicle fleet, which may allow these vehicles to be deployed in two towns in French-speaking Switzerland in early 2016.

In November, a competition for the campus staff on the subject of sustainable development was organised by the “campus dura-ble” in cooperation with WeAct, a spin-off of ETH Zurich. By this initiative, in which more than 600 people took part, the staff members were able to get actively involved in the efforts to achieve sustainability.

PSIThe PSI cultivates a close contact and dialogue with society, with a range of various events and via the “psi forum” visitor centre, presenting the current research projects to interested visitors in this way, and introducing them to the fascinating world of the large-scale research facilities. Two special events in 2015 are note-worthy. Firstly, the participation of PSI at the Zurich science days Scientifica with the theme “Light”, where the PSI arranged talks on x-ray light in the fields of medical diagnostics, structural biol-ogy and for investigating fast reactions. At the Scientifica exhibi-tion the PSI gave visitors a virtual tour of the two large-scale research facilities SLS and SwissFEL. The second highlight was the open day held in October (see p. 94), at which the PSI marked a new record number of visitors.

The PSI fulfils specific public administration duties at the behest of the Federal Government. These include, for example, the annual collection campaign for radioactive waste from the sectors medicine, industry and research (MIR), organised by the FOPH and the PSI. This MIR waste is put into a form suitable for final disposal and stored in the federal interim storage facility. The PSI, with its expertise, serves the Federal Government as an impor-tant point of contact for the handling of these waste materials and the related safety aspects.

WSLThe new Forest Report, published jointly by the WSL and Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN), was issued in 2015, describing developments over the past ten years and the state of the Swiss forests. It is an important reference text for specialists, and it also conveys to interested laypersons a carefully prepared, scientifically based view of the functions and workings of the forest (see p. 3).

In 2015 the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences SCNAT celebrated its 200th anniversary, where it focussed on the “Natural sciences” rather than its own institution as such. The WSL, at its site in Davos, took a leading role in various public events for this occa-sion, and thus made a favourable impression on the public and the other researchers in the Canton. On one day, all the Graubünden

research institutes introduced themselves to the public with workshops, exhibition stands and brief talks. Moreover, an event organised jointly with the jazz festival “Davos Sounds Good” in the inner courtyard of the SLF attracted a completely new selec-tion of visitors into the SLF laboratories and cold chambers.

The WSL magazine “DIAGONAL”, published biannually, has now become a well-established feature – also for journalists and deci-sion-makers. The main topics in 2015 were monitoring systems, “Tracking down the changes in the environment” and, appropri-ate to the International Year, “Soil: the precious dirt beneath our feet”. Extensive background reports are published on the main topic areas, supplemented by shorter articles and updates on all fields of activity of the WSL. In addition to the German and French edi-tions, starting in 2015 “DIAGONAL” is now also available in English.

EmpaFOEN commissioned a research team under the leadership of Empa to examine how the growing number of flat screens and computer components in Switzerland can be efficiently recycled. The focus here is on the element indium, a component of the electrically conductive glass surfaces of the computer screens, and neodym-ium used in the magnets in hard drives. Conclusion drawn by the study: A manual disassembly and pre-sorting can ensure the eco-nomical retrieval of indium. The recycling amount would have to rise by 19 Swiss cents per TV, 6 cents per computer monitor, and 4 cents per laptop. Recycling would also be worthwhile for neo-dymium, especially from the ecological standpoint.

The atmosphere researchers at Empa provide data for interna-tional measuring networks, and use the global data for their own research. For example, they monitor how the coolant R134a from car air conditioning units spreads in the atmosphere. R134a is a powerful greenhouse gas and it is being gradually replaced by an alternative substance. Empa can use the data from the measuring station on the Jungfraujoch to examine whether the greenhouse gas, which has now been banned, is being replaced at the desired rate. Empa researchers were also able to demonstrate the pres-ence of halogenated ethers from anaesthetics used in human and veterinary medicine, in samples obtained from the Antarctic. Although the quantities are small, these “fluranes” are also extremely powerful greenhouse gases.

When renovation work is carried out on the Gotthard tunnel, an Empa team inspects the damage due to corrosion on the 35-year old steel girders there. The steel girders were installed from 1979 to 2014 above the intermediate ceiling of the tunnel, and were replaced last year for safety reasons. They are still there in the tunnel. The Empa engineers apply tensile loads of up to six tons on the bars. They want to find out how one can detect early on when they are about to fail. This will make tunnels safer, and it also allows their construction and maintenance to be planned in a more economical way than before.

EawagIn 2015 Eawag again made a significant contribution to the train-ing and networking of specialists in the Swiss water sector. It also expanded its sharing of knowledge with government authorities,


sector associations and private planning offices. Former members took up positions regulating the implementation, and as deci-sion-makers in the Swiss water sector.

In Weil am Rhein, Eawag provided scientific and technical sup-port for the international Rhine Monitoring Station (RÜS) in the analytical work. Now the latest analytical techniques combined with routine analyses provide the basic data needed to trigger the alarm reliably and in good time in case of need. This makes the station, which has been operating for over 20 years, a model exam-ple for other water monitoring facilities.

Eawag is actively involved in development together with the Swiss water partnership, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and other actors. In 2015 Eawag as a “WHO Col-laborating Centre” prepared new guidelines for the global water monitoring programme, together with the WHO and UNICEF.

National tasks

Selected national tasksServing the economy, the society and the environment, the ETH Domain fulfils numerous national tasks in the interest of the entire nation. In many cases, these tasks are explicitly rooted in the law, are activities of the institutions that have evolved over time or are tasks of the Federal Government that have been inte-grated in the ETH Domain. Apart from the tasks listed below, some other examples merit mentioning: the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF), the Swiss National Forest Inventoy (NFI), and large-scale research infrastructures of national importance such as the Swiss Light Source (SLS).

ETH ZurichAtlas of SwitzerlandThe “Atlas of Switzerland” is the topical country atlas of Switzer-land and displays Switzerland in all its variety with a great num-ber of maps covering a wide range of different themes. In 2015 ETH Zurich ensured the long-term funding for the “Atlas of Switzer-land”. This means that work can be continued on the first online version of the “Atlas of Switzerland”, which is to appear in mid-2016.

www.atlasderschweiz.ch

ETH ZurichCentro Svizzero di Calcolo Scientifico (CSCS)Since April 2015, the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) in Lugano, which is run by ETH Zurich, has been operating a uni-versal supercomputer platform, “Piz Daint – Piz Dora”, as User Lab for various tasks in the field of supercomputing. Besides the con-ventional calculations and visual presentations this system can also analyse and organise data. The universal supercomputer platform is available for use by research, business and industry in Switzerland.

Additionally, MeteoSchweiz, whose supercomputer for the daily weather forecasts is also installed at CSCS, obtained a new computer in 2015. It is powerful enough to calculate models with twice the previous resolution. This allows a more accurate predic-tion of thunderstorms and valley winds in the Swiss mountains. (also see p. 76).

www.cscs.ch

ETH Zurich and WSLNational Centre for Climate Services (NCCS)Together with the FOEN, the Federal Office of Meteorology and Cli-matology MeteoSwiss and other federal offices, ETH Zurich and the WSL participated in establishing the “National Centre for Climate Services” (NCCS) in 2015. By setting up this national climate service they are also following the recommendation of the World Mete-orological Organization (WMO) and the proposal of the Federal Council for the action plan “Adaptation to climate change”. Hence the NCCS has national and international connections. It continues to develop the range of climate services, and adapts them effi-ciently to match the needs of the users from politics, business, society and government, allowing their more effective use. Thanks to this combined service risks can be reduced, opportuni-ties recognised and applied, and costs saved.

www.nccs.ch

ETH Zurich and WSLAll natural hazards at a glance on a federal appSince October 2015 all the natural hazard warnings and notifica-tions of the Federal Government are available for free on the Mete-oSwiss app. Reports of possible noticeable earthquakes are auto-matically transmitted to the app and shown on the overview map.

On principle earthquakes can occur without any prior warning. The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) provides information about the expected effects of earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.5 or more for every region covered by the warnings, on the MeteoSwiss app as well as on www.naturgefahren.ch. The automatically gen-erated earthquake reports are usually available within a few min-utes, and primarily serve to immediately notify the populace, media and authorities about quakes that have occurred in Swit-zerland. The seismologists on duty at the earthquake office check each of these reports after the automatic transmission to see that they are correct, and in rare cases they may make minor adjust-ments. Earthquake reports are immediately shown on the hazards map, but not sent out as “push notifications” because one cannot entirely rule out the possibility of false alarms in the automatic system. The avalanche warnings of the WSL institute for snow and avalanche research (SLF) are also shown; additional information is available in the “White Risk” app of SLF.

www.seismo.ethz.ch I www.natural-hazards.ch

PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 7 | Role in society and national tasks

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EPFLPlasma Physics Research Centre (CRPP)In 2015 the CRPP was renamed as the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC) (see p. 77). This change of name is accompanied by an upgrade to the installations and an extension of the field of activity, which will increase the importance of the EPFL fusion reactor Tokamak (TCV) for the institutions that were selected by the EUROfusion consortium for developing nuclear fusion as part of the ITER or DEMO project.

In addition to this, the SPC is developing plasmas of low den-sity and temperature for new applications, such as medicine, the food industry and astrophysics. Following major modifications for the 1 MW neutral particle injection, the experiments at the TCV were recommenced in 2015 with the participation of dozens of international staff members.

spc.epfl.ch

PSICenter for Proton Therapy: Building a new treatment systemFor over 30 years now the PSI has been performing an important national service by running the Center for Proton Therapy for the treatment of patients with ocular melanomas and deep-seated tumours. Besides the regular patients’ service, in 2015 activities focused on the assembly of the Gantry 3 system. Unlike the treat-ment systems already in operation, Gantry 3 is being built in a research collaboration with a commercial provider (Varian Medical Systems), and integrated within the existing accelerator system at PSI. In 2016 Gantry 3 was opened for patients to use.

www.psi.ch/protontherapy

WSLA popular service: the avalanche bulletinThe avalanche bulletin, which is issued twice daily during the winter months, is probably the most well-known service of the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF. Following a complete overhaul for the winter of 2012 / 2013, a user survey was carried out in 2015. The approx. 2,500 participants were very sat-isfied with the bulletin and the additional products such as snow-depth maps. The majority found the upgraded bulletin not only more attractive and clear, the contents were also better. For example the accuracy, i.e. the correct assessment of the danger levels, locations and exposure in the avalanche bulletin, was esti-mated to be 83 %, which is significantly higher than during the previous survey in 2008.

www.slf.ch/lawinenbulletin

EmpaClean air – a long-term task in NABELThe National Air Pollution Monitoring Network (NABEL) consists of 16 measuring stations distributed across Switzerland, covering the most frequently encountered pollution situations. The network is a joint project of Empa and the Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN) and is based on a mandate in the Swiss Clean Air Act. NABEL records current air pollution levels and tracks the long-term devel-

opment of air quality in Switzerland. It enables an assessment to be made of the current actions taken to preserve air quality and provides the scientific basis for future decision-making. Many NABEL measuring stations are integrated in international pro-grammes as a Swiss contribution, e.g. as part of the Global Atmos-phere Watch (GAW) of the World Meteorological Organization. NABEL also forms a central infrastructure for national, European and worldwide research activities.

EawagQuality of Swiss watersOn behalf of the Department of Radiation Protection at the Fed-eral Office of Public Health (FOPH), Eawag uses its gammaray lab-oratory to continuously monitor radioactivity in aquatic systems. Together with the WSL and the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), it is involved in the National River Monitoring and Survey Programme (NADUF), which tracks the concentrations of substances occurring in selected Swiss watercourses.

Centre for Applied EcotoxicologyThe Eawag/EPFL Ecotoxicology Centre works closely with the Swiss authorities. In 2015 it was reviewed by external experts from busi-ness, government and science. The development and the ser-vices and results of the Ecotoxicology Centre were honoured very highly. Further, in September 2015 it organised the 20th annual meeting of the German-language branch of the specialist “Soci-ety of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry”, which was held at ETH Zurich. Researchers, government representatives and users discussed current research results from ecotoxicology and environmental chemistry, and how this acquired knowledge could be best transferred into practice. Together with the FOEN the Ecotoxicology Centre launched the new module “Sediments” in the Swiss Modular Stepwise Procedure, an approach to exam-ining the bodies of water in Switzerland, which provides imple-mentation assistance for the environmental offices.

www.ecotoxcentre.ch


ETH Zurich

Scientifica was a great successThe fourth Scientifica went off really well: On the first weekend in September 2015, 25,000 visitors used the opportunity to have a close look at the research done by ETH Zurich and Zurich University. At 60 exhibition stands, and in 40 short talks, the Zurich science days provided thrilling in-sights into the theme “Light”. Scientifica presented a broad range of scientific top-ics: from light waves, x-rays and photol-ysis to measurement of motion, dental diagnosis, and light and dark in philoso-phy. Special events such as the flying robot show, laser experiments and the chemistry show, as well as the many presentations for families, were particularly popular with the public. For example, children could visit the talk about invisible young hares, or attend a workshop on robots, or go on a paper chase throughout the whole estate.

PSI

At the forefront of researchOn Sunday, 18 October 2015, it was again time for the PSI to open its doors to visitors. And to answer questions: Why do tiny dust particles have an effect on a global scale? What molecules are responsible for vision? How can archaeologists benefit from the Swiss Spallation Neutron Source? What is so unique about the treatment of tumours with protons? Can the energy-storage me-dium hydrogen help to cover our increas-ing energy needs? Why is our planet too highly curved for the new Swiss Spallation Neutron Source SwissFEL? The physicist duo Stella Nova provided entertainment with their extraordinary physics show on the open-air stage. In a big lecture hall the secrets behind the James Bond films were revealed. PSI scientists provided insights into many of the PSI research topics. About 15,000 visitors enjoyed the fascination of this “PSI research town”.

EPFL

EPFL spin-off develops a pioneering new medicine for tuberculosisThe EPFL spin-off “Innovative Medicines for Tuberculosis” (iM4TB) received fund-ing of about 750,000 USD from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its work on developing a trail-blazing drug against tuberculosis. The spin-off iM4TB, founded by the EU consortium “More Medicines for Tuberculosis”, is led by Prof. Stewart Cole, a TB expert of worldwide repute who works at EPFL. It is sponsored by the discoverer of the HIV virus, Nobel laureate Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (Professor at the Pasteur Institute). iM4TB is presently developing a new antibiotic that kills off therapy-resist-ant TB bacteria and can shorten the ther-apy. In-vivo studies have shown that the active ingredient works more efficiently and quickly than the drugs that are cur-rently available. The award from the Gates Foundation will facilitate human trials of this drug called “PBTZ169”, which are now expected to be performed in collaboration with the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) in Lausanne.

Using its integrated camera system, the “Skye” remote-controlled airship transmitted live images of Scientifica to a big screen in the main hall of ETH Zurich. (Image: Frank Brüderli / ETH Zurich)

The populace were keen to use one of the last opportunities to view the 740 metre long tunnel of the new large-scale research facility SwissFEL before it is commissioned. (Image: PSI)

Chemical structure of the new drug from iM4TB, which was developed in the laboratory of EPFL. (Image: iM4TB).

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Eawag

National action plan for plant protection agentsIn 2015 the Federal Council commissioned the Federal Government to prepare an ac-tion plan for risk reduction and the sustainable use of pesticides. Specialists at Eawag were involved in producing the ac-tion plan, working with members of the Federal Government. The experts are to define the main risks, and set targets for their reduction. The interdisciplinary work group is also determining the appropriate measures to achieve these targets. The dis-cussions draw on the latest research results of Eawag.

Empa

Energy Hub: energy optimi- sation at town- quarter scale“Energy Hubs” are integrated energy cen-tres which could be used in future to op-timise the electricity, cooling and heating requirements in individual buildings and on large estates. All the components at-tached to an Energy Hub can be individually controlled, and operated dynamically in combination. This will become increasingly important in future, because the buildings of tomorrow will not only consume energy, they will also be able to harvest, convert, store and transport renewable energies as they fluctuate strongly over time. These new opportunities for the supply of energy call for an optimised energy management. Empa has started to build an Energy Hub as part of the demonstration platform NEST. Here the innovation building serves as a simpli-fied model of a town quarter, with the in-dividual residential and occupational units as the buildings. Various technologies for the collection, conversion and storage of energy are used here. Moreover, the second demonstration platform of Empa, “move”, is integrated within the Energy Hub and can draw energy from it or supply energy to it, as needed. In the next stage it is planned to gradually integrate more Empa buildings within the Energy Hub. Here Empa is also strengthening its cooperation with the ESI platform of the PSI.

WSL

Forest report: in a good state, but with increasing challenges The second Forest Report published by the WSL and Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN) in 2015 sums up the state of the Swiss forests over the past ten years. It is therefore an important basis for a multi- purpose forest management. The past decade was relatively calm for the forests, there were no major storms and the crown de-foliation has stabilised. So Switzerland’s “green lung” is doing well, even though imported insects such as the chestnut gall wasp and new fungal diseases such as ash dieback have decimated certain tree species. The report also mentions coming challeng-es such as climate change and increasing expectations of the populace regarding for-ests near towns.

The proportion of deciduous trees and the diversity of species and structure in the Swiss forests have been increasing since 2005. 90 % of forest regeneration takes place by natural means. (Photo: Thomas Reich / WSL)

Eawag is actively involved in a national work group on the pesticide action plan. (Image: Chris Gomersall / Nature Picture Library)


PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 8 | Sources of financing and allocation of funds


Due to budget cuts the growth of basic funding from the Federal Government has dropped from over 4 % during the first two years of the ERI period 2013–2016 to below 2 % in 2015 and 2016. Uncertainty concerning the prevailing political and economic conditions has made obtaining competitively acquired funding difficult. Nevertheless, the predicted figure was achieved. It makes up about 21 % of the funding. This is a reliable indicator of the high scientific quality and competitive strength of the institutions of the ETH Domain and the esteem in which they are held by funding bodies and financiers.

Financing of the ETH DomainStable basic funding is one of the key conditions underpinning the success of the ETH Domain22. That is why the ETH Board consid-ers it part of its mission to continue striving for political support so that basic funding remains secure. It supports the institutions in utilising existing income sources in as efficient a manner as pos-sible, identifying new sources and, where possible and appropriate, benefiting from new collaboration and financing models.

The ETH Domain is financed by funds made available by the Federal Government (total federal contribution), research contri-butions and contracts, and by way of scientific services (consisting of competitively acquired funds from public organisations and pri-vate sources), donations and bequests, tuition fees and other utili-sation fees, and other income.

By far the most important part of the ETH Domain’s financing is the total federal contribution or funds made available by the Fed-eral Government. The Swiss parliament originally approved fund-ing of 9,489.9m CHF for the 2013–2016 period. This amount was then increased by a total of 174m CHF, meaning that the total funding approved for the ETH Domain stood at 9,657.9m CHF.

Then, due to subsequent budget cuts as the result of the sav-ings measures implemented during 2015 and 2016, the budgetary framework was reduced by 136.6m CHF. Therefore the ETH Domain provisionally has an approved budgetary framework totalling 9,521.3m CHF at its disposal for the 2013–2016 period (see fig. 8). Annual growth declined from over 4 % in 2013 and 2014 to 1.7 % in 2015.

8 “The ETH Domain will enhance its financing basis and efficiently deploy the available funds.”

22 Report “Intermediate Evaluation 2015 of the ETH Domain” of 14 April 2015, p. 4 and 9.

Fig. 8: Available funding of the ETH Domain (December 2015)

m CHF 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2013–2016

Budgetary framework of the ETH Domain 2013–2016 2,174.5 2,271.4 2,378.2 2,456.6 2,551.7 9,657.9

Increases 0.9 – – – – 24.0

Reductions – – – – 55.7 – 104.9 – 160.6

Total credit, based on the budgetary framework 2,175.4 2,271.4 2,378.2 2,417.9 2,453.8 9,521.3

Nominal growth 4.4 % 4.7 % 1.7 % 1.5 % 3.1 %

The total federal contribution consists of two credits: one covers the financial requirements for current outgoings, the other the investments in movables (see fig. 9).

Fig. 9: Status of the credits taking into account the budgetary framework of the ETH Domain (December 2015)

m CHF 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2013–2016

A2310.0542 Federal financial contribution 2,040.7 2,073.9 2,195.0 2,212.4 2,252.4 8,733.7

A4100.0125 Investment credit for ETH Domain constructions 134.7 197.5 183.2 205.5 201.4 787.6

Total credit, based on the budgetary framework 2,175.4 2,271.4 2,378.2 2,417.9 2,453.8 9,521.3

Nominal growth 4.4 % 4.7 % 1.7 % 1.5 % 3.1 %

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PERFORMANCE MANDATE

Development of the sources of fundsThe previous category second-party resources used prior to the adoption of IPSAS (part of research contributions) included the funds from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Com-mission for Technology and Innovation (CTI), funding for research projects from Federal offices (government-funded research), and EU research framework programmes. Their share of the operating revenue stayed at the same high level (approx. 15 %), which matches the expectations. Following from the discontinuation of negotia-tions on the association to Horizon 2020 in 2014 and the uncertainty this engendered, a decline was projected in the 2015 budget.

The share of revenue items designated as third-party resources (partnerships with business, other third-party resources [part of research contributions], donations and bequests) also stayed at

the same high level (approx. 9 %). Due to deteriorating economic prospects a decline was predicted here, too. As a consequence, sub-objective 1 was not achieved during the year under review (see fig. 10).

However, thanks to the increase in 2013 and 2014 and stepped- up efforts in 2016, this sub-objective will be achieved for the ERI period 2013–2016. Additional sources of income will be evaluated as they arise. The following measures are being discussed: a pos-sible increase in tuition fees, charging more to fully cover the cost of the educational and continuing studies programmes, higher remuneration to cover the indirect costs of projects funded by the SNSF and the CTI, monetisation of intellectual property rights, and reviewing the financial contributions of all the local cantons in which the institutions of the ETH Domain are located.

Fig. 10: Development of the sources of funds from financing perspective (total federal contribution consisting of the financial federal contribution and the construction investment ETH Domain)

2005–2013

Internal resources Second-party resources Third-party funding

2014–2015

Total federal contribution Tuition fees and other utilisation fees Research contributions, mandates and scientific services Donations and bequests Other revenue

* acc. to IPSAS from 2014 (restatement)

4,000

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014* 2015*

2132,319

241

252

1,826

2,421

245

295

1,880

2,412

280

279

1,854

2,656

383

324

1,949

2,760

338

372

2,050

2,893

355

409

2,130

3,057

408

440

2,208

3,072

426

471

2,175

3,131

409

451

2,2712,378

33

73294118

2,41734

718115102

3,453 3,478


Improvement of efficiencyIn 2015 the ETH Domain continued its numerous efforts to boost efficiency.

The new accounting standard IPSAS was introduced in the whole ETH Domain in 2015. This led to a high initial outlay and an increased demand for financial and staffing resources – both at the level of the institutions and also at the ETH Board. Besides adjustments to the annual financial statement, and the introduc-tion of new annual accounts in the individual institutions, in 2015 for the first time it was necessary to divide the revenues into those from exchange transactions and those from non-exchange trans-actions, and the dedicated capital into borrowed capital and equity; the pension liabilities also had to be revalued, and addi-tional information had to be obtained for the Appendix.

Looking to the long term, the positive effects on efficiency should make this worthwhile. The cooperation between the finance departments of the institutions of the ETH Domain was noticably enhanced by the IPSAS project. The institutions made a clear study and presentation of their procedures, which allowed them to detect any inefficiencies and possible further synergies for the future collaboration. What is more, the new business reports and the accounting in compliance with the international standards give the institutions better communication tools for their interaction with the important stakeholders.

Allocation of fundingThe ETH Board allocates annual funding to the institutions as pro-vided for in Article 33a of the ETH Act. The allocation of funding within the ETH Domain is governed by Article 12 para. 2 of the Ordinance for the ETH Domain.23 In doing so, the ETH Board takes

account of the strategic objectives, academic performance and financial burdens of the institutions (performance mandate 2013–2016, objective 8, sub-objective 3). The annual allocation of fund-ing to the institutions is based on the ETH Board’s four-year stra-tegic plan, the development plans approved by the Board and the target agreements with the institutions derived from them, and the institutions’ budget requests. The funding allocation model developed by the ETH Board is based on the three performance dimensions “strategy”, “performance” and “load”. In assessing these dimensions the ETH Board draws upon two highly differen-tiated catalogues of criteria owing to the strongly differing core tasks: one for both Federal Institutes of Technology and one for the four research institutes. The following are also taken into con-sideration: the strategic development schemes and the institu-tions’ changing load factors such as increases in the number of students or changes in the institutions’ national tasks assigned to them by the state. Employing this system ensures an optimal allo-cation of funding in keeping with the specific needs of the insti-tutions and the ETH Domain.

Of the credits totalling 2,417.9m CHF in 2015, 2,382.7m CHF was available after deducting ring-fenced expenses. Prior to alloca-tion to the institutions, the ETH Board reserved funds for its own administration, operation of the Appeals Commission and for incentive and start-up funding (90.1m CHF), as assigned in 2015, leaving 2,292.6m CHF available for allocation to the institutions in 2015. Of this amount, 2,232.6m CHF went towards teaching and research and 50m CHF was allocated in a performance-oriented manner (see fig. 11).

23 SR 414.110.3

PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 8 | Sources of financing and allocation of funds

Fig. 11: Allocation of funding to the institutions of the ETH Domain

FS 2013FS 2014

Restatement FS 2015

∆ 2014/2015

m CHF in %

ETH Domain 1, 6 2,271.4 2,378.2 2,417.9 39.7 1.7

ETH Zurich2 1,146.8 1,212.5 1,224.0 11.5 0.9

EPFL3 580.9 594.9 618.1 23.3 3.9

PSI4 303.2 300.4 324.0 23.7 7.9

WSL 55.6 53.0 55.7 2.7 5.0

Empa 97.3 106.8 106.7 – 0.1 – 0.1

Eawag 55.5 56.1 58.6 2.6 4.6

ETH Board 5 32.2 54.6 30.7 – 23.9 – 43.7

Additional information on the financial statements (FS):1 Annual instalments as per the approved budgetary framework 2013–2016: instalment 2015: 2,456.6m CHF, cuts in 2015: Consolidation and Task Evaluation Package (KAP) 2014 – 29.0m CHF,

across-the-board cut – 26.7m CHF, increase 10,0m CHF; included in total: property portfolio adjustment 2014: 14.0m CHF, 2015: 7.0m CHF.2 Incl. HPCN: 6.0m CHF, start-up funding from President: 3.0m CHF, additional costs for earthquake monitoring network: 0.4m CHF, property portfolio adjustment 2014:

incl. 14.0m CHF, 2015: incl. 7.0m CHF (2015).3 Incl. Blue Brain project: 20.0m CHF.4 Incl. SwissFEL: 35.0m CHF.5 Incl. strategic projects, SUC programmes and CIP-SUC, financing of reconstruction costs for accelerator facilities at PSI.6 Incl. funds “Energy Research Switzerland” Action Plan (2013: 12.0m CHF, 2014: 16.0m CHF, 2015: 16.0m CHF).

98

PERFORMANCE MANDATE

24 Intermediate Evaluation 2015 of the ETH Domain, Report of the Expert Committee, recommendation no. 2 (“Securing stable funding”).

Particularities of the financing of teaching and research

Due to the long-term nature of their scientific lines of develop-ment and curricula, academic systems can only respond to changes in the financial environment with a considerable delay. Building expansion and conversion measures must be planned in advance and carefully coordinated with the numerous teaching and research stakeholders: long-term research projects and costly investments in research infrastructure must be taken into account. Undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students are to be able to complete their studies without the quality or freedom of choice of their education being compromised. The business sector expects a teaching and research portfolio that possesses a long-term per-spective and whose development is transparent and reliable so that it may optimally frame its interaction with the ETH Domain and be able to count on a healthy recruiting base of new employees.

Therefore securing continuous and reliable basic financing is key for making a financial contribution to the ETH Domain as a whole, and also for the allocation of funding by the ETH Board to the institutions. With this in mind, the international commission of experts tasked by the Federal Government in 2015 with the intermediate evaluation of the ETH Domain (see p. 36) also came to the conclusion that the increases in financing to date and the stable basic financing are mission-critical for the success of the institutions of the ETH Domain and their high competitiveness on the international stage. The commission therefore recommended that this should be ensured for the future as well and that the budget should be secured over the coming planning periods as much as possible. 24


PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 9 | Real estate management


In an increasingly difficult situation in view of the overall econ-omy and the financial position of the Federal Government, the ETH Domain managed very well in achieving the strategic targets for real estate management that it was assigned in the perfor-mance mandate for 2013–2016. The increasing complexity of the projects calls for a careful approach and a clear governance, also in coming years.

Long-term portfolio developmentThe long-term development of the real estate portfolio is properly based on information about today’s inventory and tomorrow’s needs. In 2015 the ETH Board decided on the Spatial and Financial Master Plans (SFMP), based on the detailed proposals. These now lay out the development of the real estate portfolio and the required financial resources of the ETH Domain for the period 2017–2028, with a view to the requirements of teaching and research, covering a time horizon of twelve years. They allow for the fact that a complex building project may require six to eight years of intensive work, from the initial idea to the planning, pro-ject design, approval and implementation.

This means that assumptions have to be made early on regard-ing the future requirements of users – which in the case of the ETH Domain will often be the teaching and research areas. This esti-mate is important if one is to commence the required conversion and extension works and construction of new buildings on time, with the right features and quality or indeed at the right location. It is not just about the increasing technical demands of the ever more complex research work, in terms of rooms and floor areas and infrastructure; or the quantitative estimate of the future requirements of the two Federal Institutes of Technology, which essentially depends on the way the existing and future areas of research develop and on the constantly rising number of students and doctoral students. Also important are the increasing stand-ards of energy efficiency, ecological and social sustainability, and in particular the long-term financial sustainability and cost-ef-fectiveness, which are usually a response to political directives.

It is a particularly challenging task to predict in detail the long-term needs of future users, especially in the academic and scien-tific field. The teaching and research requirements that a building project has to fulfil change induring in the phases of project plan-ning and implementation that can extend over several years. Accordingly this places high demands on the portfolio and project managers in the building departments of the ETH Domain. They are also responsible for seeing that the costs are kept within budget and the needs of teaching and research are defined in time, accurately and bindingly and are then accordingly met. The renovation of the ME building of EPFL (2010 building programme), which was organised using a general contractor, and which is to be completed in 2016, is one example where these aspects have to be considered. After the fixed-price contract was concluded in 2011, considerable additional costs were caused by later changes in requirements, building modifications, and an interruption to the building work; but these were still dealt with without having to draw on additional funds from the Federal Government. In the sec-ond half of 2015 this then led to the ETH Board and EPFL ordering a thorough investigation (which is still underway at the time of going to press), to determine the causes and learn lessons from them.

There is a tension between the needed growth in capacity and the feasibility of funding, so it is important to have alternative financing models besides the ordinary financing of investment in building work by using federal funds. The institutions can over-come spatial and technical bottlenecks by resorting to market products, for example by leasing, without detracting from the budgetary authority of the Swiss parliament. At its meeting in December 2015, the ETH Board decided to factor in the conse-quential costs to a greater extent in the investment decisions and the strategic control of the real estate management; for example operating and maintenance, leasing, etc. In particular the Swiss Innovation Park, with the Cantons as sponsors of the individual sites, will provide new opportunities, which should be carefully used in the coming years. Sustainability and transparency will be very important here.

Maintaining value and functionalityThe ETH Board has a statutory obligation to maintain the value and functionality of the real estate holdings of the ETH Domain. The status value in 2015 of 82.6 % for the whole ETH Domain real estate portfolio matches the trend over past years. Despite the considerable age of some of the buildings and their intensive use, the status value in relation to the historic value is still at a con-stant high level (see also p. 138).

The handling of historically significant, listed properties was again found to be a challenge in 2015. The often diverging aims and directives of the authorities and interest groups, for example concerning the protection of historical buildings and monuments, or energy saving, fire safety, and land use planning, cause delays for pending renovation of properties that urgently need to be returned to teaching and research.

9 “The ETH Domain will coordinate the management of properties and real estate and ensure that both value and functionality are maintained.”

100

PERFORMANCE MANDATE

Sustainable developmentSince 1997, every four years the Federal Council has issued a doc-ument presenting its political plans to implement sustainable development in Switzerland. The strategy titled “Sustainable development 2012–2015” is the fourth in the series, and repre-sents the Swiss contribution to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil in June 2012 (“Rio+20”). The strategy for the years 2016–2019 has been in preparation since September 2014 under the direction of the Federal Office for Spa-tial Development (ARE), and it has finally to be ratified by the Federal Council. Both the strategy for 2012–2015 and that for 2016–2019 feature an action plan with ten “Key challenges and meas-ures”. The ETH Board and the institutions of the ETH Domain set out the operational and construction targets for 2016–2019 through the Coordination Group for Construction and Property Services (KBOB).

The Federal Council’s “Sustainable Development Strategy” for 2012–2015 includes measure 4a for sustainable building. One par-tial measure is the “Sustainable real estate strategy of the Federal Government”, which was completed by the three Federal Con-struction and Properties Services (BLOs) – the Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (BBL), armasuisse and the ETH Board – and the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), in 2015. On 1 January 2016 the Ordinance on the Real Estate Management of the Confederation, amended to include this new measure, came into force together with the associated directive. In a downstream project, the KBOB publication “Sustainable real estate management – Fact sheet” will be revised in 2016. The examples it contains will serve as leading models for the real estate managers of the institutions of the ETH Domain.

The institutions of the ETH Domain support the targets of the Federal Council’s strategy by their real estate management. For example, over the past years the climate targets of Switzerland have been supported by the gradual switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. This took concrete shape in 2015 at ETH Zurich with the initiation of projects for expanding the anenergy network on Hönggerberg (Cluster HC and HW), and the decision to implement the “cooling ring” on the ETH Zentrum campus with the long-term goal of connecting up to a lakewater pipe. EPFL has achieved savings on thermal and electrical energy of 20 to 50 % by applying effective measures in the Rolex Learning Center and ELG buildings. The WSL has commenced the eneryg upgrade of the HV, HL and HS buildings in Birmensdorf, including the installation of a photovoltaic system. Also in Davos the last building was heat- insulated according to Minergie standards. By completing these energy refurbishments the WSL will be one step closer to achieving its aim of entirely dispensing with fossil fuels for the heating and cooling.

According to the strategy of the Federal Council, the use of exemplary technologies in the construction of buildings and installations is one further way of supporting sustainable devel-opment in Switzerland. ETH Zurich has, for example, received the gold pre-certification of the SGNI (Swiss Sustainable Building Council) for the new buildings GLC (Zurich) and BSS (Basel), and the Minergie pre-certification for the AGROVET-Strickhof project. ETH Zurich was awarded the Prix Lignum for the innovative use of wood in the “House of Natural Resources” (HIA annex building). Noteworthy is also the use of micro-turbines to generate electric-ity in the return circuit of the cooling water in the data centre CSCS in Lugano. EPFL installed solar cells on the façade of the ELL build-ing, made by the EPFL spin-off SwissInso in a longstanding col-laboration with EPFL. These solar cells can be coloured using a special nano-coating, which greatly enhances the aesthetic design options for solar cells. At Empa various new concepts, including those for waste water, insulation and storage, were researched and installed for the projects NEST, “move” and “Energie Areal Empa Eawag”.

Increasing flexibilityUniversity sites are increasingly tending to become town areas that are used by students outside the normal teaching and work-ing hours, and visited by the local public. Functional sites have become active spaces full of life where people like to stay and interact with others. In this way the ETH Domain is also increas-ingly serving the social aspect of sustainability. However, this desirable development places greater demands on the site’s local infrastructure. The ever-increasing numbers of students and doc-toral students has also led to the need for more catering facilities and student accommodation, because short-term academic visi-tors also require a place to stay in the immediate vicinity of their teaching, research and knowledge and technology transfer.

These extended demands on university life will not be properly covered by the performance mandate to the ETH Domain and the associated limited financial resources of the Federal Government. In this context the ETH Domain refers to “supplementary facilities” that add to its performance mandate, as an element of increasing flexibility of real estate management. Investor models can be used here as an alternative mode of financing, for suitable proposals. The basic idea is that private investors can effectively add to the infrastructure for certain uses, and take on the complete financ-ing, project planning, implementation and independent opera-tion and maintenance. The corresponding opportunities and risks are borne by the investors, who have the needed experience and professional skills for this. This approach is different to the so-called PPP projects (Public Private Partnership), which entail a sharing of tasks, opportunities and risks in the form of a part-nership. Student hostels or hotels on the campus are examples of proposals that have already been realised using investor models some years ago. By using such approaches the ETH Domain has been stepping into new territory, tried for the first time in Switzer-land. In the year of the report there were two student hostels on the Hönggerberg estate of ETH Zurich as investor-funded construction


projects (HWO and HWW); one office building was finished and opened for use (HCP 1+2). The ETH Board and the Federal Govern-ment also approved the construction of the student hostel (Triau-des) on the EPFL campus.

After years of experience in the field of investor models, the audit committee of the ETH Board has instructed the real estate department to further standardise these models, and harmonise the criteria for use and the approval procedure, and to prepare the needed sample contracts. Based on the Regulation concerning

Real Estate Management and Logistics within the Federal Admin-istration (VILB), partially revised on 1 January 2015, a total of five models were produced for supplementary facilities that comple-ment the performance mandate, and are permitted for the ETH Domain, in order to cover its own requirements and also for pos-sible requirements of third-parties. The results, aligned with the institutions, were approved by the ETH Board and have entered into force.

PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 9 | Real estate management

Adaptation of governance in real estate management

With the partial revision of the Ordinance on Real Estate Manage-ment and Logistics within the Federal Administration (VILB), the Federal Council more closely defined the profile of the ETH Board as a supervisory body in terms of its responsibilities and as sole contact partner for the Federal Government authorities. The ETH Board proceeded to implement these provisions by a comprehen-sive project involving the participation of the federal offices and the institutions of the ETH Domain. Besides adapting the associ-ated regulations which specify the relations between the central Federal Government and the ETH Board, a revision of the real estate directive and the internal execution provisions (internal governance) is planned. In December 2015 the ETH Board decided on the basic principles of the internal governance. This confirmed the delegation of tasks and competencies to the institutions that

had already been undertaken in 2013, while the internal control system (ICS) over the ETH Domain is to be extended at the direction of the Federal Government, and in future the ETH Board shall con-sistently report to the Federal Government. The ETH Board also decided to modify its organisation and mode of working in view of the expected additional workload. The ETH Board and the audit committee are to take on strategic tasks as a construction and real estate department (BLO), significant decisions on specific business are to be made by the President of the ETH Board, while opera-tional tasks are to be executed by the line managers of the real estate department reporting directly to the Federal Government and third parties (especially in the area of consolidation, report-ing and internal control).

102

PERFORMANCE MANDATE


By identifying talent at an early stage, and promoting the upcom-ing young scientists, the institutions of the ETH Domain ensure the basis for a high quality of teaching and research. And they are also making a significant contribution to reducing the lack of academic specialists in the STEM subjects, as well as to the competitiveness and innovative strength of Switzerland. The varied range of services for career planning and personal career development, which were further extended in 2015, play an important role here. A number of tools are designed to further the equal opportunities of women and men, and further increase the proportion of women especially in management positions. All the institutions strive to ensure working conditions that allow the staff to combine their professional and family life regardless of gender, position or social background. The various cultures, languages, religions and age groups are also valued by the ETH Domain as an essential added value. The effective edu-cation and promotion of trainees in various professions are also given great importance.

ETH ZurichETH Zurich prepares the next generation of young scientists for competition and a career at the international level. It enables young researchers to acquire the skills enabling them to success-fully apply for good jobs in the international scientific community. To this end it places at their disposal a comprehensive range of funding instruments that optimally supplement the instruments of external funding bodies.

ETH Zurich established the Forum Nachwuchsförderung panel in 2015, which unites key players of the university. Its task is to identify the need for action with regard to fostering young aca-demics and proposing the actions to be taken. 2015 also saw the

establishment of an information platform for young researchers which provides an overview of the funding programmes and opportunities available at ETH Zurich and from key external fund-ing bodies25.

The “Long Night of the Career” took place for the second time in November of 2015, at 12 Swiss institutions of higher learning. Approx. 1,000 undergraduate and PhD students and alumni of ETH Zurich and over 280 corporate representatives met at the university to renew old acquaintances and also make new contacts, in addi-tion to exchanging information on career opportunities.

Assistant professorships are one of the most well-known means for promoting young scientific talent. The new guidelines issued by the University President on the assistant professorships at ETH Zurich entered into force at the beginning of 2015. The regulations were revised for the supervision and funding of assistant profes-sors and the implementation of the tenure-track system.

Personnel consulting was further expanded and decentralised in 2015. In most departments and infrastructure divisions at ETH Zurich the HR advisors now work on site and increasingly act as direct points of contact for the various matters and issues of supervisors and employees.

ETH Zurich is not only a key training centre for academics but also for young professionals in the Canton of Zurich: a total of 169 trainees of 13 different occupations received training in 2015. Pro-fessional, inter-company courses contribute to the high quality of technical and vocational education and training at ETH Zurich.

EPFLBy creating the Talent Management unit, EPFL is endeavouring to increase the internal and external mobility of scientists and of administrative employees and technical staff. Now that the devel-opment of the research departments and the demand for exper-tise, skills and new specialists have been analysed, the relevant units can now engage in concrete action for the individual staff segments. EPFL has also created specific transdisciplinary compe-tencies in IT.

Following AAQ/CTI accreditation (Swiss Agency for Accreditation and Quality Assurance/French Commission des titres d’ingénieur), various faculties have been establishing continuing education programmes for improving leadership. With the development of a comprehensive e-learning programme in 2015, as of 2016 approx. 100 modules are available to staff for refreshing and expanding their personal knowledge, especially with regard to management skills, wherever and whenever they please.

There are now more teleworking options available thanks to the transfer of staff to the new external sites over the course of the year (Biotech Campus in Geneva, Energypolis in Sitten, and Smart Living Lab in Fribourg) and restructuring the university into several sites. This has now become part and parcel of a modern working organisation on account of the efforts made to sustainably develop and improve the facilitation of the work/life balance.

Due to the breakneck development of IT tools in human resources management, a project is being launched in 2016 to expand pro-cesses in respect of social networks. Special efforts are being made

10 “The ETH Domain creates attractive and family-friendly working conditions, supports equal opportunities and trains young scientists.”

Objective 10 | Working conditions, equal opportunities and young scientific talent

25 www.ethz.ch/unterstuetzung-studium-laufbahn


PERFORMANCE MANDATE | Objective 10 | Working conditions, equal opportunities and young scientific talent

to standardise annual compensation and performance interviews with the aid of a bonus system.

The number of traineeships has increased slightly (93 as com-pared to 90 in 2014). In addition, EPFL offers students of commer-cial and technical vocational colleges the option of completing one-year internships (14 experience placements in 2014 and 2015).

PSIThe PSI took part in the Career Tracking of Doctorate Holders pilot project of the European Science Foundation as one of five institu-tions in Europe; the results of this project were published in May of 2015.26 In view of the pronounced rise in PhD degrees (increase by 40 % in OECD countries in the past 20 years), the question was examined to determine which actions had a measurable influence on the career development of young scientists and what chal-lenges currently result from these developments. The responses of almost 500 young academics and scientists pertaining to their individual career paths, geographical mobility and career deci-sions within and outside of academia were analysed, providing significant clues for PSI’s internal planning of future projects related to HR development. A key aspect in this context was showing the career alternatives available not only in academia but also in industry.

All the preparatory work for the proposed external assessment for the Friendly Work Space distinction was completed during the year under review. PSI’s efforts to earn this seal of approval from the Health Promotion in Switzerland foundation for successful organisational health management are designed to make PSI’s commitment to excellent working conditions better known.

The PSI has established a variety of events specifically targeting children and adolescents for the purpose of piquing their interest in the natural sciences and technology: more than 200 school tours were conducted of the iLab school laboratory in 2015, open houses were conducted by the PSI for the students of various communities in Aargau in the form of Holiday Pass programmes during the spring break, and a one-week summer camp was con-ducted for the children of PSI staff for the fifth time in 2015.

WSLUncertain working conditions are of concern to young researchers of both sexes, yet female researchers in particular face major chal-lenges in balancing their career and family in view of the current structural conditions in academia and the high number of fixed-term contracts abounding. WSL provides individual support to female researchers by way of advice and coaching but also by enabling female PhD students and postdocs to take part in the ETH Domain’s interdisciplinary career-building programme “Fix the leaky pipeline!”. Never had so many young women academics at WSL taken part in this programme as in 2015. The “WSL PhD Club”, organised by the young researchers themselves, is devoted to fos-tering further interdisciplinary skills. Apart from offering an oppor-

tunity to socialise and providing for CPD, the career day with its panel discussion was very popular on account of the presentation of the career options available within and outside of academia.

WSL trains young men and women in seven occupations: elec-tronics technicians, polymechanics, computer scientists, biology laboratory assistants, chemical laboratory assistants, operational maintenance specialists and chefs. In this way 14 young men and five young women in Birmensdorf and Davos have been equipped for a successful professional career.

WSL, like Swiss society as a whole, is dependent on a sufficient number of young people entering a university or vocational career in the STEM fields. That is why WSL is committed to promoting the STEM subjects – both directly and indirectly. Examples: 40 chil-dren visited the WSL and the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) on National Future Day. The Outlearning module of the Chur University of Teacher Education for basic teacher training took place at SLF for the first time in 2015 as did a continuing education module for grammar school teachers, the latter impart-ing in-depth knowledge on snow and avalanches and in doing so providing valuable input for designing instruction in geography and physics that engages the student.

EmpaEmpa holds numerous employer distinctions. It has been awarded the “Family AND Career” distinction, and received a Best Practice distinction in a number of areas including “work content, man-agement approach and staff development”, awarded by the UND centre of competence “Family and Career for Men and Women”.

Empa also received the Prix BalanceZH prize awarded by the canton of Zurich for its commitment to the equality of opportunity and diversity.

Employees’ “marketability” on the labour market is ensured by way of an institutionalised personal development plan, which takes place every year. Training measures and internships are reviewed and oriented to the employees’ future development goals. A specialist career is put on an equal footing with a man-agement career, including that of Distinguished Senior Researcher.

With the annual summer camp for primary school-aged chil-dren, Empa seeks to awaken their interest in the natural and engineering sciences. Empa also takes part in National Future Day. Various courses and workshops are offered for doctoral students and postdocs to help them to improve their social and personal skills. The ETH Domain’s joint support programme for young female scientists, “Fix the leaky pipeline!”, is also supported.

26 www.esf.org/serving-science/career-tracking/career-tracking-pilot.html

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EawagEawag is committed to fostering the next generation of young scientists, providing its over 100 doctoral students with excellent infrastructures, targeted training and information events. The Doctoral Studies Committee oversees the various support pro-grammes for doctoral students, offers assistance for supervisors and provides a forum for PhD-related concerns.

Every year Eawag organises the competition for the award of its Postdoc Fellowship – which fosters young researchers – and funds it. A fellowship of this type is a key milestone on the CVs of young scientists. At the same time the fellowship also helps to expand Eawag’s network and raise its profile and enable it to identify young talent.

The Eawag Partnership Program for Developing Countries (EPP) offers students from these countries the opportunity to take part in the exchange of knowledge at Eawag and to engage in research and networking.

In addition, workshops are also offered for young scientists with fixed-term project contracts which touch upon their career development and are designed to motivate them to proactively engage in thought about their future.

Eawag also provides training programmes for 24 trainees in the area of business and IT and as chemical and biology laboratory assistants.


showed how many crèche places are required on the EPFL campus in view of the planned expansion of day care availability by the year 2020. At the same time, a concept was established for day care in the offshoots of EPFL in the canton. The actions associated with the expansion of teleworking are part of the efforts being made to improve balancing family and career.

The findings of a LOGIB analysis conducted in the summer of 2015 were positive (LOGIB is a statistical tool developed by the Federal Office for Gender Equality to assess whether a company is implementing equal pay for equal work). The pay divide between men and women was determined by employing a regression analysis that took into account individual personal and job- related factors. Result: on average women earn 1.9 % less. Other steps that might lead to an “equal salary” certification are cur-rently being discussed.

In 2015 the number of women employed at EPFL exceeded the 33 % mark for the first time. With women accounting for 12 % of full and assistant professors, EPFL again came closer to the ETH Board’s goal of achieving a 13 % share of women in this category by the year 2016.

The efforts to raise the awareness for the equality of opportu-nity and the associated obstacles were continued, e.g. by way of a conference on the occasion of the EPFL’s “Journées Scientifiques et Pédagogiques” (see p. 108) and a seminar organised by the Faculty of Life Sciences with Professor Anna Wahl (Royal Institute of Technology, KTH Stockholm).

With the 10th anniversary of the Erna Hamburger Prize, the EPFL’s WISH Foundation promoted the presence of women in top-level cutting-edge research throughout the world. In 2015 this pres-tigious award went to South African professor of biology Jill Farrant, an expert in the field of xerophytic resurrection plants (Myrothamnus).

PSICreating options targeted to needs PSI actively supports equal opportunities and increasing the pro-portion of women at all career stages. A positive development was observed in this area during the year under review (see p. 130, personnel key figures). The proportion of women pursuing post-doctoral degrees increased significantly. A substantial contribution was made by the PSI-FELLOW programme of the FP7 Marie-Curie Actions, which started 2015 with a 30 % share of women of the fellows in its second programme phase.

PSI continued its support of the “Return to work” project, which it launched in 2010. This project helps female scientists and engineers to return to work after temporarily putting their careers on hold for family reasons. During the reporting year this concept was revised to also address young male scientists in starting a family and was thus further developed as an instrument for sup-porting dual-career couples.

PSI’s role as progressive employer and its corporate culture are based on its Ambitious & Friendly Workplace philosophy. PSI is committed to fostering the reconciliation of professional and pri-vate demands, i.e. balancing career and family, through targeted

Equality of opportunity in the ETH Domain

ETH Zurich Gender Action Plan bears fruitETH Zurich published its 2014/2015 Gender Monitoring report in September of 2015. It shows that all departments of ETH Zurich have at least one, normally more than one female full professor on their staffs, the latter situation being the rule. A special section of the report also shows that assistant professorships have proven to be a suitable instrument for increasing the share of women among full professors in the medium term.

With its gender action plan, which it adopted in 2014, ETH Zurich strives to ensure gender equality at all levels of the academic career path. In implementing the action plan during 2015, the members of the Tenure Committee and the Research Commission of ETH Zurich were instructed on the relevance of gender stereo-types. Seminars enabled female postdocs to learn about key details pertaining to the recruitment process. Lectures and events – conducted in part by the “ladies clubs” of the various depart-ments of ETH Zurich – also took place for the purpose of support-ing young female academic talent. In 2015 ETH Zurich confirmed that it would be taking part in the Femtec Career Building pro-gramme for female engineering and science students for another three years.

A pilot study conducted in 2015 under the direction of the gen-der delegates identified the most significant barriers posed to young women scientists with small children from the perspective of the women themselves and that of their supervisors. Further improvement with regard to day care availability, as well as regu-lar career talks following clear-cut criteria, are significant factors of success. Founded in 2014, the Hello Kids! service point is helpful for balancing family and career, as the first port of call for ETH Zurich members dealing with childcare issues. In autumn 2016 ETH Zurich will start creating 80 new day care places on the Höng-gerberg campus.

In 2015 ETH Zurich stepped up its efforts to integrate gender aspects in research and teaching. The emphasis was on systematic studies and pilot projects to make the teaching more appealing to the students.

EPFLPay difference between men and women less than 2 %In 2015 a new delegate position was created in the General Secre-tariat of university management for the purpose of better promot-ing for equal opportunities at EPFL. A steering committee for equal opportunities, comprised in part of several members of university management and representatives of women professors, supports the delegate in her work. This new structure will ensure closer cooperation with the Central Administration, in particular HR management, the academic services and the services for issues affecting teaching staff. It is also targeted to stronger integration of the faculties for the purpose of defining measures.

Improving the availability of childcare that caters for small children continues to be accorded top priority at EPFL. An analysis

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action. In order to implement this concept, and based on the needs expressed by employees in the 2014 staff survey, the working hours at PSI were made more flexible by introducing a home office/tele-working option in 2015. The observation of the effects of this improved flexibility and the discussion of the experience gained across the whole PSI will enable inferences to be made in the medium term as to what groups of employees will avail them-selves of these options and to what extent balancing family and career can be significantly strengthened as a result.

WSLNo pay differences between men and womenIn many industries and companies there are still inexplicable pay differences between men and women. Women earn less although this cannot be justified on the basis of differing experience, level of education or similar factors. The pay at WSL was reviewed for this during the evaluation of the new remuneration system (“Neues Lohnsystem”, NLS) of the ETH Domain. Fortunately it was shown that there are no relevant unaccountable pay differences between men and women at WSL: the differences were very small and so rare as to be regarded as random, meaning that there is no bias when it comes to the pay of men and women at WSL.

However, this picture is heavily skewed with regard to special bonuses, the study indicating a bias in favour of men for 2014, the year under review. Yet when it is considered that special bonuses are generally very rare at WSL, the statistical inaccuracy is rela-tively high.

When recruiting at the management level WSL is increasingly confronted with the challenge posed by dual-career couples: the best candidate for a position will also request a position for his partner. The female partners are also highly qualified scientific specialists who do not want to give up a good position to follow their husbands or male partners. WSL has always sought to find individual solutions to resolve these issues. At the end of 2015 WSL joined together with the other institutions of the ETH Domain for the purpose of tapping into a larger pool of networks and place-ment options.

EmpaRecognised for “Family AND Career”Empa was again awarded the “Family AND Career” distinction by the UND centre of competence at the beginning of 2015 for its numerous activities and initiatives to promote the equality of opportunity. UND (“AND”) is the Swiss competence centre for balancing career and family which awards this distinction for family-friendly hiring and employment practices. Empa has for-mulated the following objectives in this area:

—— Empa fosters women at all levels and in all function groups and ensures an increase in the proportion of women in management positions.

—— Empa promotes flexible working hours that enable career and family to be balanced at all levels and for all genders. It provides for a sufficient amount of day care availability.

—— Empa fosters a multi-cultural culture and prizes diversity.

Empa’s family-friendly policies are also reflected in the almost 100 % utilisation of the crèche in Dübendorf by Empa and Eawag employees. The annual summer camp conducted by Empa in 2015 also enabled approx. 20 children of staff to get a first impression what the natural sciences are all about.

The National Future Day afforded 100 young people the oppor-tunity of learning about the special natural science and technical professions at Empa. The group included 30 girls from the national Swiss programme “Mädchen-Technik-los!” (“Girls – technology – go!”), a workshop on the STEM professions.

Evaluation of the data concerning participation in the “Fix the leaky pipeline!” initiative27 showed that Empa still has potential to further increase the proportion of women. This potential is to be addressed in the next few years to come.

EawagEqual opportunities for everyoneThe Equal Opportunities Committee (EOC), on which staff of all departments are represented, is committed to all aspects of gen-der equality at Eawag. Together with the other institutions in the ETH Domain it supports the “Fix the leaky pipeline!” initiative. Following from the positive feedback received, Eawag will con-tribute funding in 2016 as well as call upon women scientists to apply. Until the programme’s completion at the end of 2015 Eawag also took part in the collaborative Swiss–German Mentoring Pro-gramme for female scientists headed by the University of Lucerne. The proportion of women in management positions at Eawag remains constantly high at 29 % (incl. Directorate); this develop-ment was also consistently pursued in 2015 with the goal of increasing this share further. The measures to help all employees balance their career and family life are published on the intranet. Part-time work was presented in a seminar as a valid and intrigu-ing perspective, also for male staff. In addition, a host of diverse events and workshops were conducted for various employee groups on the topic of intercultural communication, taking into account Eawag’s reputation at the international level. In addition to its commitment to the joint crèche facility with Empa, Eawag also provides financial support for parents with low incomes by assuming part of their day care costs. The institute also endeav-ours to help employees who are ill or disabled to continue work-ing, where possible.

27 Programme organised by all institutions of the ETH Domain for supporting women in their scientific career and in the integration process and for plugging the “leaky pipeline”, i.e. drain of women from STEM fields; www.fix-the-leaky-pipeline.ch


PSI

The woman who measures rock pores For three years in a row, Jenna Poonoosamy has won the prize for the best presentation at the PSI doctoral students’ day, in the field of nuclear energy and safety. She was born on the island of Mauritius. She grad-uated at the Laboratory for Waste Manage-ment at the PSI. Her field of research is the processes in geological formations at a great depth. Down there, changes take place over extremely long periods of time; thousands of years can easily pass before something noticeable happens. Because of these two reasons – depth and time fac-tor – researchers are not able to observe the processes there directly. Therefore one usually resorts to computer simulations. The problem with these simulations is that no one knows at first how accurately they represent the reality. So what is needed is a better connection between the nature that is hard to observe and the simulation that is initially uncertain. Jenna Poonoosamy managed to make such a connection, in the form of a laboratory experiment. This can be used to improve the computer sim-ulation made by her work group. The re-searchers have made it much more certain that they are modelling the actual geolog-ical processes.

ETH Zurich

Dual career advice as success factorWhen researchers from abroad move to ETH Zurich, they often look for a new posi-tion of employment in Switzerland for their partners. This is a factor that is becoming increasingly important in attracting pro-fessors. To provide better support to their partners in their job search, ETH Zurich has joined the International Dual Career Net-work (IDCN). The IDCN is active worldwide and is sponsored by the businesses and institutions at each location. Five times a year, the IDCN and the businesses invite people to events where job seekers can meet potential employers. Such a network-ing event was held at ETH Zurich at the end of April 2015, where 70 attendees were able to obtain information about employment options in Zurich. ETH Zurich presents it-self as an attractive employer with its wide range of career opportunities. Additionally, in parallel workshop topics are addressed such as further education and career de-velopment, taking a new career direction after an international relocation, and pre-paring an attractive job application that stands out from the crowd.

EPFL

Panel discussion about staff decisionsHow important is it to the EPFL to consid-er the factor of diversity when employing personnel? Do prejudices against women play a role in decisions made by the in-stitution about personnel? Challenging questions like these were the main topic of the “Gender and Power” discussion with the specialist for organisational behav-iour, Professor John Antonakis of the Uni-versity of Lausanne. During the “Journées Scientifiques et Pédagogiques” of EPFL in Interlaken at the beginning of September, the participants under the supervision of John Antonakis identified four aspects in reducing gender-specific prejudices when making decisions regarding personnel: increasing awareness, applying objective criteria to justify the decisions, gathering data and observing the trends and results, and getting the men involved as part of the solution.

Doctoral student Jenna Poonoosamy developed a laboratory experiment to investigate interactions in porous substances. (Image: Scanderbeg Sauer Photography)

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Eawag

Eawag female researchers on course to successIn 2015 even more scientists at Eawag were honoured with high awards. For example two young scientists Sabine Hoffmann and Catherine Wagner received awards in their special fields. Director Janet Hering received the “Distinguished Women in Chemistry 2015 Award” at the World Chem-istry Congress of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), and was appointed member of the American National Academy of Engineering in 2015. The awards are not only valuable for the distinguished promotion of researchers at Eawag, the scientists also serve as model examples for young scientists in environ-mental research.

WSL

Promoting employability by individual coaching Young researchers face considerable chal-lenges after they complete their doctoral degree or postdoctoral fellowship. Perma-nent positions at the WSL and in academia are rare, and many of them are occupied in founding a family and are looking for security. Should they pursue an academic career at all? If not, what are their chances of finding a position in industry or gov-ernment? How should they prepare them-selves for this? The WSL offers individual coaching sessions, which complement the ETH Domain’s programme “Fix the leaky pipeline!” to secure equal opportunities for women in science. It is mostly the young scientists who improve their employability in this way. Eight persons used the service in the second half of 2015 alone. They met with the director of the department of In-stitutional Development & Diversity, which managed the coaching sessions, from once to six times. “All those who made use of the service in the past months have found a solution”, says Ursula Gut. “Often it just needed a final push – for example presenting the job application documents quite differently in industry than in academia. We support the young people with tips like these.”

Empa

Attractive for trainees, too – in ten professionsBesides research, knowledge and technol-ogy transfer, and education and further training full-time or alongside employ-ment, Empa also provides training for apprentices. In ten professions: electrician, operational maintenance technician, IT specialist, business administrator, design engineer, laboratory technician in chemis-try, biology, physics or textiles, and mul-ti-skilled mechanic. On average, Empa trains more than 40 apprentices; each year five to ten of these complete their appren-ticeship (often achieving top marks). Teams of Empa trainees also successfully take part in competitions. For example, four train-ees studying multi-skilled mechanics were awarded 1st prize in the Zürcher Oberland apprentices’ competition in 2015 for their project “3D Electronic Gadget Printing”, in which they produced a fully functioning torch using a 3D printer; and two train-ee physics laboratory technicians for their project “Water for Desert”, which makes water production possible in countries with a subtropical climate.

Empa trainees from all locations meet at the annually held “Trainee Day” in Dübendorf. (Image: Empa)

Sabine Hoffmann (3rd from left) receives the “Early Career Achievement Award” for transdisciplinary research. (Image: Eawag)


Key figures

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Monitoring table 112

Academic achievement report 114

Rankings and Benchmarkings 120

Personnel key figures 128

Real estate key figures 136

Environment and energy 142


KEY FIGURES | Monitoring table

Fig. 12: Monitoring table referring to the performance mandate of the Federal Council to the ETH Domain for the period 2013–2016

Reference values Monitoring

Indicators 2004 2008 2012 2013 2014 2015

TEACHING

Students and doctoral students1

Students 14,354 16,233 21,251 22,099 22,530 23,254

Percentage women 27.4 29.3 29.3 29.1 29.2 29.3

Percentage foreigners2 19.9 27.3 34.4 35.5 35.4 35.8

in Diploma programme 7,741 751 0 0 0 0

in Bachelor’s programme 5,969 10,138 13,359 13,995 13,944 14,292

in Master’s programme 0 4,649 6,981 7,241 7,781 8,126

in MAS / MBA programme3 644 695 911 863 805 836

Supervision ratio4, 5

Bachelor’s / Master’s students per professor 24.3 25.1 27.3 27.7 28.0 28.6

Teaching by research institutes6 10,145 15,569 14,735 15,670 17,291 17,378

Doctoral students 3,987 4,823 5,836 5,947 6,007 6,103




Doctoral students per professor 7.1 7.8 7.8 7.7 7.8 7.8

Students and doctoral students 18,341 21,056 27,087 28,046 28,537 29,357




Students and doctoral students per professor 32.5 34.0 36.4 36.5 36.8 37.4

New admissions

to Bachelor’s programme 2,922 4,052 5,072 5,255 5,041 5,290

Graduations

Bachelor’s degree 1 1,656 2,216 2,249 2,538 2,528

Percentage women 0 27.1 29.2 28.4 30.1 28.4


Diploma, Master’s 1,723 1,978 2,320 2,663 2,711 2,821



Doctorate 719 832 1,095 993* 1,197* 1,109



Supervision by research institutes

Bachelor’s. Master’s and Diploma students 286 391 542 532 585 521

Doctoral students 545 700 807 797 784 814

Percentage women 36.1 34.6 36.3 39.0 39.6

Percentage enrolled in the ETH Domain 66.1 67.2 67.9 69.5 69.4

Percentage enrolled at foreign universities 17.3 13.5 13.4 11.7 11.9

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Reference values Monitoring

Indicators 2004 2008 2012 2013 2014 2015

RESEARCH

Publications7 – – – – – –

Research contributions, mandates and scientific services8 (in m CHF)

717.8

of which Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) 100.0 141.6 216.3 209.0 234.1 242.9

of which Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) 28.3 26.1 53.9 36.8 48.2 49.0

of which EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation (FP) 49.0 97.7 126.5 135.2 141.8 134.8

KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (KTT)

Patents 166 125 195 193 211 219

Licences 111 178 230 223 270 311

Spin-offs 25 46 38 43 49 48

PERSONNEL9

Professors5 565.0 619.4 744.5 767.7 774.6 784.2



Scientific personnel – 7,956.5 9,663.9 9,927.3 10,128.8 10,975.5**

Technical and administrative staff – 4,728.8 5,238.9 5,436.3 5,611.4 5,850.9

Apprentices – 386.0 430.0 435.0 456.0 453.0

FINANCES / REAL ESTATE

Total federal contribution (budgetary framework) (in m CHF) 1,949.4 2,175.4 2,271.4 2,378.2 2,417.9

of which federal financial contribution 1,778.4 2,040.7 2,073.9 2,195.0 2,233.5

of which investment credit for ETH Domain constructions 170.9 134.7 197.5 183.2 184.4

1 Counting method: headcount; for explanation of counting method see box p. 115.2 Students and doctoral students and professors with non-Swiss nationality.3 Further education programmes MAS/MBA: Master of Advanced Studies/Master of Business Administration.4 Students or doctoral students per professor.5 For explanation of counting method see box p. 115.6 Number of hours per year, partly based on estimates.7 Publishing activity is assessed every four years as part of the intermediate evaluation.8 From 2015: new category according to new IPSAS reporting standards; consequently 2015 figures are not directly comparable with those of previous years (see Annual Report 2014

and previous editions).9 In full-time equivalents (FTEs), comparable data for 2004 only partly available.

* In the context of the revision of ETH Zurich’s doctoral regulations. the last doctoral graduation deadline of 2013 was postponed from December 2013 to January 2014. This explains the pronounced increase in doctoral students in 2014 to 1,197; without this change, 1,022 doctoral students would have graduated.

** The increase in the number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) among scientific staff in 2015 was caused in particular by a system change in the remuneration structure of doctoral students which ETH Zurich implemented as per 1 January 2015. The additional 647 FTEs at ETH Zurich also affect the FTE total in the ETH Domain.

The performance mandate characterises the annual report as a critical self-assessment of the ETH Domain conducted by the ETH Board (see performance mandate on p. 3339). This is oriented towards the objectives of the performance mandate, as seen in the “Performance mandate” chapter of this report (see p. 54 ff.). The fulfilment of objectives is measured quantitatively by means of relevant indicators, particularly the monitoring table.


Engineering sciences are flourishing The two Federal Institutes of Technology again recorded an increase in the number of students and doctoral students at all levels in 2015. The engineering sciences were especially popular, with a marked rise in the number of new admissions. With almost 8,000 students and doctoral students at the two Federal Institutes of Technology, the engineering sciences are by far the largest subject area in terms of student numbers.

In 2015 the total enrolment of students and doctoral students at the two Federal Institutes of Technology rose by 2.9 % over the previous year, to a total of 29,357 (see fig. 13). This increase is caused by a growth at all study levels at both Federal Institutes of Technology. In 2015 at the two Federal Institutes of Technology, 14,292 students were studying for a Bachelor’s degree, 8,126 were on Master’s degree courses, 836 were enrolled on continuing edu-cation programmes MAS/MBA, and there were 6,103 doctoral stu-dents (see fig. 18). At both Federal Institutes of Technology the increase in numbers of students was more than in the year 2014. At ETH Zurich the number of students and doctoral students rose by 3.3 % (2014: 2.4 %), and at EPFL by 2 % (2014: 0.5 %). At EPFL the total number of students and doctoral students reached 10,124, passing the symbolic figure of 10,000.

Developments in teachingThe success of the two Federal Institutes of Technology is most evident in the technical subjects (see fig. 13). The greatest increase in student numbers as compared to 2014 was noted in engineer-ing, Information and Communication Technology, and the exact sciences and natural sciences. In these subject areas the number of students and doctoral students has been continuously rising for several years. By contrast, in the subject Civil Engineering and Geomatic Engineering the numbers of students and doctoral stu-dents fell for the second time in a row in 2015 (2015: – 2.2 %; 2014: – 4.2 %). However, the number of students and doctoral students enrolled in this subject area in 2015 (2,882) is comparable to the average for the last five years (2,810). In the subject Architecture the number of students and doctoral students remained stable (2015: 3,060 or – 0.2 % compared to the previous year). In the subject area Management, Technology, Economics, the number of students and doctoral students was also unchanged from the pre-vious year. In all other subjects the number of students and doc-toral students rose.

In the year under review the increase in the number of stu-dents was observed on all study levels and at both Federal Insti-tutes of Technology. The total number of students rose by 2.5 % (2014: – 0.4 %) for Bachelor’s degree students, by 4.4 % (2014: 7.5 %) for Master’s degree students, and by 1.6 % (2014: 1 %) for doctoral students. The fluctuations in the numbers of MAS/MBA

students can be explained by the fact that not all courses are offered every year. Over the past ten years the student numbers at ETH Zurich and EPFL rose by 53.7 % and 63.3 % respectively. For doctoral students the growth at ETH Zurich was 44.2 % and at EPFL it was 47.6 % (see fig. 15).

For several years now the two Federal Institutes of Technology have been making many efforts to considerably increase the number of women at all study levels, especially in the STEM sub-jects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Most of the degree programmes offered fall under these subject areas, and women are generally under-represented in them. In 2015 the proportion of women among the students and doctoral students again stayed almost the same as in previous years. For Bachelor’s degree students the proportion of women was 29.2 %, for Mas-ter’s degree students it was 28.6 %, and for doctoral students 30.6 % (see fig. 14).

The proportion of students and doctoral students from abroad had hardly changed from the previous year. At Master’s and doc-torate level a slight rise was noted, and at Bachelor level a slight decline. In 2015 30.5 % of the Bachelor’s degree students were foreign nationals. At the Master’s degree level the figure was 43.9 %, and for the doctoral students it was 73.3 %. These per-centage shares have remained relatively stable over the past three years. In the majority of cases the students and doctoral students from abroad were foreign-educated: 78.5 % at Bachelor level, 91.5 % at Master’s degree level, and 95.4 % for the doctoral stu-dents (see fig. 16; for the definition of the term “Foreign-edu-cated students” see box on the right side, p. 115).

In 2015 5,290 new students enrolled at one of the two Federal Institutes of Technology for a Bachelor’s degree course (see fig. 17). This represents a growth of 4.9 % over the previous year, and is approximately the same as the number of new admissions in 2013 (5,255). The biggest increase was in the subjects engineering sciences (11.3 %) and system-oriented natural sciences (15.8 %). In all other subjects a slight rise in the number of new admissions was noted. One exception here is the life sciences, which recorded 26 fewer new enrolments than the figure for 2014 (– 3.6 %).

In 2015 the supervision ratio decline compared to the previous years to a total of 37.4 students and doctoral students per profes-sor (2014: 36.8). This mainly affects the Bachelor’s and Master’s

KEY FIGURES | Academic achievement report

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KEY FIGURES

degree students (2015: 28.6; 2014: 28; see fig. 18). This develop-ment can be explained in that the number of professors did not increase in the same way as the number of students. The supervi-sion ratio of doctoral students, however, has stayed stable for years (2015: 7.8). A significant part of the supervision is made by senior and other scientists at the two Federal Institutes of Tech-nology and the four research institutes. When one takes into account this staff category, the “extended” supervision ratio is found to be much lower, but it has still risen overall at 19.3 Bach-elor’s and Master’s students per teacher.

The research institutes of the ETH Domain are very much com-mitted to teaching. In 2015 they gave a total of 17,378 instruction hours in various subjects, which represents an overall record, and aslight rise compared to the previous year (2014: 17,291 hours). Moreover, the research institutes provide a wide range of research topics, mainly in the field of applied research. In the year under review 521 students completed their Master’s and Bachelor’s dis-sertations, and 814 doctoral students completed their theses, at one of the research institutes. Overall the number of students and doctoral students supervised by the four research institutes has remained relatively stable since 2011.

Knowledge and technology transfer (KTT)With its great number of patents, licences and spin-offs, the ETH Domain makes a significant contribution to a more efficient trans-fer of knowledge and technology, and so also to an innovative Switzerland. In fact students and doctoral students who do their research work with an industrial partner or in a business also lend support to this successful exchange between the ETH Domain and industry. The Swiss economy and society ultimately benefit from the expertise of the graduates.

In 2015 the institutions of the ETH Domain submitted a total of 219 patent applications and 311 licenses – the highest figures since 2006 (see fig. 21). The patents are all “priority applications”. The licences also include licensing agreements for extensive software packages. The figures derived by the institutions show strong fluc-tuations due to periodical new licenses.

With 48 spin-offs emerging from the ETH Domain, it almost matched the peak value of 49 spin-offs achieved in 2014. Indeed ETH Zurich did achieve a new record in 2015 with the setting up of 25 new companies. The extraordinary support given to the spin-offs during the initial phase by the institutions of the ETH Domain and their technology centres with the services they provide play an important role in achieving these successes.

Reporting methods: how the figures are counted

Unless otherwise indicated, the term “students” always includes both Bachelor’s and Master’s students, visiting and exchange stu-dents, as well as students on continuing education programmes at Master’s level (MAS or MBA). Doctoral students, however, are defined as a separate category for the purposes of this report. Wherever students and doctoral students are grouped together as a whole, this is indicated in the text and graphics. This way of presenting student categories differs from the approach adopted by the Swiss University Information System (SIUS), where doctoral students are included in the “student” category.

In cases of simultaneous enrolment on several programmes or levels of study, the prioritised programme or level is counted. The sports instructors training at ETH Zurich up until 2008, and the students on the introductory mathematics course (CMS students) at EPFL, are not counted here. Students taking the joint Master’s course in nuclear engineering offered by the two Federal Institutes of Technology are counted at both institutions.

All student and doctoral student numbers and the indicators derived from them are based on headcounts. Foreign students and doctoral students are counted as follows: Foreign-educated students are foreign nationals who come to Switzerland for study

purposes, having resided abroad while obtaining the relevant necessary qualifications. Swiss-educated foreign students are for-eign nationals who were already resident in Switzerland while they obtained the relevant necessary qualifications.

In the academic achievement report (including monitoring table, see p. 112 ff.) all professors at both Federal Institutes of Technology who are directly or indirectly involved in the teaching and supervision of students and doctoral students are counted (in full-time equivalents), including members of the Executive Boards at professorial level as well as dual professorships. How-ever, professors who have an employment contract with ETH Zurich and/or EPFL are included in the personnel reporting (see p. 128 ff.). This means that dual professorships financed by a partner university are only included in the academic achievement report. In order to calculate the supervision ratio, the full professors, associate professors and all assistant professors – including pro-fessorships sponsored by the Swiss National Science Foundation – are therefore taken into account. The senior scientists, maîtres d’enseignement et de recherche and permanently employed sci-entific personnel included in the “extended” supervision ratio belong to senior management (functional levels 10 to 13).


Fig. 13: Students and doctoral students by discipline∆ 2014 / 2015

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 in %

Architecture 2,226 2,388 2,553 2,743 2,994 3,098 3,177 3,097 3,066 3,060 – 6 – 0.2

ETH Zurich 1,385 1,502 1,598 1,697 1,848 1,900 1,950 1,852 1,783 1,805 22 1.2

EPFL 841 886 955 1,046 1,146 1,198 1,227 1,245 1,283 1,255 – 28 – 2.2

Civil and Geomatic Engineering 1,763 1,746 1,980 2,170 2,405 2,727 2,900 3,074 2,946 2,882 – 64 – 2.2

ETH Zurich 975 981 1,141 1,278 1,434 1,576 1,629 1,740 1,731 1,716 – 15 – 0.9

EPFL 788 765 839 892 971 1,151 1,271 1,334 1,215 1,166 – 49 – 4.0

Engineering Sciences 4,564 4,732 5,081 5,597 5,985 6,391 6,816 7,245 7,502 7,903 401 5.3

ETH Zurich 2,859 3,033 3,301 3,677 3,901 4,167 4,341 4,549 4,729 4,930 201 4.3

EPFL 1,705 1,699 1,780 1,920 2,084 2,224 2,475 2,696 2,773 2,973 200 7.2

Information and Communications Technology

2,067 1,939 1,906 1,929 2,070 2,253 2,367 2,536 2,665 2,809 144 5.4

ETH Zurich 999 977 981 997 1,029 1,082 1,083 1,158 1,247 1,405 158 12.7

EPFL 1,068 962 925 932 1,041 1,171 1,284 1,378 1,418 1,404 – 14 – 1.0

Exact and Natural Sciences 3,295 3,373 3,671 3,942 4,155 4,476 4,780 4,883 4,944 5,145 201 4.1

ETH Zurich 2,008 2,083 2,271 2,470 2,606 2,790 2,903 2,972 3,024 3,157 133 4.4

EPFL 1,287 1,290 1,400 1,472 1,549 1,686 1,877 1,911 1,920 1,988 68 3.5

Life Sciences 2,508 2,678 2,858 3,034 3,176 3,314 3,708 3,879 3,990 4,051 61 1.5

ETH Zurich 2,040 2,128 2,255 2,391 2,472 2,551 2,823 2,923 3,012 3,044 32 1.1

EPFL 468 550 603 643 704 763 885 956 978 1,007 29 3.0

System-oriented Natural Sciences 1,919 1,927 2,030 2,104 2,205 2,261 2,201 2,159 2,211 2,284 73 3.3

ETH Zurich 1,919 1,927 2,030 2,104 2,205 2,261 2,201 2,159 2,211 2,284 73 3.3

Management, Technology and Economics 529 626 778 819 859 833 870 897 913 913 0 0

ETH Zurich 350 433 534 562 592 584 583 549 579 582 3 0.5

EPFL 179 193 244 257 267 249 287 348 334 331 – 3 – 0.9

Humanities, Social and Political Sciences 154 169 199 202 255 276 268 276 300 310 10 3.3

ETH Zurich 154 169 199 202 255 276 268 276 300 310 10 3.3

Total number of students and doctoral students

19,025 19,578 21,056 22,540 24,104 25,629 27,087 28,046 28,537 29,357 820 2.9

ETH Zurich 12,689 13,233 14,310 15,378 16,342 17,187 17,781 18,178 18,616 19,233 617 3.3

EPFL 6,336 6,345 6,746 7,162 7,762 8,442 9,306 9,868 9,921 10,124 203 2.0

of which women 5,279 5,520 6,131 6,627 7,149 7,585 7,973 8,238 8,414 8,677 263 3.1

ETH Zurich 3,712 3,930 4,345 4,707 5,050 5,292 5,445 5,560 5,701 5,873 172 3.0

EPFL 1,567 1,590 1,786 1,920 2,099 2,293 2,528 2,678 2,713 2,804 91 3.4

of which foreigners (all) 5,704 6,204 7,453 8,396 9,488 10,456 11,437 12,152 12,354 12,804 450 3.6

ETH Zurich 3,092 3,519 4,438 5,113 5,698 6,205 6,559 6,751 6,949 7,226 277 4.0

EPFL 2,612 2,685 3,015 3,283 3,790 4,251 4,878 5,401 5,405 5,578 173 3.2

Number (headcount) of students including doctoral students at ETH Zurich and EPFL combined in nine subject areas. For a description of the counting method, see box on p. 115.

Fig. 14: Percentage of women among students and doctoral students at ETH Zurich and EPFL

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

% in Bachelor’s programme 27.6 28.2 28.8 28.9 28.9 29.4 29.2 28.6 28.7 29.2

% in Master’s programme 25.0 26.8 28.0 29.0 29.2 29.2 28.7 29.4 29.5 28.6

% in MAS / MBA 30.3 31.3 34.2 34.8 37.0 37.1 36.7 34.6 35.0 38.6

% in doctoral programme 27.1 27.3 28.6 29.3 30.4 29.4 29.8 30.4 30.6 30.6

Development of the proportion of women at the various study levels. For a description of the counting method, see box on p. 115.


116

KEY FIGURES

Fig. 15: Students and doctoral students according to study level∆ 2014 / 2015

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 in %

Bachelor’s programme 9,086 9,416 10,138 10,970 11,716 12,600 13,359 13,995 13,944 14,292 348 2.5

ETH Zurich 5,982 6,332 6,896 7,344 7,757 8,236 8,468 8,817 8,820 9,087 267 3.0

EPFL 3,104 3,084 3,242 3,626 3,959 4,364 4,891 5,178 5,124 5,205 81 1.6

Master’s programmes 2,888 3,909 4,649 5,326 5,997 6,568 6,981 7,241 7,781 8,126 345 4.4

ETH Zurich 1,255 2,302 3,028 3,749 4,281 4,607 4,755 4,811 5,187 5,480 293 5.6

EPFL 1,633 1,607 1,621 1,577 1,716 1,961 2,226 2,430 2,594 2,646 52 2.0

Diploma programme 2,324 1,316 751 395 191 0 0 0 0 0

ETH Zurich 2,324 1,316 751 395 191 0 0 0 0 0

EPFL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

MAS / MBA 528 565 695 676 792 801 911 863 805 836 31 3.9

ETH Zurich 336 383 436 502 606 659 763 661 634 640 6 0.9

EPFL 192 182 259 174 186 142 148 202 171 196 25 14.6

Total number of students 14,826 15,206 16,233 17,367 18,696 19,969 21,251 22,099 22,530 23,254 724 3.2

ETH Zurich 9,897 10,333 11,111 11,990 12,835 13,502 13,986 14,289 14,641 15,207 566 3.9

EPFL 4,929 4,873 5,122 5,377 5,861 6,467 7,265 7,810 7,889 8,047 158 2.0

Doctoral programme 4,199 4,372 4,823 5,173 5,408 5,660 5,836 5,947 6,007 6,103 96 1.6

ETH Zurich 2,792 2,900 3,199 3,388 3,507 3,685 3,795 3,889 3,975 4,026 51 1.3

EPFL 1,407 1,472 1,624 1,785 1,901 1,975 2,041 2,058 2,032 2,077 45 2.2

Total number of students and doctoral students 19,025 19,578 21,056 22,540 24,104 25,629 27,087 28,046 28,537 29,357 820 2.9

ETH Zurich 12,689 13,233 14,310 15,378 16,342 17,187 17,781 18,178 18,616 19,233 617 3.3

EPFL 6,336 6,345 6,746 7,162 7,762 8,442 9,306 9,868 9,921 10,124 203 2.0

Number (headcount) of students and doctoral students according to study level. For a description of the counting method, see box on p. 115.

Fig. 16: Percentage of foreign students and doctoral students at ETH Zurich and EPFL

% in Doctorial programmes: total number of foreigners foreign-educated foreign nationals

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

80 %

70 %

60 %

50 %

40 %

30 %

20 %

10 %

0 %

% in Master’s programmes: total number of foreigners foreign-educated foreign nationals

% in Doctoral programmes: total number of foreigners foreign-educated foreign nationals

Proportion of foreign students in total, plus foreign-educated foreign nationals as a percentage of the total number of students at the two Federal Institutes of Technology. For a description of the counting method, see box on p. 115.


Fig. 17: New admissions to Bachelor’s courses at ETH Zurich and EPFL∆ 2014 / 2015

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 in %

Architecture 578 534 629 689 671 646 599 604 564 573 9 1.6

Civil and Geomatic Engineering 377 379 459 513 556 638 620 613 486 493 7 1.4

Engineering Sciences 872 847 1,056 1,200 1,183 1,240 1,354 1,429 1,393 1,550 157 11.3

Information and Communications Technology

307 278 325 396 425 448 465 547 595 596 1 0.2

Exact and Natural Sciences 623 647 787 810 832 954 986 969 952 1,001 49 5.1

Life Sciences 441 438 486 523 529 578 700 744 721 695 – 26 – 3.6

System-oriented Natural Sciences 271 260 287 276 318 321 336 335 316 366 50 15.8

Management, Technology and Economics – – – – – – – – – – – –

Humanities, Social and Political Sciences 13 17 23 18 13 13 12 14 14 16

Total 3,482 3,400 4,052 4,425 4,527 4,838 5,072 5,255 5,041 5,290 249 4.9

New admissions to Bachelor’s courses at the two Federal Institutes of Technology according to subject area: There is no Bachelor’s course in Management, Technology, Economics; in Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, there is only one Bachelor’s course (for career military officers) and student numbers are low, so no statistically relevant statement can be made regarding the trend of new admissions. For a description of the counting method, see box on p. 115.

Fig. 18: Supervision ratios at ETH Zurich and EPFL

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Supervision ratio 32.6 32.1 34.0 34.7 35.1 35.8 36.4 36.5 36.8 37.4

in Bachelor’s / Master’s programme 24.5 24.0 25.1 25.7 26.1 26.8 27.3 27.7 28.0 28.6

in Doctoral programme 7.2 7.2 7.8 8.0 7.9 7.9 7.8 7.7 7.8 7.8

Extended supervision ratio 20.2 20.4 21.9 22.4 22.9 23.7 24.5 24.7 24.7 25.3

in Bachelor’s / Master’s programme 15.2 15.3 16.1 16.6 17.0 17.8 18.4 18.7 18.8 19.3

in Doctoral programme 4.5 4.6 5.0 5.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.3

Supervision ratios at the two Federal Institutes of Technology: The ratio is based on the total number of students overall (i.e. including Master of Advanced Studies / Master of Business Administration students) or the total number of students on a Bachelor’s / Master’s course or studying for a doctorate. For information on the categories of professor and other persons involved in teaching who are included in the calculation of the supervision ratio (“extended supervision ratio”), see box on p. 115.

Fig. 19: Degrees awarded according to study level∆ 2014 / 2015

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 in %

Bachelor’s degree 1,039 1,452 1,656 1,835 1,900 1,988 2,216 2,249 2,538 2,528 – 10 – 0.4

ETH Zurich 381 838 1,086 1,203 1,283 1,304 1,447 1,447 1,579 1,564 – 15 – 0.9

EPFL 658 614 570 632 617 684 769 802 959 964 5 0.5

Master’s degree / Diploma 1,807 1,949 1,978 1,988 1,898 2,159 2,320 2,663 2,711 2,821 110 4.1

ETH Zurich 1,203 1,309 1,306 1,317 1,270 1,506 1,650 1,847 1,839 1,879 40 2.2

EPFL 604 640 672 671 628 653 670 816 872 942 70 8.0

MAS / MBA 332 471 336 400 283 301 256 346 260 254 – 6 – 2.3

ETH Zurich 226 213 213 239 174 203 184 228 205 175 – 30 – 14.6

EPFL 106 258 123 161 109 98 72 118 55 79 24 43.6

Doctorate 861 852 832 962 986 1,027 1,095 993* 1,197* 1,109 – 88 – 7.4

ETH Zurich 569 572 566 651 650 696 747 579 769 718 – 51 – 6.6

EPFL 292 280 266 311 336 331 348 414 428 391 – 37 – 8.6

* In the context of the revision of ETH Zurich’s doctoral regulations, the last doctoral graduation deadline of 2013 was postponed from December 2013 to January 2014. This explains the pronounced increase in doctoral students in 2014 to 1,197; without this change, 1,022 doctoral students would have graduated. This also explains the fall in completed doctorates in 2015 as compared to the previous year.


118

KEY FIGURES

Fig. 21: Knowledge and technology transfer in the ETH Domain

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Patents 159 142 125 155 128 147 195 193 211 219

ETH Zurich 84 79 64 78 63 72 87 103 82 98

EPFL 36 36 40 44 47 52 75 66 99 88

Research institutes 39 27 21 33 18 23 33 24 30 33

Licences 152 218 178 176 178 194 230 223 270 311

ETH Zurich 24 42 48 37 39 45 35 38 35 50

EPFL 56 64 29 47 45 50 31 41 46 48


Spin-offs 28 33 46 45 38 40 38 43 49 48

ETH Zurich 16 21 23 24 20 22 22 24 22 25

EPFL 8 12 18 20 14 15 12 12 24 18


Knowledge and technology transfer activities of the institutions of the ETH Domain using the indicators of patents (priority applications only) and licences (including technology transfer agreements) as well as newly founded companies (spin-offs).

Fig. 20: Teaching provided by research institutes

Teaching hours per year Supervised Doctoral theses Supervised Bachelor’s / Master’s / Diploma theses

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

1,000

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Teaching activities of the research institutes of the ETH Domain. Left axis: number of supervised Bachelor’s, Master’s, Diploma and Doctoral theses; right axis: number of teaching hours per year.

18,000

16,000

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0


KEY FIGURES | Academic achievement report | Rankings and Benchmarkings

Excellent international positioningThe international rankings of universities confirm the excellent achievements of the two Federal Institutes of Technology. The THE and QS rankings for 2015 placed ETH Zurich among the top ten best universities in the world. In 2015 EPFL was honoured as the best university among those founded in the past 50 years (THE “100 Under 50” ranking). The excellent positioning of the research institutes is shown by the publishing activities and the implementation of the research results in practice.

The institutions of the ETH Domain continually monitor the quality and further development of their teaching, research, knowledge and technology transfer (KTT), research infrastructures, and their management. For this, each institution compares its selected concepts, methods, tools and processes in these areas with those of other institutions. The result of such comparisons, the so-called “benchmarking”, is an important part of the quality management in the ETH Domain. Thus use of benchmarking in the academic environment is somewhat controversial and it is only effective when it is properly targeted, and the parameters used are carefully selected and are relevant to the institutions being compared, and if the results are interpreted within the right context.

Benchmarking activitiesFig. 22 shows a non-exhaustive list of activities of the institutions of the ETH Domain which could be used for benchmarking. The activities mutually complement each other, and primarily serve the organisational development and in certain cases the monitoring of performance. The benchmarks that the institutions carry out for organisational development (e.g. evaluations and audits) call for an honest appraisal by the institution and ETH Domain of their own strong points and weak points, and require a confidential framework to ensure objectivity and provide genuine benefit. The qualitative findings in particular are useful for further developing the institutions in terms of scientific excellence. The benchmarks to test performance compare institutions or parts of them based on performance indicators or key figures. They are often produced by external contractors, and use publicly available data. Here the institutions have a limited influence on the choice and use of the indicators. For example the international university rankings.

The institutions are responsible for the internal activities to develop the organisation and monitor the performance, such as evaluations of departments, faculties, research and administrative units, benchmark tests in teaching, procedures for appointments and promotion. The institutions inform the ETH Board about the main results and recommendations that emerge from these sur-veys, and about the derived measures to be taken. For its part, the ETH Board reports to the Federal Council and the Federal Parlia-ment. The ETH Domain itself is assessed in the middle of each plan-ning period (intermediate evaluation), at the direction of the Federal Council, by an expert committee delegated by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

Selected benchmarking activitiesThe present Annual Report gives examples of benchmarking activ-ities for each of the ETH Domain institutions to illustrate the current international positioning of the institutions for a specific area. Although they represent only a small part of the activities, these examples are presented in detail because of their topicality and the public availability of the data. With regard to ETH Zurich and EPFL, this report shows the current positions of these universities in various rankings and demonstrates how they have progressed in these rankings over a certain period.

ETH Zurich shows how it is positioned in an international gen-der benchmark, i.e. the correlation of the proportion of female professors to the total proportion of PTEM professors (physics, tech-nical sciences, engineering and mathematics) in a university. EPFL shows the way its positioning develops over time in specific sub-ject areas covered by the university rankings. The research insti-tutes present their international positioning by using current exam-ples, based on the publication activity in certain research areas, the distinctions awarded to researchers, and the implementation of the research findings in practice.

120

KEY FIGURES

International university rankings: Top positions of ETH Zurich and EPFL

The international rankings of universities make use of publicly available (and in some cases also specially gathered) statistical data on teaching and supervision, research, publishing activity, international networking and funding. These indicators are used to produce a ranking of universities worldwide, for certain regions, and/or for individual disciplines. The rankings vary depending on the key performance indicators used and their weighting, so they each have a specific emphasis. For four selected rankings, of world-wide repute, the selection and weighting of the key performance indicators are briefly described (see box p. 123), and the current positioning of the two Federal Institutes of Technology in these rankings is shown in fig. 23.

In the THE World Ranking, in 2015 for the first time ETH Zurich moved up to the ten best universities of the world, occupying 9th

place (2014: 13th place). EPFL occupied position 31 (2014: position 34). In the comparison with European universities (THE Europe), in 2015 ETH Zurich stayed at place 4, the same as the previous year, and EPFL was back at position 11 (2014: position 7); positions 1 to 3 were occupied by British universities.

In the QS World Ranking, too, for the first time ETH Zurich moved up to the top ten, occupying 9th place (2014: 12th place). EPFL also rose in the rankings, by three places, now occupying position 14. In the European comparison, ETH Zurich stayed at place 5 and EPFL ended at place 6 (2014: place 7). This means that the two Federal Institutes of Technology are the best-ranking universities of continental Europe – in Europe only institutes in Great Britain are ranked higher.

In the ARWU ranking, the ETH Zurich was at 20th place (2014: 19th place) and EPFL at position 103 (2014: position 96).

In the Leiden ranking, which is based solely on the publication activity of the universities, EPFL rose up through six places to occupy position 15 (2014: position 21); while ETH Zurich stayed at rank 25 worldwide as in the previous year. In the European comparison, the Leiden Europe Ranking, both universities retain their positions from the previous year: EPFL is at place 2 coming after the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and ETH Zurich is at place 5 just below the universities of Oxford (place 3) and Cambridge (place 4). Hence in this ranking, too, only universities in Great Britain are ranked higher than EPFL and ETH Zurich.

A look at the rankings by subject area shows that both ETH Zurich and EPFL tend to rank higher in natural sciences and engineering than in life sciences. In 2015, however, both Federal Institutes of Technology rose in the Life Sciences on the THE and QS rankings, and retained their previous year places in the ARWU ranking. How-ever, the definitions of the subject areas vary considerably from one ranking to the next, which limits the extent to which comparisons can be made.

Fig. 22: Benchmarking activities in the ETH Domain

Evaluations by external experts (peer reviews) — ETH Zurich departments — EPFL faculties — Research units and administrative units of the two Federal Institutes of Technology

— Research institutes (or their units) — ETH Domain (intermediate evaluation by the Federal Council / SERI) → see p. 36

Audits and accreditation — Internal audits (as part of “horizontal audits”) — External audits e.g. by the Swiss Federal Audit Office — Institutional accreditation of the two Federal Institutes of Technology under the Higher Education Funding and Coordination Act (HEdA), from 2015 onwards.

— Accreditation of Master’s degree programmes at EPFL by the French Commission des Titres d’Ingénieur (CTI)

Benchmarking in teaching — Curriculum development, programme administration in collaboration with leading international universities (IDEA League, IARU, EuroTech Universities)

Surveys of — Graduates on completion of the course (internally and by the Federal Statistical Office [FSO])

— Staff on their satisfaction with working conditions

Recruitment and promotion procedures ofprofessors, staff in research and administration → see p. 135

Research infrastructuresPerformance, availability and use of research infrastructures, e.g. at the PSI or at the CSCS.

Acquisition of competitive research fundingon the national, European and global levels, e.g. from the SNSF and the CTI, and from EU Research Framework Programmes.

Publications and citations — Bibliometric analyses as part of the intermediate evaluation (see also Annual Report 2014, p. 114 ff.)

— Comparisons of selected bibliometric indicators → see p. 127

International university rankingsWorldwide, regional and by subject areas → see p. 122

International rankings of research institutions → see p. 126

International comparison of research-based methods and implementation strategies → see p. 126 / 127


ETH Zurich EPFL

Fig. 23: Rankings of ETH Zurich (blue) and EPFL (green) according to the THE, QS, ARWU and Leiden rankings in 2015

THE QS ARWU Leiden

Rank World Europe SCI ENG LIFE World Europe SCI ENG LIFE World SCI ENG LIFE World Europe

1

11

21

31

41

≥51

4 55

14

2

13

6

17

107 103 161

3836

6

11

33

47 4646

15

9

5

141414

31

8 8

20

25

911 11

14

THE: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015–2016 of TES Global Limited, London SCI = Physical Sciences, ENG = Engineering & technology, LIFE = Life Sciences

QS: QS World University Rankings 2015–2016 of Quacquarelli Symonds Limited, London SCI = Natural Sciences, ENG = Engineering & Technology, LIFE = Life Sciences and Medicine

QS World University Rankings were published in the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) up until 2009 and are therefore called THE Ranking.

ARWU: Academic Ranking of World Universities 2015 of the Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University SCI = Natural Sciences and Mathematics, ENG = Engineering / Technology and Computer Sciences, LIFE = Life and Agricultural Sciences

Leiden: Leiden Ranking 2015 of the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University (NL)

Fig. 24: Rankings of ETH Zurich (blue) and EPFL (green) according to THE and QS world rankings from 2008 to 2015

Rank 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

1

11

21

31

41

51

20

42

18 18

32

15

48

1512

40

12 12

3734

9 9

31

46

35

13

29

14

19

13

1714

50

24


122

KEY FIGURES

Rankings observed worldwide

The universities are assessed and ranked by institutions and busi-nesses using various methods. THE (The Times Higher Education World University Rankings) 28 uses 13 performance indicators for teaching (30 % weighting), research (30 %), citations (30 %), inter-national outlook (7.5 %) and funding by industry (2.5 %). QS (QS World University Rankings) 29 places the main emphasis on rep-utation (with a 40 % weighting on academic reputation and 10 % on reputation of graduates assessed by the employer), followed by the supervision ratio (20 %), citations (20 %) and internation-ality (10 %). ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University) 30 makes use of performance indi-cators for the quality of graduates and teaching staff that are based on the number of prestigious awards received (Nobel Prize,

Fields Medal) and the number of frequently-cited researchers. The publication activity is judged on the basis of the number of publications that have appeared in a select group of the most respected journals, and the ratio between the number of aca-demically reviewed publications and the number of researchers at an institution. The Leiden ranking is based31 solely on the pub-lication activity of the universities, using this to calculate the indicators to assess research performance. One commonly used indicator for ranking the universities in the Leiden ranking is the proportion of publications each university has among the top 10 % of the most-cited publications in the relevant subject area (PP(top 10 %)). The rankings of the two Federal Institutes of Tech-nology shown in fig. 23 are based on this indicator.

University rankings provide an easy means to gain a quick impression of how a university stands up in the international com-parison. Interested groups do make use of this method, but one should still bear in mind that they are of limited value as an indi-cator, and care is needed when interpreting the results. For exam-ple, the assessment criteria vary from year to year so this limits the comparability of the data over time. These aspects should be taken

into account when viewing the rankings of the two Federal Insti-tutes of Technology in the global THE and QS rankings (fig. 24). In the period from 2008/2010 to 2015, both Federal Institutes of Tech-nology significantly improved in their positioning, and they are important players in the worldwide competition for researchers, students and doctoral students.

International gender benchmarking: Significant proportion of women professors at ETH Zurich

ETH Zurich makes special use of its international alliances to develop and share practices in various fields. Thus, for example, it is active in “Women and Men in Globalizing Universities”, the working group of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU)32. The aim of this group is to identify the best-practice measures of the individual universities, so that the Alliance as a whole as well as its members can allow full use of the potential of excellent women and men. The intention is to strengthen the performance and innovation of the universities in this manner.

28 www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings29 www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings30 www.shanghairanking.com31 www.leidenranking.com32 www.iaruni.org33 Barone, C. (2011): Some Things Never Change: Gender Segregation in Higher Education across Eight Nations and Three Decades. In: Sociology of Education. No.84 (2), p. 157–176.

Deutsche Fördergemeinschaft (2012): Förderatlas 2012. Key figures of public funded research in Germany. www.dfg.de/download/pdf/dfg_im_profil/zahlen_fakten/foerderatlas/2012/dfg-foerderatlas_2012.pdf. European Commission (2012): She-Figures 2012. Gender in Research and Innovation. http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/she-figures-2012_en.pdf

Correlation between proportion of natural science/technology subjects and proportion of female professors at a university

If one considers the average of nine out of the ten IARU universi-ties, one notices that the proportion of female professors is lower according to how high the share of natural science / technology sub-jects is at the respective university (see fig. 25, next page). This phenomenon has been described in various national and interna-tional studies.33

To ensure the comparability of the statistics of the IARU univer-sities among themselves, with their very different ranges of sub-jects, the benchmarking for the proportion of professors focuses on the so-called PTEM subjects: physics, technical sciences, engineer-ing and mathematics.


35 %

30 %

25 %

20 %

15 %

10 %

5 %

0 % 10 % 20 % 30 % 40 % 50 % 60 % 70 % 80 % 90 %

Fig. 25: Proportion of female professors and PTEM professors at the IARU universities in 2012

Proportion of female

professors at the university

Proportion of PTEM professors at the university

University of Copenhagen

ETH Zurich

Yale University

National University of Singapore

University of Cambridge

Australian National University

University of California, Berkeley

The University of Tokyo

ing of the indicators is adjusted to avoid a bias towards traditional institutions (see fig. 26).

In the THE Europe ranking, EPFL achieved 11th place (see fig. 23); and for the subcategories in the European comparison it even reached 4th place in sciences and 5th place in engineering (sub-category, not shown here). In the QS Europe ranking, EPFL was placed among the six best universities (see fig. 23); and here too EPFL was placed among the five best in Europe in both sciences and engineering (subcategory, not shown here).

In the ARWU ranking, in engineering EPFL rose to 3rd position in the European comparison. At the “World Class Universities” confer-ence (WCU-6), which took place at the beginning of November 2015 in Shanghai, this rise was noted as one of the most impressive improvements. Within seven years (2008–2015) EPFL has moved up in the ARWU ranking by 27 places, in the QS world ranking by 36 places (and in natural sciences it is even 63 places) and in the THE world ranking by 17 places (see fig. 27).

A look at other university rankings further confirms the academic excellence of EPFL. According to the journal Nature, EPFL comes in at 23rd position when measuring all universities worldwide, based on the number of publications in the 68 specialist journals of the publishers 35. Almost 18 % of all the publications included in this ranking by authors of Swiss institutions in 2015, were by EPFL. For the first time, this year the news agency Thomson Reuters presented its ranking of the most innovative universities.36 Thanks to the cre-ative environment and the excellent supervision of start-ups, EPFL achieved the 27th place in the world ranking (4th place in Europe).

As the illustration 25 shows, among the IARU universities ETH Zurich had the highest proportion of PTEM professors measured against the total number of professors, at 83 %. Therefore, when considering the aforesaid correlation it is not surprising that the proportion of women among the assistant professors and full pro-fessors at ETH Zurich was rather low at 12 %. It was still above the general trend, though, and was therefore slightly higher than would be expected based on the proportion of PTEM professors. ETH Zurich improved this positive result yet further in the period since 2012. Thus at the end of 2015 the proportion of women among professors was 14 %. There is still room for improvement, though, and the benchmarking results ultimately serve as encouragement for the universities to energetically drive forward the further increase in the proportion of women professors. There are plans to upgrade the IARU gender benchmarking by 2018.

EPFL leads in engineering and natural sciencesIn 2015 EPFL was once again able to markedly improve its position in two of the three most important international university rank-ings (THE and QS), while retaining its position in the third (ARWU). This positive development is mainly due to the strengthening of its international reputation and to its excellent research in large-scale scientific initiatives.

The charts 26 and 27 (see on the right side, p. 125) show the placing of EPFL in the THE and ARWU rankings over time; here the results for engineering and natural sciences were better than those for the overall rankings. Considering all the rankings as a whole, over the past years EPFL rose through the rankings by an average of 13 places in engineering sciences, while in the natural sciences34, where the starting level was lower, it improved by an average of 33 places, considerably more.

In the THE “100 Under 50” ranking for 2015, EPFL even managed to achieve first place internationally among the universities that were established less than 50 years ago. In this category the weight-

34 ARWU: Physics, chemistry and mathematics35 www.nature.com/nature/supplements/nature-index-2015-global36 www.reuters.com/most-innovative-universities


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KEY FIGURES

Fig. 26: Rankings of EPFL according to THE ranking 2010–2015

Rank 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

1

11

21

31

41

51

THE World THE ENG THE SCI THE “100 Under 50”

48

24

20

28

23 2320

1414

2 2 2 1

141512

46

4037

3431

THE ENG = Engineering & technology, THE SCI = Physical Sciences

Rank 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

1

21

41

61

81

101

121

141

161

ARWU World ARWU ENG ARWU Physics ARWU Chemistry ARWU Mathematics

Fig. 27: Rankings of EPFL according to ARWU ranking 2007–2015

143

28

130

18 1815

71

42

20

68

41

68

20

63

37 38

15

80

35

19

25

66

14

49

23

131

124

142 142

110

83

115

96

103

126

134

ARWU ENG = Engineering / Technology and Computer Sciences

ARWU Physics, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics are subcategories of ARWU SCI = Natural Sciences and Mathematics


PSI successful in the competition with reputed international research institutions

The PSI designs, builds and operates large-scale research installa-tions that are unique in Switzerland, and makes them available to the national and international research community. The primary aim is to develop these installations further according to the requirements and scientific questions of the users, and to success-fully compete with comparable institutions worldwide. Here the most well-recognised instrument of benchmarking is provided by the peer reviews of the individual research units by committees of international experts, which provide important indications of the potential for development and the strategic advantages or weak-nesses of the respective units and their research facilities. These peer reviews are regularly held at the PSI. Further, comparisons with institutions of world renown which have a similar research and user profile as the PSI allow one to draw inferences about the positioning and “impact” of research institutions. Scimago Lab37 has developed a comparison platform of this type, the Scimago Institutions Ranking (SIR), and has been publishing it since 2009. Such factors as the international cooperation, a normalised impact factor38, and the share of publications in the best 25 % of the par-ticular journals category (“High Quality Publications”), are obtained as indicators for the research performance of the institutions, based on the SCOPUS database of publications for a period of five years in

each case. Figure 28 shows the normalised impact factor for a selec-tion of European and North American peer institutions, which are comparable to the PSI in terms of large-scale research installations and their research profile. A similar picture results when one ob- serves the indicators for international cooperation and the High Quality Publications (not shown). The results show that the PSI is excellently placed in the international comparison with reputed research institutions in other countries.

WSL successful internationally in the development of simulation models and measuring equipment

In the first stage, the WSL selected six institutions known to it in related biogeographical regions. It compared their organisational charts published on the Internet to obtain an idea of their diver-sity of subjects. This showed that the missing thematic homoge-neity hardly allows a meaningful comparison with each institution as a whole. Therefore WSL decided, in cooperation with selected partners, to focus on projects that compare individual models or measuring devices.

For example, 33 models to simulate snow cover in forested areas were compared. The snow cover is of crucial importance in the dis cussion on global warming. Firstly because the distribution of snow-covered areas in the forest is decisive when calculating the albedo, i.e. the proportion of radiation reflected off the earth’s surface; and secondly the snow cover is important for predicting floods caused by melting snow.

In the “Intercomparison of Snow Grain Size Measurements Work-shop”, 20 devices for measuring the specific snow surface were compared. The snow surface is important for the energetic state of an area of snow cover as well as for its stability and the predic-tion of avalanches.40

Currently a geophone developed at WSL is being compared with a Japanese instrument in terms of how well they perform. Geo-phones record tremors, for example those caused by debris flows or bed-load discharge in flowing waters, and so they play an important role in measures taken against natural hazards. By using three examples, the functioning of the models and instruments is carefully checked and an analysis is made showing which factors affect the accuracy and reproducibility of the results and predic-tions, and how these findings can be used to improve them.41

The simulation model and measuring instruments of the WSL achieved very good results in these tests. With the findings obtained from these experiments, the WSL will further improve its models and instruments so that future forecasts will be even more accurate.

Fig. 28: Normalised impact factor of selected research institutions39

Research institutions Normalised impact factor

LBNL (US)

SLAC (US)

ANL (US)

PSI (CH)

TRIUMF (CAN)

DESY (DE)

ESRF (FR)

KIT (DE)

SOLEIL (FR)

ILL (FR)

0 0,5 1,0 1,5 2,0 2,5

2,21

1,82

1,81

1,81

1,63

1,49

1,47

1,39

1,18

2,44

40 www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sVqtOLdta0; This video sequence shows the fieldwork during this workshop; related publications are in preparation.

41 www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF32RaCGHT0; The Video sequence presents the procedure for comparing the measuring devices and the results.

37 www.scimagolab.com38 A figure of 1.5 means that the institution is cited 50 % more frequently than the

worldwide average for the same research area and over the same period of time.39 SIR Global Ranking 2013, http://knoema.com/atlas/sources/SIR

LBNL: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley (US) SLAC: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Stanford (US) ANL: Argonne National Laboratory, Chicago (US) PSI: Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen (CH) TRIUMF: National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics, Vancouver (CAN) DESY: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg (DE) ESRF: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble (FR) KIT: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Karlsruhe (DE) SOLEIL: Synchrotron SOLEIL, Paris (FR) ILL: Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble (FR)


126

KEY FIGURES

Increasingly visible internationally: scientific excellence of Empa

Each year the US journal “Foreign Policy” selects 100 of the world’s leading minds who are exercising a decisive influence on society. Four Empa researchers – one woman and three men – were hon-oured for their work on producing hydrogen with the aid of solar cells, and accepted in the group of “Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Lead-ing Global Thinkers of 2014”, in the category “Innovators”42.

Furthermore, the world’s leading news service for science, Thomson Reuters, identified the most influential researchers in the various fields of science based on a bibliometric analysis, and Empa scientist Bernd Nowack was one of those who received this distinction. Bernd Nowack works in the field of the behaviour and effects of nanoparticles in the environment, and studies the release, behaviour and modelling of material flows. The interna-tional respect for his work is reflected in the extremely high rate of citations, thus securing him a place in Thomson Reuters’ list of the world’s most influential scientists in the field of environmen-tal sciences / ecology, in 2014 (The World’s Most Influential Scien-tific Minds 2014).

One bibliometric analysis examined publications in the field of nano-safety research43. Conclusion drawn by the study: In the years 1999–2012, Empa published the third-largest number of publica-tions in this field in the world (see fig. 29). If one considers just the publications that were issued by a single institution, Empa even occupies 1st place, in a tie with the “Chinese Academy of Sciences” (not shown).

Leading international role of Eawag in the field of micropollutants

Micropollutants are organic trace substances that derive from prod-ucts used in private households, industry and agriculture, such as medicines, body-care products, protective agents for plants and materials. The micropollutants pass by diffusion or carried by waste water into the bodies of water on the surface, and impair the water quality. They can then pollute sources of drinking water and become a critical hazard for ecosystems. Using conventional water purifi-

cation methods it is not possible to remove all micropollutants completely. Eawag has undertaken a wide range of measures in cooperation with the Eawag-EPFL Ecotox Centre, taking a precau-tionary approach.

Thus for example the network, built up over decades, of the waste-water treatment plant operators, the Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN), the cantons and the Swiss Water Association (VSA), has contributed greatly to the early detection of errors, work-ing out solutions, and making improvements. In order to share this knowledge more effectively, Eawag, FOEN and VSA have created the “Water Quality” platform (see p. 75). This operates conjointly with the platform “Process Engineering for Micropollutants”, founded by Eawag, FOEN and VSA in 2012. Both platforms occupy premises at Eawag and are integrated within the departments there.

The Federal Assembly approved an amendment to the Water Protection Act in 2014, followed by the Federal Council in Novem-ber 2015. This paved the way for the 100 largest Swiss waste-water treatment plants to be upgraded with the aim of reducing the amount and toxicity of micropollutants, with a pan-Swiss levy based on the amount of pollution caused. Eawag continues to assist this major project with its research – directly in the waste-water treatment plants with new technologies such as ozonisation, and also with the “EcoImpact” project, where researchers from several departments examine the effects of micropollutants on aquatic ecosystems as well as the efficacy of the countermeasures. This interplay of research, government, sector associations, technology and politics is unique in the world, and makes Switzerland the leading player in this field. It also results in new opportunities and competitive advantages for the Swiss economy.

According to the “Web of Science Core Collection”, Eawag is involved in 137 of the total 1,952 publications; and 12 of the 34 “highly cited papers” on the subject of micropollutants were pro-duced with the collaboration of Eawag. The number of contribu-tions by Eawag, both the publications and the citations, is twice as high as those of other institutions, underscoring the international significance of Eawag’s research in this field.

42 globalthinkers.foreignpolicy.com43 Wang et al. A bibliometric analysis of research on the risk of engineering nanomaterials

during 1999–2012. Science of the Total Environment, 473–474 (2014); 483–489.

Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, USA

Empa, Schweiz

Rice University, USA

United States Environmental Protection Agency, USA

Zhejiang University, China

Duke University, USA

University of Massachusetts, USA

Technical University of Denmark, Dänemark

University of Michigan, USA

0 10 20 30 40 50

31

22

21

20

19

19

18

17

15

43

Fig. 29: Number of publications on nano-safety research 1999−2012 by institution


KEY FIGURES | Personnel key figures

Stable trend in personnelThe personnel key figures remained largely stable through the year. The increase in personnel in the ETH Domain was slightly less in 2015 than in previous years.

On 31 December 2015, the headcount in the ETH Domain amounted to 20,899 employment contracts (EC), or 18,068.6 full-time equiv-alents (FTEs) (2014: 20,430 EC or 16,974.9 FTEs, see fig. 30). At 469 new employment contracts, the increase (2.3 %) was slightly less than in the two preceding years (2014: 553; 2013: 479). Annual growth has levelled out over the years at around 2 % to 3 %.

In the year under review, after deducting 647 FTEs due to a change in the system of remuneration structure for doctoral stu-dents of ETH Zurich, 449.7 additional FTEs were created (2014: 383,7 FTEs).44

Of these additional employment contracts, 197 or 42 % (2014: 338 or 61.1 %) concerned scientists, 154 (2014: 34) technical personnel and 114 (2014: 145) administrative personnel. The proportion of senior scientists, maîtres d’enseignement et de recherche (MER) and senior scientific personnel with important permanent roles in teaching and research was 3.8 % of total staff (2014: 4.1 %.).

At 12,731 (2014: 12,534) employment contracts or 60.9 % (2014: 61.4 %; 2013: 61.4 %) the scientific personnel, including doctoral students, were still clearly the largest function group in the ETH Domain (see fig. 30). The ETH provided 453 (2014: 456) young people one of the popular apprenticeships in basic vocational education.

ProfessorsIn 2015, a total of 667 full professors (F) and associate professors (A) (2014: 657), 96 assistant professors with tenure track (2014: 93) and 53 assistant professors without tenure track (2014: 59) were work-ing at ETH Zurich and EPFL.

The combined total of female F and A professors rose by 6 to 75, which represents an increase of 8.7 %. The proportion of women in the three categories (see box on the right side) grew from 13.1 % to 13.7 % in 2015. Among the F and A professors the proportion of women was 11.2 % (2014: 10.5 %; 2013: 9.3 %); among assistant professors with tenure track it was 27.1 % (2014: 26.8 %; 2013: 28.9 %); and among assistant professors without tenure track it amounted to 20.8 % (2014: 20.3 %; 2013: 19.6 %).

In 2015, 429.3 FTEs of the 487 professorships (475.3 FTEs) at ETH Zurich, were financed by the total federal contribution, 20 FTEs with funding from the Federal Government (SNSF), 2.5 FTEs with EU research programme funding, and 23.5 FTEs with third-party resources, donations and bequests. Of the 329 professorships

(313.9 FTEs) at EPFL, 299.6 FTEs were financed by the total federal contribution, 9.2 FTEs by SNSF, and 1.2 FTEs by EU research pro-grammes, and 3.9 FTEs from donations and bequests.

In 2015, 66.7 % of all professors came from abroad (2014: 65.9 %; 2013: 66.2 %). Of these 53.6 % (2014: 52.9 %) came from the EU area, and 13.1 % from the other countries (see fig. 35).

66.1 % of the new staff appointed in all professorial categories are EU citizens (2014: 55.6 %; 2013: 72.5 %), while 16.7 % (2014: 27.8 %; 2013: 15.5 %) are from Switzerland and 17.2 % (2014: 16.6; 2013: 12 %) are of another nationality (see fig. 36).

66.7 % of all the new professors were male (2014: 80.6 %), compared to 33.3 % female (2014: 19.4 %). Six full professors of ETH Zurich retired in 2015, whereas at EPFL ten full professors and one female full professor retired.

Proportion of women The ratio of women to men in the total work force has remained fairly steady over the years at about one third to two thirds (2015: 33.6 % and 66.4 %; 2014: 33.4 % and 66.6 %). The proportion varies from institution to institution, depending on the portfolio of subjects. The proportion of women is traditionally lowest at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and Empa, and highest at Eawag. In

Professorial categories

The various professorial categories differ with regard to status and employment conditions. Full and associate professors, and assistant professors with and without tenure track teach and do research at both Federal Institutes of Technology. Tenure track means that assistant professors can become permanently employed as full or associate professors if they meet a given perfor-mance target. Full and associate professors are appointed perma-nently, while assistant professors sign employment contracts for a maximum of four years. These can be renewed for up to another four years.

44 In 2015 the growth with the addition of 469 new employment contracts was accompanied by 1,096.7 additional full time positions of employment (FTEs). Of these 1,096.7 full time positions, 647 FTEs are affected by a cost-neutral system change in the remuneration structure of the doctoral students, which ETH Zurich carried out with effect from 1.1.2015. Starting from this date, the doctoral students are basically employed and paid at an employment level of 100 % (full-time), while being paid at different rates. Until 2014, ETH Zurich had set the salaries of doctoral students according to a graded scale of employment level, which resulted in a lower number of FTEs. The additional FTEs at ETH Zurich also have an effect on the total number of FTEs in the ETH Domain.

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KEY FIGURES

2015, the number of women employed in the ETH Domain increased by 182 (2014: 195) to a total of 7.013 at the end of the year (+ 2.7 %; 2014: + 2.9 %).

The overall proporation of women among professors increased again slightly, although it continues to remain in the low dou-ble-digit range.

Internationalisation: origins of personnelThe origins of employees also reflect the high level of internation-alisation in the ETH Domain. In 2015 foreign nationals accounted for 52.2 % of all employees (2014: 52 %).

Of these foreign employees, 36.9 % or 7,710 individuals were citizens of an EU country; 15.3 % or 3,196 individuals came from countries outside the EU. Internationality is strongest among the scientific personnel, of whom 67.7 % are from abroad, for both male and female professors. As to the representation of linguistic communities, the proportion of those with German as their native language decreased further to 50.2 % in 2015 (2014: 51.7 %), while the proportion with French as their native language remained vir-tually unchanged at 18 % (see fig. 34). The segment of employees who describe themselves as native English speakers declined again, to 8.1 %, while a slight increase was to be observed among Italian speakers (6 %) and native speakers of other languages (17.7 %).

ApprenticesThe ETH Domain offered 453 apprentices an apprenticeship in more than twenty different professions, such as automation, media and technology, information assistant, electrical planner, graphics art-ist. The focus of the courses offered is on the scientific/technical professions. The most popular disciplines are chemistry lab tech-

nician, commercial assistant, IT specialist, multi-skilled mechanic, physics lab technician, followed by biology lab assistant. As of the end of 2015, the number of apprenticeships for young people had increased from 344 to 453 since 2003 (2014: 456). The proportion of women rose again slightly, to the present figure of 30.2 % (2014: 29.6 %).

Appeal as an employerOutstanding scientists, promising young talent and exceptional administrative and technical staff are essential for ensuring that the institutions of the ETH Domain can fulfil their legal mandate and achieve their strategic objectives.

The ETH Board and the institutions in the ETH Domain provide attractive work and employment conditions that are competitive at the national and international level, and continue to develop them. For this they adapt their employment conditions to social, economic and political developments, and design them in a socially responsible way tailored to the needs of the university and research operations.

In the year under review the ETH Board had the new salary system (NRS), which was introduced in 2006/2007 for the entire ETH Domain, evaluated by an external auditing and consultancy firm. The evaluation mainly dealt with compliance with legal requirements (especially the equality of pay for men and women) and the systems and transparency in recording and rewarding performance.

This audit was designed to determine whether the designated objectives for the launch of the NRS had been achieved, and to show where improvements are necessary and where further develop-ment is possible. The evaluation report presented at the end of

Fig. 30: Headcount and employment level by function group

Men Women ETH Domain

2015 EC FTE ø EL % EC FTE ø EL % EC FTE ø EL %

Professors (F/A) 592 570.8 96.4 75 71.7 95.6 667 642.5 96.3

Assistant professors with tenure track 70 69.7 99.6 26 26 100.0 96 95.7 99.7

Assistant professors without tenure track 42 40.9 97.4 11 10.1 91.8 53 51 96.2

Scientific personnel 9,014 7,881.8 87.4 3,717 3,093.7 83.2 12,731 10,975.5 86.2

of whom senior scientific personnel 709 677.4 95.5 100 88 88.0 809 765.4 94.6

Technical personnel 2,849 2,681.7 94.1 855 656.9 76.8 3,704 3,338.6 90.1

Administrative personnel 1,003 879.9 87.7 2,192 1,632.4 74.5 3,195 2,512.3 78.6

Apprentices 316 316 100 137 137 100.0 453 453 100

Total 13,886 12,440.8 89.6 7,013 5,627.8 80.2 20,899 18,068.6 86.5

Headcount (employment contracts, EC) and employment level (EL) of men, women and the entire ETH Domain by function group. As of 2010, the senior scientists, maîtres d’enseignement et de recherche (MER) and other senior personnel are counted separately, but nevertheless are still included under scientific personnel. A total of 6,103 doctoral students are enrolled at the two Federal Institutes of Technology. Of these, all who are employed in the ETH Domain are included under scientific personnel.


2015 to the institutions and their personnel and representatives and social partners concludes with a generally positive assess-ment, and for example did not find any inequality of pay between men and women in the gender-specific salary arrangements in the ETH Domain. There is potential for improvement in the upgrad-ing of the job profiles and in the use and transparency of the sys-tem. The ETH Board and the institutions will thoroughly analyse the evaluation results in the first quarter of 2016, as well as the measures proposed by the contracted firm, and the feedback, and advance the further development of NRS in dialogue with the social partners.

Supporting scientists in their early career planning in an aca-demic environment or in private industry is becoming increasingly important. The staff surveys at all institutions show that the oppor-tunities for development on all academic career levels still need to be promoted more strongly. The supervision of doctoral students also needs to be intensified. This includes helping them to plan their scientific careers after completing their theses. The career centres at ETH Zurich and EPFL play a vital role here.

Promoting equal opportunities and diversityIn 2015 the institutions of the ETH Domain continued their pro-gramme for the promotion of gender equality, with the aim of sus-tainably increasing the proportion of women at all levels and espe-cially in executive positions (see also p. 106). The institutions of the ETH Domain promote working conditions that enable both men and women to combine a career and family life at all levels and in all functions. The institutions take account of gender-specific dif-ferences in career planning, and support talented scientists return-ing to work after taking a career break – perhaps for parental leave or due to their partner having to relocate for work-related reasons.

The institutions of the ETH Domain place great value on the diverse viewpoints and experiences of their staff. The harmonious gathering of men and women from various cultures, languages, religions, age-groups and social origins within a single institution is seen by them as an opportunity that accords the organisation an essential added value. To make full use of the potential that this diversity holds, they create a work environment in which their employees from various cultures can play a part and feel at ease.

The institutions help foreign employees to integrate within the society and job market of Switzerland. Furthermore, the institu-

tions offer advisory services for the partners of top-level talents called in from abroad, in order to assist them in their professional reorientation and in integrating within Switzerland (support for dual careers). The institutions have stepped up their participation in the International Dual Career Network (IDCN), which supports the partners of members of the ETH Domain in looking for employment.

Supporting upcoming young scientistsTo maintain the high level of quality of teaching and research, the institutions of the ETH Domain identify, attract and promote up-coming young scientists on the basis of their academic performance and scientific potential. They support doctoral students and post-docs in planning their careers, and offer improved development opportunities and further education courses in order to prepare them for a successful career in academia or in other professions in the national or international community. However, staff surveys have indicated there is still room for improvement in this regard.

Support is given to upcoming young scientists on many differ-ent levels. The two Federal Institutes of Technology offer fixed-term assistant professorships with and without tenure track with the aim of promoting young academics, identifying talent, and ultimately to increase the proportion of female professors. Another career path is via the open-ended scientific positions (Senior Scientists or maîtres d’enseignement et de recherche, MER), who for exam-ple make a significant long-term contribution to the continuity and assured quality of the academic transfer of knowledge in teach-ing and research, or who are responsible for the operation and fur-ther development of large-scale research installations and research platforms.

To prepare the young researchers for the competitive interna-tional environment and to help them in planning their careers, they have access to a comprehensive range of funding schemes which supplement the grants and programmes of external fund-ing bodies. In 2015 ETH Zurich established the “Forum Nachwuchs-förderung” panel, its task being – in concert with key actors of the university – to identify the need for action with regard to fostering young academics and developing the relevant actions to be taken. Knowing that assistant professorships provide key tools for nurtur-ing young scientific talent, ETH Zurich also enacted new regulations for the supervision of assistant professors and the implementation of the tenure-track process.

Fig. 31: Change in the number of professors

2014 2015 Change

2015 Men Women Total Men Women TotalMen in %

Womenin %

Totalin %

Professors (F/A) 588 69 657 592 75 667 0.7 8.7 1.5

Assistant professors with tenure track 68 25 93 70 26 96 2.9 4.0 3.2

Assistant professors without tenure track 47 12 59 42 11 53 – 10.6 – 8.3 – 10.2

Total professors 703 106 809 704 112 816 0.1 5.7 0.9

Change in the number of professors according to: full and associate professors, assistant professors with tenure track and assistant professors without tenure track. The three last columns show the percentage change since the previous year.


130

KEY FIGURES

To learn more about the actions which have been shown to impact the career development of young scientists, the PSI took part in Career Tracking of Doctorate Holders, a European pilot project. The results of this, published in May 2015, provided essential infor-mation for PSI’s internal planning of future staff development pro-jects. A key aspect in this context was showing the career alterna-tives available not only in academia but also in industry. WSL’s career day was also very popular on account of the presentation showing the career options available within the scientific commu-nity and outside of it.

Special attention is accorded to the fostering of young female scientific talent in all of the institutions of the ETH Domain. The “Fix the leaky pipeline!” initiative for promoting the academic careers of women has received very positive feedback. It is geared to female

doctoral students and researchers in postdoc and similar positions. Attracting more women for the engineering and natural sciences is also the goal of the international career platform Femtec. In 2015 ETH Zurich confirmed that it would be taking part in the Femtec Career Building programme for another three years. Actively pro-moting women is one thing, eliminating barriers another. A pilot study conducted by ETH Zurich in 2015 analysed the key constraints posed to young female scientists with small children. It identified further improvement with regard to day care availability and reg-ular career talks as significant factors of success. As a result, all the institutions are working on further expanding childcare availabil-ity and personal advisory services.

For the younger age groups, the institutions of the ETH Domain continue to endeavour to actively awaken and encourage their

Fig. 32: Origin of professors

Switzerland EU Other

2015 Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women Total

Professors (F/A) 215 23 238 308 44 352 69 8 77

Assistant professors with tenure track 12 5 17 40 15 55 18 6 24

Assistant professors without tenure track 15 2 17 21 9 30 6 0 6

Total professors 242 30 272 369 68 437 93 14 107

Number of professors broken down by origin: Switzerland, the EU and other countries.

Fig. 33: Origin of new professors hired

Switzerland EU Other ETH Domain

2015 Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women Total

Professors (F/A) 1 1 2 9 2 11 4 0 4 14 3 17

Assistant professors with tenure track 1 1 2 6 2 8 1 2 3 8 5 13

Assistant professors without tenure track 1 1 2 0 3 3 1 0 1 2 4 6

Total professors 3 3 6 15 7 22 6 2 8 24 12 36

Number of new professors in 2015 broken down by origin: Switzerland, the EU and other countries.

Fig. 34: Employees’ native languages in 2015

Other 17.7 % (16.2 %)

English 8.1 % (8.3 %)

Italian 6.0 % (5.9 %)

French 18.0 % (17.9 %)

German 50.2 % (51.7 %)

Native languages of employees in the ETH Domain in 2015. Previous-year figures are shown in brackets.


interest in scientific and technical subjects by sponsoring a wide variety of activities: these include summer camps, participation in National Future Day and setting up school labs, but also the possi-bility to compose baccalaureate or diploma dissertations or com-plete student placements. Educational and continuing studies pro-grammes of the Chur University of Teacher Education for providing basic teacher training and for grammar school teachers took place at SLF for the first time in 2015. The modules not only convey in- depth knowledge on snow and avalanches but also offer valuable tips for teaching geography and physics in the classroom.

Fixed-term employment contractsThe employment of staff on a fixed-term basis at all of the insti-tutions of the ETH Domain is subject to Article 17b of the ETH Act (SR 414.110).

Fig. 35: Change in proportion of women by institution

2012 2013 2014 2015

60 %

50 %

40 %

30 %

20 %

10 %

0 %

ETH Zurich EPFL PSI WSL Empa Eawag ETH Board ETH Domain

Change in proportion of women by institution over the past four years (in relation to the number of employment contracts).

Fig. 36: Change in proportion of foreign employees by function group

2012 2013 2014 2015

60 %

50 %

40 %

30 %

20 %

10 %

0 %

Professors(all)

Scientificpersonnel

Technicalpersonnel

Administrativepersonnel

Apprentices Total

Change in proportion of foreign employees in ETH Domain by function group (in relation to the number of employment contracts).

The vast majority of scientific personnel have fixed-term con-tracts. This includes in particular the doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows, who work on projects that by their nature are of a fixed duration, regardless of which sources of financing are used for the projects. Open-ended appointments of scientists are only made for long-term permanent tasks in teaching and research, in particular for Senior Scientists or maîtres d’enseignement et de recherche (MER).

The employment terms of the staff in technical or administrative functions are generally open-ended. Fixed-term employment terms in these functions are limited to employees who work on projects financed by third-party resources, or to assistants (ETH Act Art. 17b para. c). In projects and where there is uncertainty with regard to securing long-term financing, both scientific staff and technical and administrative personnel are employed on a fixed-term basis.


132

KEY FIGURES

When the fixed-term employment contract of administrative or technical employees expires, the case is reviewed by the employer to ascertain whether the conditions are met for extending the fixed-term employment, or whether it would be possible to switch the employee in question to a permanent contract. This particularly applies to technical and administrative personnel, who are encour-aged to move between organisational units and institutions. As is generally the case at all universities and state run research institu-tions, scientific staff usually leave the institutions of the ETH Domain once their project-based fixed-term employment contracts have expired.

Professional integration of people with disabilitiesFor many years now, the institutions in the ETH Domain, as socially responsible employers, have played an active role in the integration and reintegration of people with physical or mental disabilities which restrict their ability to work. This involves, for example, working with the disability insurance offices and other specialist organisations to provide internships to help prepare people for professional reintegration – often in cooperation with regional university medical clinics. Case management activities, which pro-vide support for people with health problems, are increasingly important. For years, the institutions of the ETH Domain have been successfully following an approach which involves helping employ-ees who have been partly incapacitated due to long-term illness or an accident by adapting the workplace to suit their needs when-ever possible.

Outlook – 2016 objectivesPersonnel policy objectives and strategies that have an impact on social norms and traditions can only be implemented gradually over an extended period of time. This has been found to be the case in the past, and it will continue to apply in future.

The ETH Board and the institutions of the ETH Domain will con-tinue to consistently align their personnel policy in 2016 to respect, appreciation, dialogue and trust. They continually adapt the ETH Domain’s legislation on human resources to match social and polit-ical developments, and changing socio-political requirements. In 2016 these tasks will also include needs-oriented information of employees and social partners on the findings of the evaluation of the remuneration system and establishing professional groups for possibly implementing the findings and recommendations made by the ETH Board.

The ETH Board and the institutions support their staff at all lev-els and in all functions in their continuing professional develop-ment, and also require that they keep up such CPD. They support their employees in their career planning, and promote occupa-tional mobility. The continuing professional development of the management staff focusses on personnel management, manage-ment skills, and corporate culture.

The institutions of the ETH Domain have been strengthening the support of upcoming young scientists, and preparing them for a career in academia or in other professions in the national or inter-national community. The profiles for Senior Scientists and MERs

Fig. 37: Source of funds by function group

Function groupProfessors

(all)Scientific

personnelTechnical

personnelAdministrative

personnel Total

Source of funds

Total federal contribution (internal resources)Federal financial contribution

2015 728.8 5,903.9 2,807.3 2,246.6 11,686.6

2014 716.5 5,386.8 2,691.1 2,178.0 10,972.4

∆ 2014 / 2015 12.3 116.2 68.6

Third-party resourcesResearch funding (SNSF, CTI, NCCR, SUC), government-funded research and EU research programmes

2015 32.9 3,781.8 230.8 95.6 4,141.1

2014 37.1 3,538.8 231.8 81.2 3,888.9

∆ 2014 / 2015 – 4.2 – 1 14.4

Industry -oriented research, donations / bequests 2015 27.4 1,290.2 299.3 171.0 1,787.9

2014 25.0 1,203.2 273.5 155.9 1,657.6

∆ 2014 / 2015 2.4 25.8 15.1

Total 2015 789.1 10,975.9 3,337.4 2,513.2 17,615.6

2014 778.6 10,128.8 3,196.4 2,415.1 16,518.9

∆ 2014 / 2015 10.5 847.1 141.0 98.1 1,096.7

Adjustments – 647.0 – 647.0

Adjusted change ∆ 2014 / 2015 10.5 200.1 141.0 98.1 449.7

Source of funds according to function groups (in FTEs) in 2015 and as compared to 2014. ∆ (delta) shows the absolute change as compared to the previous year. Figures without apprentices and trainees.

Due to the change in the remuneration structure of doctoral students which ETH Zurich implemented from 1 January 2015 – a system change that resulted in no bottom-line change in terms of costs and involved different rates being applied for an employment level of 100 % – 1,096.7 full-time equivalents more were shown as of 31 December 2015 although only 449.7 additional full-time positions had been created. Through the end of 2014 ETH Zurich had established the salaries of doctoral students applying tiered employment levels, which resulted in a lower figure for the full-time positions. The additional full-time positions at ETH Zurich impact the total number of full-time positions in the ETH Domain.


Main features of the personnel strategy

The personnel policy of the ETH Domain is based on the Federal Act on the Personnel of the Swiss Confederation (Art. 4 BPG, “Bundes-personalgesetz”). It follows the objectives and requirements spec-ified there and in the ETH Domain’s performance mandate (Objec-tive 10) (see p. 103 ff.).

The ETH Board and the six institutions of the ETH Domain are responsible employers, providing progressive and internationally competitive employment conditions. In order to maintain and improve the high quality of teaching and research and their interna-tional standing, they recruit talented individuals and excellent staff – in Switzerland and from around the world. They promote the employees at all levels and positions and ensure equal oppor-tunities.

The success of the ETH Domain is based on a forward looking, socially responsible, transparent and dependable personnel policy, as well as employment conditions in a working environment that inspires and encourages employees to achieve the best results, and promotes personal development and excellent performance. An important element of this is a management culture which is defined by responsibility and appreciation and is appropriate for an aca-demic environment.

Outstanding scientists, promising young talent and exceptional administrative and technical staff are essential for ensuring that the institutions of the ETH Domain can fulfil their legal mandate and achieve their strategic objectives. With this in mind, the ETH Board and the institutions of the ETH Domain create an environ-

ment that enables them to attract, support and retain personnel of the required calibre.

Identifying and supporting upcoming young scientists are essential prerequisites for maintaining a high standard of teaching and research. In the global competition to attract the best talent and highly qualified researchers, the institutions of the ETH Domain are now offering their doctoral and postdoc students, in particular, even more opportunities for career development. The creation of additional assistant professorships is not only a means of increas-ing the proportion of female professors as quickly as possible, but also one of the most important tools for supporting upcoming young scientists in general.

In order to secure and strengthen their international position, the institutions of the ETH Domain endeavour to attract and retain the best personnel at all levels, regardless of their gender, nation-ality, cultural background or social origins. They are boosting their appeal to women and increasing the proportion of women at all levels and in all function groups, especially in executive positions and on decision making committees. They aim to provide working conditions that enable both men and women to reconcile profes-sional and family life at all levels.

The institutions in the ETH Domain also fulfil their role as socially responsible employers by continuing to employ and inte-grate staff with disabilities which restrict their ability to work. They also make an effort to enable people with disabilities which restrict their ability to work to reintegrate into professional life.

who have open-ended positions are defined more clearly as another possible career path, and the range of positions extended to meet the demands.

The ETH Board and institutions of the ETH Domain promote equal opportunities and are strengthening their overall endeavours to increase the proportion of women in teaching and research, and particularly also in management positions and on decision-mak-ing committees.

The institutions of the ETH Domain view the harmonious gath-ering of men and women from various cultures, languages, reli-gions, age-groups and social origins within their organisation to offer a great opportunity. They continue to strengthen the support they provide to new foreign employees in familiarising themselves with their working environment and in their integration within Swiss society and the Swiss labour market. They provide more effective support for the issue of dual careers when recruiting the best talents from abroad.


134

KEY FIGURES

Appointment of professors As part of the realisation of their development plans, the two Fed-eral Institutes of Technology submit their plans for professorships to the ETH Board in the first half of each year. The ETH Board appoints the individual professors at the request of the presidents of the two Federal Institutes of Technology. Altogether the ETH Board dealt with 158 changes in the reporting year. More than half of these activities concerned appointments of professors and the granting of the title of a professor. The other activities mainly involved re-ap-pointment of assistant professors following their successful interim evaluation, and the conferring of emeritus status.

AppointmentsIn 2015, the ETH Board appointed 12 female professors (5 at ETH Zurich and 7 at EPFL) and 60 male professors (32 at ETH Zurich and 28 at EPFL).

The total of 72 appointments included:—— Full professors (women and men): 2 and 21—— Associate professors (women and men): 4 and 18—— Assistant professors with tenure track (TT) (women and men): 4 and 16

—— Assistant professors without TT (women and men): 2 and 5

22 of these appointments involved either promotions of associ-ate professors to full professors or of assistant professors to asso-ciate professors. Altogether 50 people were appointed as new pro-fessors at ETH Zurich (26) and EPFL (24).

Further, the ETH Board conferred the title of professor to 13 scientists, appointing 1 woman and 12 men as adjunct professors.

The proportion of appointed women in 2015 was with 16.7 % comparable to those of the years 2009–2013; and although it could not reach the very high level of 2014 (33 %), the proportion of female professors overall increased slightly (2015: 13.7 %; 2014: 13.1 %). It is particularly important to consider the long-term development of these figures.

Emeritus status and retirementIn 2015, the ETH Board acknowledged 24 resignations for reasons of age (with emeritus status), 13 at ETH Zurich and 11 at EPFL. ETH Zurich and EPFL also notified the ETH Board of a total of 10 resignations for other reasons (e.g. appointment to new professorship).

Professorial matters


KEY FIGURES | Real estate

Growth, complexity and user requirements as challenges for management and governance 2015 was marked by the continued development of the infrastructures of the ETH Domain. Accommodation for the continually increasing number of undergraduate and postgraduate students, the rising demands of teaching and research on buildings and technology, and the preparations for the Swiss Innovation Park, impose great demands on the managers of the real estate and the quality of the governance.

The complexity of the infrastructure projects in teaching and research makes it indispensable to take a careful approach and provide a clear governance. University buildings are important. Firstly, in view of the competition to win the top national and international position in science they provide a strategic, long-term investment for the respective institution, and also for the whole country. Sec-ondly, they form a characteristic feature of the locations where they stand. The demands placed on the buildings are built in response to the specific requirements of teaching and research and are not static. Particularly in the ETH Domain, new fields of study such as “Health Sciences and Technology” (D-HEST), or new branches of research such as nanotechnology, require dynamic modifications of the university buildings. The ETH Domain, therefore, is not only investing in the preservation of value and function, but also in spe-cific adjustments to match the constantly changing needs, with the required conversions and extension works on the spatial and tech-nical facilities.

Strategies to further develop the portfolioIn the year under review the main sites of the Zentrum and Höng-gerberg campuses of ETH Zurich were again marked by building development work. With an extensive organisational development in the real estate infrastructure, and a stronger involvement of the Executive Board in the strategic decisions about spatial and tech-nical facilities, the professionalism of the real estate management of ETH Zurich has been further improved. Here it follows the holis-tic approach of sustainability, with the three aspects of ecology, economy and society, with a view to obtaining the sustainability certificate of the Swiss Sustainable Building Council (SGNI) for every new building. The expected life-cycle costs are taken into account right at the competitive bidding stage, and for major renovations or maintenance works, with the aid of a new business tool.

New forms of instruction such as MOOCs and DLL (Discovery Learning Laboratories), which require an advanced and flexible infrastructure, combined with the work of preserving the value and function of the real estate portfolio, posed increasing challenges to EPFL, as it had done in previous years. The different speeds at

which the academic requirements develop, and the often lengthy construction project phases, made innovative forms of funding and significant price changes necessary in some cases. Additionally, in joint studies the options for extending the campuses and for mak-ing use of synergies are examined in cooperation with the Univer-sity of Lausanne (UNIL) and the Canton of Vaud.

In 2015 the PSI again followed a policy of needs-based construc-tion, with an optimum allocation of space using new buildings and conversions and renovations. The SwissFEL building project will be completed in 2016. In the medium term a consolidation of the portfolio is to be expected.

At WSL the emphasis in real estate management was on preserv-ing the basic fabric of the existing buildings and prolonging their useful life; this was done by an ongoing, appropriate maintenance of this infrastructure for leading-edge research. Special attention was paid here on optimising the buildings’ energy usage, and on improving the elimination of pollutants in the installations. The standard for the condition of the buildings was kept at a consist-ently high level.

Empa and Eawag continued to follow the spatial and financial master plans (SFMP) drawn up in the years 2011 and 2012, which form the basis for the real estate strategies of both institutions. The three biggest current building proposals resulting from this are: the Energy Estate project for both research institutes (to implement the strategy for the heating, cooling and electricity supply of the estate), Empa’s NEST project, and the collaboration of Empa with ETH Zurich on the construction of a new office and laboratory building with industrial and workshop halls for teaching and research at the Empa Ost site in Dübendorf. The SFMP are to be revised in 2016. Moreover, the ETH Board already calculated the figures for the SFMP in 2015 by way of this new structure valid for all the institutions and providing a basis of comparison.

136

KEY FIGURES

Ongoing and completed projects of 2015With their investments in new buildings, extensions and renova-tion to improve efficiency, the institutions of the ETH Domain are also improving the energy profile, the accessibility for disabled persons, fire protection, earthquake resistance, and the operat-ing costs.

Major new building projects of ETH Zurich in 2015 included the new HIB building for the Architecture department, the annex for the HIA laboratory and office building, and the HCP office build-ing. Major renovation projects of ETH Zurich included the main building and the ET building in the centre of Zurich, the front sec-tion of the HPM building, and the refurbishment of the HPR build-ing as a part of the Hönggerberg catering concept. The construction of the urgently needed student hostels on Hönggerberg, erected and operated by investors via building rights assignment, was almost completed by the end of 2015. On Gloriastrasse the dem-olition and preparation works were continued for the new GLC research building with laboratory and office areas for the new Health Sciences and Technology department (D-HEST).

As part of the “Objectif Campus” project, which aims at provid-ing a more attractive campus, the “Under One Roof” pavilion is being built – a laboratory of digital cultures. The site is also being connected to a second electricity supply. The renovation and exten-sion of the ME building (formerly Mechanics) were mostly fin-ished. This building will mainly be used for robotics and now also for engineering. Considerable additional costs were reported for this project in the year under review, due to project changes. The ETH Board and EPFL ordered a thorough investigation into this in 2015, which is still in progress at the time of going to press (see p. 100, Objective 9).

In 2015 the PSI, after completing the 700-metre long shell of SwissFEL, started on the interior fittings, and the installation of the machine components; it also completed the WBWA building as a replacement for the apprentice workshop. In parallel to this, var-ious renovation projects were running, partly to comply with legal regulations.

The WSL was able to open the new biosafety laboratory in 2015, and then concentrated its funds on the renovation and extension of the old office and laboratory wing of the main building in Bir-

mensdorf. For this a modern technique was used, with suspended prefabricated wooden façades (see image 2).

At Empa in Dübendorf, in collaboration with Eawag, the works on the construction test building NEST were continued in the year of the report and progress was made on the plans for the energy supply of Areal Ost together with ETH Zurich (see p. 79).

At Eawag the new experimental building “Aquatikum” for re-search on aquatic habitats and drinking water tests in Dübendorf could be finalised. Next to it a test installation with 36 outdoor ponds was completed (see p. 3, Selected Highlights) (see image 1).

Investments and source of funds in 2015The investment credit in 2015 for the whole ETH Domain, following a credit reallocation for the financial contribution of 21m CHF (10.2 %), amounted to 184.4m CHF, which was almost at the same level as the figure for the preceding year (183.2m CHF). The main reason for the credit reallocation was the lower expenditure due to unexpected delays in two large projects of ETH Zurich. 54 % of the investments applied to new and replacement buildings and 46 % to ensuring the preservation of value and functionality. On top of this, third-party resources of around 22,9m CHF was deployed for construction activities, and investments from the financ-ing contribution amounting to 89,5m CHF were made in userspe-cific facilities owned by the institutions. The entire construction volume triggered by the ETH Domain in 2015 came to 296.8m CHF (see fig. 41). Private investors also financed the expansion of sup-plementary facilities which further enhance the appeal of the two universities, but do not directly serve the teaching and research, with approx. 60m CHF. For the imputed rent of the real estate owned by the Federal Government, the ETH Domain received accommodation funding of 272.8m CHF in 2015.

In 2015, 5.6m CHF of third-party resources were deployed by ETH Zurich for such uses as the Gastro-Pavillon project and the new HIA and HIB buildings, and 16.5m CHF were used by EPFL for the projects “Under One Roof” (Objectif Campus) and the Mechanics building as well as 0.7m CHF were deployed by Empa for the pro-ject NEST.

On the estate of ETH Zurich, two private investors completed projects for student hostels amounting to approx. 60m CHF. These

1 The new experimental building “Aquatikum” with a suspended façade, representing a moving water surface. (Image: Eawag)

2 Renovation of the main building of the WSL in Birmensdorf using a prefabricated wooden façade. (Image: WSL)

21


were then also run and maintained by the investors. The new HCP building is used by ETH Zurich for its own needs for teaching and research, and was likewise financed by funding from investors, amounting to 17.8m CHF. A basic description of the use of funding from investors is given in the report on Objective 9 (see p. 100).

Space: real estate management in figuresThe ETH Domain uses more than 390 buildings and around 70 facil-ities on 148 plots of land throughout Switzerland. In line with the strategies of the institutions, the main usable area reported for the real estate of the ETH Domain at the end of 2015, which covers 946,600 m2, represents an decrease on 2014 (954,900 m2) of 0.9 % due to land set aside by ongoing renovations. The historic cost of the ETH Domain’s real estate portfolio on 31 December 2015 amounted to 7.5bn CHF. In terms of value this represents about one third of the entire portfolio of the Federal Government. The book value of the portfolio is around 4.3bn CHF. The book value remained almost the same compared to 2014 (see fig. 42). The increase in value from investment and value conservation activities is bal-anced against ordinary depreciation and extraordinary value adjustments due to sale, conversion and refurbishment (also some dismantling/reinstatement work). At ETH Zurich the increase in floor space results from the completion of new buildings in the central area as well as on Hönggerberg and partly in Basel. At EPFL, this is mainly occurring in the new external sites (“Antennae”). These allocated new buildings are being set up in Neuenburg (Institute of Microengineering), Geneva (Campus Biotech), Sion (EPFL Valais Wallis) and Fribourg (smart living lab) and are currently

in varying phases of implementation. At Eawag the completion of the experimental building “Aquatikum” (900 m2) provided a 2.5 % increase in floor space.

Further portfolio adjustments were carried out in 2015 by selling properties. The institutions of the ETH Domain reinvest the result-ing revenue in the government-owned buildings used by them. This means that user requirements can be better served and more use can be made of the real estate portfolio while upholding its financial value. The sale of properties, for example at ETH Zurich, is often connected to the return of property in the university quar-ter to residential space, as agreed with the City of Zurich.

Maintaining value and functionality: condition value kept at a high level

The ETH Board is legally obliged to maintain the value and func-tionality of the properties of the ETH Domain that are owned by the Federal Government, and this is a part of “Objective 9” on real estate management, under the performance mandate 2013–2016. The average age of all properties used by the ETH Domain is around 50 years, with a significant proportion – in terms of both volume and value – of the portfolio having already been through one or more cycles of renovation. The about 400 buildings of the ETH Domain include many special examples of architecture cover-ing the period from the time of founding the ETH to the present day, which are used by institutions of the ETH Domain. The real estate portfolio includes well-known, centrally located historical edifices, as well as contemporary office and laboratory buildings, large energy-intensive research facilities, and also several alpine

— Very good condition, as new — Average condition, plan and implement measures — Good condition, no measures needed — Poor condition, measures needed

Average weighted by original value of properties: 82.6 %

Fig. 38: Condition value as of 31 December 2015

100 %

90 %

80 %

70 %

60 %

50 %

40 %

30 %

20 %

10 %

0 %

0 20 40 60 80 100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

260

280

300

300

320

340

360


138

KEY FIGURES

farms that are used for agricultural research. Some of the histori-cally significant properties are also listed buildings that have to be preserved or protected. The properties – particularly the his-torical buildings – are sometimes very costly to renovate and this leads to challenging construction projects, not to mention the new regulations or provisions on the proper disposal of hazard-ous waste materials. The ETH Domain and its institutions fully accept their responsibility to preserve this cultural heritage, as demonstrated by the major renovation project involving the building complex of the Machinery Laboratory and District Heat-ing Plant of ETH Zurich for more than 130m CHF. However, the framework conditions for this often impose restrictions on the use of buildings and on spatial development.

The two Federal Institutes of Technology and the research insti-tutes use the same standard STRATUS methods and tools to assess the condition of individual buildings and to plan medium and longterm maintenance work. The current value of the properties that have significant value and quantity is shown for each year as key parameter for the retention of value and function (see fig. 38). The valuation of the entire real estate portfolio of the ETH Domain confirms the trend noted for several years: despite the old age of some of the buildings and their many years of intensive use, their current value remains consistently high in relation to their original value. One reason for this lies in the dynamic nature of the institu-tions of the ETH Domain. Many renovation projects are triggered by a need to adapt the use of a building before it has exceeded its service life. The buildings with the lowest values are successively included in the institutions’ renovation strategies. This approach shows how the ETH Domain complies with its responsibility of managing the buildings placed at its disposal by the Federal Gov-ernment in a sustainable manner, and appropriately preserving the value and functionality. Renovation projects in excess of 825m CHF are currently included in the 2016–2019 investment plan. In 2015, these triggered an investment volume of some 120m CHF. In addition, ongoing maintenance work amounting to some 30m CHF was funded from the state financial contribution.

Increase in usable area and continuing need to rentThe growth of the EPFL is strikingly evident from the chart of devel-opment of the main usable areas since 2008, in % (see fig. 39). In absolute terms it also exceeds that of ETH Zurich, the Campus Biotech in Geneva contributing significantly to this. On the whole, ETH Zurich and the PSI are continually developing. Empa shows the least growth in area, although it is planning a phase of develop-ment in Dübendorf – together with ETH Zurich. For an institution like WSL, even a small growth in area (plant protection lab) results in a noticeable change. A reduction in area happens when build-ings are removed from service for maintenance or conversion works.

The mix of areas (see fig. 40), with those for own use, the build-ings of the Federal Government used by others, and buildings rented by third parties, expressed in m2 main usable area (HNF), shows how some of the growth in recent years could only be cov-ered by using additional rental areas. This section also shows the largest relative, and also absolute, growth, where again the Cam-

pus Biotech in Geneva made a significant contribution to this result. The areas used by the institute itself have increased by about 2 % per year over the observed period. The growth of the areas rented out, which at first glance seems to contradict the rising require-ments for space, is due to a change in statistical allocation of the areas after 2013. This applies primarily to staff flats, flats for guest lecturers and students, and areas used by universities. Without this effect, a reduction in rented areas of about 40 % would be noted.

The Source of Funds chart (see fig. 41) shows the sources of funds for the buildings in the ETH Domain and for the supplementary facilities. Firstly one notes the large annual fluctuation in expend-iture. This is partly dependent on the type of grant and the scope of the particular projects (proportion of funds on own account in coordination and management tasks). For the third-party resources for buildings, one notes a certain continuity over the past years.

Fig. 39: Development of the main usable area by institution in %

Fig. 40: Mix of areas (in 1,000 m2)

Entwicklung der Hauptnutz�äche nach Institution in %(Kennzahlen)

ETH Zurich—— EPFL—— PSI—— WSL—— Empa—— Eawag

140

130

120

110

100

90

80

702008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Federal Government, self-used— Third-party, rented— Federal Government, rented out

834 857 870 955 947929891892

Flächenmix Bund, Dritte, Vermietet (Kennzahlen)


However, these are not figures that can be planned, because they depend on each individual project. The construction investments of the ETH Domain for teaching, research and KTT in 2015 are fol-lowed by private third-party investors in the amount of 60m CHF, which create on Federal land with building rights so-called mantle usages and usually run them. It is expected that these investments foreseeable decline as appropriate needs and surfaces are limited (see also p. 100, Objective 9).

Coordinated real estate management in the ETH Domain

An efficient building infrastructure is a central requirement for ena-bling both Federal Institutes of Technology and the four research institutes to achieve their targets in teaching and research and to fulfil their performance mandate and meet the required quality standards. It is the job of the ETH Domain’s real estate management to ensure the functionality of the real estate portfolio in the short, medium and long term, and to preserve its cultural value. Needs-based planning, and the timely realisation of new construction pro-jects, conversions and renovations, are at the heart of its remit.

The real estate of the ETH Domain is owned by the Federal Gov-ernment. The ETH Board assumes the ownership role in trust (as one of the Federal Government’s three real estate authorities, alongside the Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics and arma-suisse). The ETH Board is responsible for the real estate portfolio of the ETH Domain and aligns the strategic real estate management with the institutions. It coordinates the management of the prop-erties and ensures the preservation of their value and functional-ity. The ETH Board, the Executive Boards of the two Federal Insti-tutes of Technology and the Directorates of the four research institutes fulfil the strategic tasks assigned by the performance mandate (Objective 9).

The investment credit for constructions is kept separate from the annual instalments from the Federal Government to the ETH Domain

that have a different purpose. In the state accounts it appears under the Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (FBL) and thus under the Federal Department of Finance. The maintenance of value and functionality is the result of needs-based planning, geared – also in the interests of the owner – towards cost/bene-fit considerations. The corresponding supervision at the level of the ETH Board is based on investment and maintenance planning, implementation by the institutions, and periodic assessments of the condition and value of the buildings. The owner is kept informed of this through the reports of the ETH Board.

The ETH Domain is committed to the sustainable development of its real estate portfolio, complying with the mandate assigned to the Federal Council by Art. 73 of the Federal Constitution, as well as its strategy for sustainability. The sustainable building objectives shared by the ETH Domain serve to preserve the envi-ronment and climate. Economically speaking, they are geared towards the real estate life cycle. Targeted cooperation within the ETH Domain, based on a common environmental concept, contrib-utes towards ensuring sustainable management of the real estate, enhancing the energy efficiency, and reducing the consumption of resources wherever possible – with a long-term focus and in an exemplary manner.

Fig. 41: Source of funds (in m CHF)

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

Investment credit of the Federal Government— Financial contribution ETH—Domain Third-party funds—


140

KEY FIGURES

Fig. 42: Quantity structure of the ETH Domain portfolio

m CHF ETH Zurich EPFL PSI WSL Empa Eawag Total

Buildings / facilities

Quantity 185 75 135 25 25 15 460

Original value 3,450 1,577 544 98 340 100 6,109

Book value 1,537 960 205 46 115 59 2,922

Plots

Quantity 95 20 9 16 4 4 148

Book value 691 247 30 24 63 10 1,065

Book value of installations under construction 175 56 81 5 12 0 329

Building rights (not valuated, in compliance with regulations 0

Total assets (book value real estates) 2,403 1,263 316 75 190 69 4,316

Provisions (e.g. for polluted sites, asbestos, radioactive waste)

264

Quantity and value of all government-owned real estate allocated to the institutions of the ETH Domain.

Fig. 43: Investments

In 1,000 CHF ETH Zurich EPFL PSI WSL Empa Eawag Total

Investment credit from Federal Government 113,800 38,500 15,231 5,460 9,837 1,602 184,430

of which for new or replacement constructions 56,219 27,877 7,624 631 6,188 1,047 99,587

of which for maintenance of value and functionality 57,581 10,623 7,607 4,829 3,649 555 84,843

Financial contribution investments (for user -specific construction)

47,492 3,936 28,319 2,016 4,628 3,091 89,482

Third-party resources 5,650 16,549 0 0 674 0 22,873

Construction expenses of the Institutions 166,942 58,985 43,550 7,476 15,139 4,693 296,785

Main usable area m² 462,620 286,650 105,890 15,450 58,550 17,440 946,600

Construction expenses per m² main usable area (CHF / m²) 361 206 411 484 259 269 314

2015 investments in the ETH Domain portfolio, based on the main usable area (in m2). This is the part of the usable area that is directly allocated to the core task of teaching and research. Because the research institutes themselves do not provide teaching, a figure for the area in the whole Domain – for example in relation to the number of students – would not be very informative.

Construction programme 2016: projects trigger investmentsThe ETH Domain presents its annual construction programme when it applies for contingent credit for new projects planned in the com-ing years. These projects are financed through annual investment credits of the Federal Government. These investments are supple-mented by funds of the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the research institutes for the user-specific operating facilities and for the furnishings. These too are mainly covered by the funding of the Federal Government. In October 2015, the President of the ETH Board presented the 2016 construction programme, with its contingent credit, to the competent finance sub-committees of the Swiss National Council and Council of States. This was approved by the Federal parliament in December 2015 with Federal Decree I regarding the 2016 estimate.

No major projects of more than 10m CHF are planned in the construction programme for 2016. The credit line requested for 2016 is therefore higher than in earlier years and amounts to a total of 173.4m CHF (2015: 114m CHF). Credit lines make it possible to carry out construction projects costing up to 10m CHF, and to plan pro-jects with the requisite credit commitments. Projects that are now planned include the new construction of laboratory and office buildings in Basel and Dübendorf, building a new data centre on Hönggerberg, renovating the HIL/HIF buildings on Hönggerberg and ETF in the centre of Zurich, as well as the EPFL building mod-ifications for new professorships, preparations for the proposed central heating, and necessary renovation of auditoriums and instruction rooms.


KEY FIGURES | Environment and energy

Promoting biodiversity The institutions of the ETH Domain not only operate an infrastructure with installations of the highest technical standards, they express a sense of responsibility in ensuring the minimum stress on the envi-ronment and careful handling of resources. They are also the owners of large open spaces, which they efficiently manage according to the principles of natural and sustainable care, thus contributing to the biodiversity of Switzerland.

“The upgrading of the ecosystems, with the strengthening of sup-port for the ecosystem services that this entails, is a task for all levels of government and the civil populace, for all sectors and the whole population. […] From 1985 to 2009 land use in Switzerland changed completely for 15 % of the ground area – unfortunately most often to the detriment of biodiversity.” This is a quotation from “State of Biodiversity in Switzerland 2014 – Scientific Analy-sis”, a report which researchers from several institutions of the ETH Domain contributed to. Besides the academic contributions to biodiversity, in 2015 the institutions of the ETH Domain also achieved visible results in applied biodiversity, for example by measures to protect the yellow-bellied toad, an amphibian just 50 mm in size that is threatened by extinction; or by the natural enclosure and environmental design of the large research facility SwissFEL, over 700 m in length, in the Würenlinger forest.

The estates of ETH Zurich Hönggerberg, of EPFL in Ecublens, of the WSL in Birmensdorf, of the Empa and Eawag in Dübendorf, St. Gallen and Kastanienbaum, and of the PSI in Villigen, are all cultivated in a nature-friendly way. For example, at EPFL the 55 hectare campus is managed according to the principles of full utilisation, with native plants, planted roofs and permeable surfaces – even on parking spaces. For many years now, EPFL, WSL, PSI and Empa have been awarded the quality label of the Nature & Business foundation for their services in this area, and are committed to taking appropri-ate care of the land.

The promotion of biodiversity starts on a small scale, with sim-ple nesting boxes for various species of birds and bats, little “hotels” for bumblebees and other wild bees, and the maintenance of fal-low land and small-scale structures (heaps of branches, stones or grass, hedges etc.), as practised by ETH Zurich, WSL, PSI and Eawag. Roof planting is also a standard practice in the ETH Domain. For example, at the PSI over 13,500 m2 of roof area have been planted with greenery.

The kind of effect that small-scale, effectively applied measures can have, is shown by one example from ETH Zurich. When mow-ing its hayfields, strips are left standing for insects to return to; and the flower heads are only cut in spring so that birds and insects can also have a variety of food in winter. It also promotes the local biodiversity by providing nesting structures for various species of

wild bees, in wild bee gardens planted with native wild shrubs. Even slow-worms and amphibians live on the estates of ETH Zurich.

The WSL maintains a 10 hectare estate in Birmensdorf with experimental gardens and two wetland biotopes, extensively man-aged meadows, and a reopened stream. The stream was also wid-ened by adding little bays in 2014, which serve as habitat for the yellow-bellied toad, “Amphibian of the year” for 2014, which is an endangered species. The PSI also installed wetland biotopes, to support the Canton of Aargau’s measures to protect amphibians.

One major project in the field of promoting biodiversity was the revitalisation of the Chriesbach stream in Dübendorf, which was completed in 2015. The inspiration for this came from Eawag, who then carried out the project with the municipality and with the Canton as project leader. Suitable native wild plants, some of them endangered, were chosen for planting along the Chriesbach stream, in cooperation with the Business and Ecology Foundation (SWO). The Canton and Eawag also instructed the SWO to constantly com-bat invasive neophytes (plant species that are foreign to the region). As part of the revitalisation of the Chriesbach stream, an open-air laboratory with great structural diversity was built on the Eawag estate; this is accessible to the public and with its display panels and outdoor aquarium it provides a close view of the native flora and fauna. An initial social science study by Eawag, WSL and the University of Zurich showed that the revitalisation of the Chries-bach not only benefits nature but the people as well. The EPFL is working in this direction, too, and in October 2015 it installed an instructive fitness trail on its estate. Ten illustrated display panels which have been put up on the estate, help the visitors to dis-cover the impressive biotopes that have gradually been created on the estate.

The Würenlinger forest is a habitat for numerous plant and animal species, as well as being a place of relaxation for the local people who live and work in the area. Here the 740 metre long X-ray free electron laser SwissFEL of the PSI is to be commissioned in 2016. This facility is built on two floors and is about 10 metres in width, with several annexes for the machines and the experi-mentation hall. To do justice to the sensitive location, in a two-year project an interdisciplinary team of experts created a plan to embed the SwissFEL within its surroundings in the best possible

142

KEY FIGURES

way. Most of the installation was covered over by soil. A wild pas-ture will then be planted on top of this layer of earth, as a habitat for many species of insects, butterflies and wild bees. Ponds and areas of open ground, shrubs and hedges, will all join to become a biotope favourable for the very sensitive species of amphibians. The endangered grey long-eared bat, which is found locally, will find a new source of food in the forest glades around the SwissFEL. Two deer corridors allow the undisturbed passage of wild animals across the facility, and the traffic to the installation will be kept to a minimum.

Environment and energy in the ETH DomainThe ETH Domain provides a detailed report of its commitment to the field “Environment and Energy” in two publications issued by the Federal Government. The “Annual Report – the Confederation as a model example for energy” (EVB, in German), of the Swiss Federal Office for Energy (SFOE)45; and the report “Management of Resources and the Environment by the Federal Government” (RUMBA, in German) of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC)46. The implemen-

tation of the measures under the EVB is set to run until 2020 and is well on course. For the RUMBA programme the ETH Domain issues reports every two years. The detailed reporting in the Annual Report of the ETH Board (see fig. 44, p. 145) presents and complements that of RUMBA because it is based the same parameters. The institutions are responsible for implementing the environmental and energy management in the ETH Domain, focussing on its operational aspects. Once again, several notable projects and measures of the institutions have been initiated or realised in this field in the year under review 2015.

ETH Zurich was engaged in applying many environmental meas-ures in 2015. It endeavours to secure certification from the Swiss Association for Sustainable Real Estate Management (SGNI) for its new building projects and major renovations. Two laboratory buildings have already received the SBNI “Gold” pre-certificate. In this way the buildings are planned and constructed on the basis of

1 Revitalised Chriesbach stream in Dübendorf. (Image: Andri Bryner / Eawag)

2 Endangered species: the yellow-bellied toad. (Image: Thomas Reich / WSL)

45 Published in July 2015 by the Swiss Federal Office for Energie (SFOE).46 Published in September 2015 by Federal Department of the Environment,

Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC).

21


sustainable principles. In 2015 the expansion of the Hönggerberg energy network was continued, with a head office being built for the new residential buildings for students. The new energy con-cept also includes a “cooling ring” in the ETH centre, and a possi-ble connection for utilising the lake water of Zurich lake. In 2014 the electricity requirements of ETH Zurich rose by 8 GWh over the pre-vious year, to 140 GWh (+ 6.4 %); and the heating by fossil fuels was reduced from 37.9 GWh (2013) to 36.5 GWh (2014, – 3.8 %). ETH Zurich was able to reduce the direct CO2 emissions in this way.

When it comes to vehicle procurement, again ETH Zurich acts in a sustainable way: it follows an integral approach, with a system-atic evaluation procedure. In IT, significant energy savings were made by using new storage technologies. The new storage media hold larger volumes of data while using less energy. This leads to energy savings in normal operation of about one third of the amount previously consumed. Indeed, the long-term storage of data is 50 times more energy efficient. Finally, the new operational efficiency manager started work in 2015. This appointment testifies to ETH Zurich’s intention to run its installations in an even more ener-gy-efficient way.

www.umwelt.ethz.ch

The year 2015 was marked by the opening of the solar park Romande Energie-EPFL, the biggest Swiss solar energy plant installed on an existing building complex. It took five years to build. The system with an installed capacity of 2.1 MW extends across 25 buildings and uses various state-of-the-art photovoltaic systems. An energy structure plan for EPFL was decided in keeping with the objectives of the Federal Government’s Energy Strategy 2050.

By maintenance work on the central heating system of the ELG building, and adjusting the ventilation settings, it was possible to reduce the heat consumption in this building by more than 50 %. This corresponds to thermal energy savings of over 400,000 kWh/year. At the Rolex Learning Center a reduction in energy consump-tion of 12 % was achieved by an adjustment of the ventilation sys-tems in the building.

exploitation-energies.epfl.ch

The PSI develops, builds and operates internationally competitive, large-scale research installations, and makes them available to the national and international research community. Special consider-ation is given to the aspect of energy efficiency during the plan-ning, construction, operation and renovation of these installations. For a long time now the PSI has made use of a part of the waste heat from the research installations, for the heating. To implement this strategy consistently and utilise the full potential, a heat rec-lamation system for the whole estate was designed. This installa-tion was nearing completion in 2015. After SwissFEL starts operat-ing, this measure will allow some 75 % of the entire heating needs of the PSI to be covered by waste heat from the research installa-tions. Besides this method, operational improvements are contin-ually being made to the infrastructure at the PSI, especially for the systems that consume the most energy (large machines, building services, IT infrastructure). This leads to an increased energy effi-ciency in the long term, without curtailing the performance or avail-ability of the large-scale research facilities for the community of users.

www.psi.ch/about/psi-energy-concept

In 2015 the WSL was actively involved in upgrading the energy sup-ply systems. In Davos the last of the buildings was upgraded to the Minergie standard. In Birmensdorf, one of the two buildings from the 1950s was renovated to the Minergie-P-Eco standard, and work on the second one will be finished in 2016. For this, prefabricated insulated façade elements will be applied to the existing façade, thereby reducing the heating requirements of these two build-ings by 85 %. Their oil-fired heating was decommissioned and the buildings were connected up to the existing wood chip heater. This allows the WSL site Birmensdorf to be heated CO2-free, starting from the heating period 2015/2016. What is more, the completed building was fitted with a solar roof (305 m2) providing an esti-mated annual production of 50,000 kWh.

www.wsl.ch/umweltmanagement

At Empa the extensive planning for a conversion and extension of the site in Dübendorf was the main topic in 2015. By reducing the heating system temperatures, the aim is to use most of the waste heat that had previously been unusable, for heating purposes. The building conversion works that have been done so far have led to a significant reduction in energy consumption thanks to the improved insulation. At the St. Gallen site, following a comprehen-sive energy supply analysis, the implementation of the measures indicated was started in 2015. The largest project involved the replacement of two large cooling machines by a combined heat pump / cooling machine. Thanks to the considerable increase in energy efficiency it is now possible to save on 228 tons of CO2 per year. In a second project, the existing photovoltaic system rated at 50 kWp will be expanded to 75 kWp. In this way self-production will be increased from 1 % to 2.5 % of the electricity requirement.

www.empa.ch/web/empa/resources-environment

At the end of 2015, at the Dübendorf site Eawag increased its own photovoltaic production on the Forum Chriesbach building from 70 MWh to 100 MWh per annum. A novel design of substructure for the panels improves the conditions for the planted roof by provid-ing ideal ventilation at the rear, leading to greater biodiversity on the roof. For both sites in Dübendorf and Kastanienbaum, new contracts with the “naturemade star” certificate have been run-ning since 2015 following a bid for tenders, now held for the third time. In this way Eawag covers its entire electricity requirements from renewable energy. For 97.5 % it buys “naturemade star” cer-tificates for hydroelectric power. The ecological criteria for a certi-fication to “naturemade star” for hydroelectric power are based on research by Eawag. The remaining 2.5 % are certificates for new renewable energy, mainly photovoltaic.

www.umwelt.eawag.ch

KEY FIGURES | Environment and energy

144

KEY FIGURES

ETH Domain 2013

ETH Domain2014

ETH ZurichTotal

EPFLTotal

PSITotal

WSLTotal

EmpaTotal

EawagTotal

ETH Domain Trend 2015 1

Basic data

Energy reference area ERA2 m2 1,370,483 1,416,238 688,316 403,668 147,049 28,965 120,641 27,599 1,481,978

Full-time equivalent3 FTE 32,517 33,030 18,391 10,562 1,944 604 932 597 34,827

Energy 4

Final energy net7 kWh / a 433,023,327 424,363,562 175,016,644 91,901,108 133,263,119 4,575,265 15,066,326 4,541,100 442,732,564

Electricity net (not incl. self-produced) kWh / a 353,683,736 360,356,537 140,283,000 77,755,385 125,497,653 2,930,203 10,703,536 3,186,760 373,339,388

Consumption of uncertified electricity kWh / a 234,656,595 73,477,017 12,874,440 0 47,160,364 69,418 13,061,045 311,750 –

Sale of uncertified electricity kWh / a – 6,340,091 – 5,804,241 0 – 3,446,732 0 0 – 2,357,509 0 –

Consumption of certified electricity kWh / a 125,367,232 292,683,761 127,408,560 81,202,117 78,337,289 2,860,785 0 2,875,010 –

– Electricity (wihtout naturemade star) kWh / a 113,025,365 278,775,510 123,408,560 74,311,915 78,337,289 2,717,746 0 0 –

– Photovoltaic naturemade star kWh / a 710,945 2,159,919 0 2,000,000 0 143,039 0 16,880 –

– Hydro power naturemade star kWh / a 11,575,922 11,693,332 4,000,000 4,890,202 0 0 0 2,803,130 –

– Wind naturemade star kWh / a 55,000 55,000 0 0 0 0 0 55,000 –

Heat kWh / a 76,953,366 60,903,802 33,544,644 13,863,723 7,442,466 1,147,839 3,712,790 1,192,340 –

Fuel oil kWh / a 8,886,214 2,268,480 20,000 1,692,025 349,520 206,235 0 700 –

Natural gas kWh / a 61,177,379 53,021,591 36,452,000 12,030,171 0 0 4,522,040 17,380 –

Natural gas BHKW kWh / a 25,954 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 –

District heating kWh / a 35,505,557 28,796,711 19,802,000 362,505 7,092,946 0 365,000 1,174,260 –

Wood chip kWh / a 2,136,538 1,162,248 220,644 0 0 941,604 0 0 –

Sale of heat kWh / a – 30,778,275 – 24,345,228 – 22,950,000 – 220,978 0 0 – 1,174,250 0 –

Fuels (own vehicles) kWh / a 2,386,225 2,941,223 1,189,000 282,000 323,000 497,223 650,000 162,000 –

Energy: additional information

Energy costs electricity and heat5 CHF / a 48,178,165 45,620,448 20,582,357 10,577,000 11,559,577 527,660 1,794,938 578,916 49,397,099

Self-generated renewable electricity kWh / a 428,327 450,788 254,000 0 0 28,000 25,318 143,470 –

Total sale to third parties kWh / a – 37,118,366 – 30,149,469 – 22,950,000 – 36,67,710 0 0 – 3531759 0 –

Water (drinking water) m3 602,901 618,123 291,791 170,585 122,378 9,313 19,820 4,236 630,749

Materials

Paper kg 416,400 393,591 209,658 116,120 36,753 11,777 12,375 6,908 401,584

Paper new fibre kg 215,900 213,173 108,813 76,254 11,605 3,925 12,375 201 136,908

Paper recycled kg 200,500 180,418 100,845 39,866 25,148 7,852 0 6,707 264,676

Key figures: environmental impact

Primary energy6 GJ / a 3,532,812 2,755,590 812,529 382,112 1,365,506 37,660 134,382 23,402 –

Proportion of renewable energies % 14.9 31.5 56.3 11.1 14.7 23.3 12.8 54.8 –

CO2 emissions t CO2 / a 65,343 57,986 15,089 15,360 21,678 683 4,646 529 –

1 Provisional figures for year under review (trend) as at beginning of March 2016.2 The energy reference area is the sum of all gross floor areas, above and below ground, which must be heated or airconditioned in order to be used.3 The FTE (full-time equivalent) value listed here was supplemented by the number of students with an FTE value of 0.68 to derive the consumption per person.4 The key indicator “energy consumption” shows the total consumption of heat and electricity for buildings as well as for teaching and research activities.5 The key indicator “energy costs” shows all expenditure (cash out) for the provision of energy (heat and electricity).6 In energy economics one refers to primary energy as the energy that is available using the originally occurring forms or resources of energy, such as fuel (e. g. coal or natural gas),

and indeed also energy carriers such as sun, wind or nuclear fuels.7 Final energy is the portion of the primary energy that is left after losses due to energy conversion and transmission, after it is supplied via the consumer’s domestic connection.

The final energy basically corresponds to the energy that is purchased.

Fig. 44: Environment and energy data


Annual finan cial statements

146

Income statement 148

Balance sheet 150

Statement of equity 152

Cash flow 154

Notes 158

Report of the auditors 212

Annual finan cial statements


ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Consolidated income statementTable 1: Income Statement of the ETH Domain (consolidated)

Notes

Financial statements

2014


2015

Difference vs. FS 2014

m CHF absolute %

Operating result

Federal financial contribution 2,195 2,233 38 2

Federal contribution to accommodation 278 273 – 5 – 2

Total federal contribution 7 2,473 2,506 34 1

Tuition fees and other utilisation fees 8 33 34 – 1

Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) 231 243 12 5

Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) 45 49 4 10

Special federal funding of applied research 70 81 11 15

EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation (FP) 164 135 – 29 – 18

Industry-oriented research 147 129 – 17 – 12

Other project-oriented third-party funding 76 81 5 6

Research contributions, mandates and scientific services 9 732 718 – 14 – 2

Donations and bequests 10 94 115 21 23

Other revenue 11 118 102 – 16 – 13

Operating revenue 3,450 3,475 25 1

Personnel expenses 12, 30 1,997 2,048 52 3

Other operating expenses 13 939 937 – 2 n. a.

Depreciation and amortization 14, 22 185 193 9 5

Transfer expenses 15 63 74 11 18

Operating expenses 3,183 3,252 69 2

Operating result 267 222 – 44 – 17

Financial result

Financial revenue 16 28 29 1 6

Financial expense 17 22 38 16 71

Financial result 5 – 9 – 14 – 261

Annual result 272 214 – 58 – 21

Attributable annual result to:

Confederation’s share 272 214 – 58 – 21

Minority interests – – – 0

The consolidated income statement of the ETH Domain for the year 2015 closed with an annual result of just under 214m CHF. The positive operating result (222m CHF) was slightly tempered by the negative financial result (– 9m CHF). The revenue surplus at 58m CHF was lower than in the previous year (2014: 272m CHF). In particular the donations and other forms of support contributed to the positive annual result for 2015, as they are released to income in their entirety as soon as they become legally binding. Another effect that also made a significant contribution to the present annual result for 2015 was observed at the PSI. The large investments in the research infrastructure (SwissFEL, Gantry 3), which were financed with funds from the total federal contribution and the research contributions, only led to a correspondingly high depreciation in the subsequent years, so that although an outflow of funds was recorded in the 2015 statement this did not result in any expenditure, and this in turn exerted a positive effect on the 2015 annual result.

148


The research contributions under operating income have little influence on the level of the annual result. The operating income from research contributions is recorded on an accrual basis and so it largely corresponds to consumption (operating expenditure). This means that income and expendi-ture for projects extending over several years are recorded on the basis of the resources used, irre-spective of the cash flow, with almost no effect on the net income. Although less research contribu-tions were recorded in the statement than in 2014, this does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the success in obtaining funding or the progress of funding from research contributions.

In fact the operating revenue rose over the preceding year by 25m CHF (+ 1 %) to 3,475m CHF. The level of the research contributions can vary greatly depending on the progress made in the teaching and research projects. These funds still remained at a high level compared to the 2014 statement, despite the slight decrease.

The individual revenue components progressed as follows: the resources from the total federal contribution (income statement: 2,506m CHF) rose by 34m CHF (+ 1 %) compared to 2014. The total federal contribution includes the direct contributions of the Federal Government, i. e. the financial contribution (2,233m CHF) and the accommodation contribution (273m CHF). The proportion of total federal contribution was 72 % of the operating revenue, as in the previous year. The revenue from research contributions amounted to 718m CHF. This corresponds to about 21 % of the operating rev-enue, again the same as in the previous year (2014: 732m CHF). The other items accounted for about 7 % of the operating income, similar to the previous year 2014.

The operating expenses increased by 69m CHF (+ 2 %) over the 2014 account, rising to 3,252m CHF. The main part of the operating expenses was used for personnel (2,048m CHF or 63 %) – this share matches that of the previous year 2014 (1,997m CHF). The material expenses of 937m CHF include in particular the cost of premises in government-owned property used by the ETH Domain (273m CHF). The total depreciation of 193m CHF is significantly more than the level of the previous year 2014 (185m CHF). The transfer expenses (2015: 74m CHF) came in at below budget of 27m CHF (Vol. 6 2015 Budget and Vol. 4 Special Accounts 2015 Budget: 101m CHF), for the following reason: This item is mainly budgeted centrally by the ETH Board, and is allocated to projects and individually assigned to the institutes in the course of the year. The effective expense incurred by the units of the ETH Domain is then posted according to the types of expenditure, but the budget is not adjusted retro-actively. In contrast, the transfer expenses that were originally budgeted for 2015 were adjusted due to the two following increases in the budget on the earnings side, so that the budgeted annual result for 2015 will not be distorted. For the credit reallocation from investment credit to financial contribution (21m CHF), the budgeted transfer expenses were increased by the same amount. The budgeted trans-fer expenses were also increased following the increase in dedicated funds from the “Energy Research Switzerland” action plan (2015 instalment: 16m CHF).

The decline in the operating result (– 44m CHF or – 17 %) to 222m CHF is due to the stronger rise in operating expenses (+ 2 %) as compared to the operating revenue (+ 1 %). This can be traced primarily to a decrease in the European Framework Programmes for Research, an additional expenditure for transfer expenses, and the higher personnel expenses. In the financial result a negative result of 9m CHF was posted (2014: 5m CHF). Necessary value adjustments in the financial expenses and the applicable interest rates for the financial revenue put pressure on the financial result.


Consolidated Balance SheetTable 2: Balance Sheet of the ETH Domain (consolidated)

m CHF Notes

31 DecFinancial

statements2014

31 DecFinancial

statements2015


absolute %

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents 18 813 531 – 282 – 35

Current receivables 19 139 172 33 23

Current financial assets 23 918 1,235 316 34

Inventories 20 12 11 – – 3

Prepaid expenses and accrued income 21 54 45 – 9 – 16

Total current assets 1,937 1,994 57 3

Non-current assets

Tangible fixed assets 22 1,407 1,493 85 6

Intangible fixed assets 22 3 4 2 59

Non-current receivables 19 1,062 1,040 – 22 – 2

Investments held 24 3 2 – – 11

Non-current financial assets 23 30 29 – 1 – 3

Co-financing 25 106 124 18 17

Total non-current assets 2,611 2,693 82 3

Total assets 4,547 4,686 139 3

Liabilities

Current liabilities 26 180 183 3 2

Short-term financial liabilities 27 1 2 – n. a.

Accrued expenses and deferred income 28 118 123 5 4

Short-term provisions 29 83 84 1 1

Short-term liabilities 382 392 10 2

Dedicated third-party funds 31 1,323 1,293 – 31 – 2

Long-term financial liabilities 27 18 40 22 123

Net defined benefit liabilities 30 1,491 2,099 608 41

Long-term provisions 29 495 498 3 1

Long-term liabilities 3,328 3,929 602 18

Total liabilities 3,710 4,321 611 16

Equity

Valuation reserves – 501 – 1,186 – 686 137

Dedicated reserves 686 745 59 9

Free reserves 810 851 41 5

Co-financing 25 106 124 18 17

Accumulated surplus (+) / deficit (–) – 264 – 169 95 – 36

Condederation’s share of net assets/equity 837 365 – 472 – 56

Minority interests – – – –

Total equity 837 365 – 472 – 56

Total liabilities and equity 4,547 4,686 139 3


150


One significant factor on the liabilities side of the balance sheet in 2015 led to a large jump in the debt level (debt coefficient: borrowed capital / equity) compared to the previous year. This was the increase in net pension liabilities over the 2014 account (+ 608m CHF). This can mainly be attributed to the lower discounted interest rate used to value the liabilities.

As an opposite position to the increase in net pension liabilities in borrowed capital, the valua-tion reserves in equity fell by a similar amount (– 686m CHF). The debt level/coefficient (ratio of bor-rowed capital : equity) rose as a result of these processes from 4 : 1 in 2014 to 12 : 1 in the year 2015. The change in net pension liabilities was the sole driver behind the upheavals in the capital structure on the liabilities side of the consolidated balance sheet of the ETH Domain at the end of 2015 as compared to the previous year 2014 (for derivation see Notes Section 30).

The assets have increased by about 139m CHF (+ 3 %) over the previous year 2014 (consolidated balance sheet total 2015: 4,686m CHF; 2014: 4,547m CHF). This increase was spread equally among the current assets and the non-current assets. Within the current assets, in 2015 there was also con-siderable redeployment from the short-term investments (part of cash flow) over to the short-term financial assets. These shifts were caused by the assignment of the funds according to their time pat-terns. The shift also had a direct effect on the changes to cash flow in the cash flow account.

Because of the positive annual result for 2015 (214m CHF) which the ETH Domain achieved, the neg-ative development of the net pension liabilities in consolidated equity was easily compensated for.

The consolidated balance sheet total is 4,686m CHF (+ 139m CHF or + 3 % compared to 2014). One should note that almost all the properties used by the ETH Domain are government-owned, and so they are not listed as assets in the balance sheet of the ETH Domain but in that of the Federal Gov-ernment (their book value on 31.12.2015: 4,316m CHF).

The current assets increased by 57m CHF (+ 3 %), rising to 1,994m CHF. This is due to the fact that the research contributions, which are not used immediately, are deposited with the Federal Govern-ment, or on the market, based on the applicable treasury agreement and the investment guidelines of the ETH Board. The funds deposited with the Federal Government in the short term amounted to 1,320m CHF (2014: 1,310m CHF) at the end of 2015. These funds are entered in the balance sheet among the cash and short-term investments and current financial assets.

The non-current assets rose by 82m CHF (+ 3 %) to 2,693m CHF. This increase was mainly in the tangible assets (+ 85m CHF). In contrast, the non-current receivables decreased (– 22m CHF). Details are provided in the Notes Section 22.

An increase in deferrals (+ 5m CHF) was posted in current borrowed capital. This can be traced to the improved options for determining the liabilities.

The marked increase in non-current borrowed capital (+ 602m CHF) is due to the said rise in net pension liabilities (+ 608m CHF). The dedicated third-party funding, on the other hand, showed a slight decline compared to 2014 (– 31m CHF).

The co-financing items in equity are third-party resources that have been allocated to the ETH Domain for the financing of real estate (donations etc.). The properties financed in this way are owned by the Federal Government. The inclusion of these co-financing items under equity represents the partial claim to the real estate co-financed by the ETH Domain in the event of a possible sale. The co-financing items are also included on the assets side among non-current assets as long-term receivable from the Federal Government, and depreciated over time. In 2015 there was again a net growth in co-financing, of 18m CHF.

The consolidated equity attributable to the owner declined greatly as of 31.12.2015 (– 472m CHF) to 365m CHF (see Table 3). There were no minority interests to book.


Consolidated Statement of EquityTable 3: Statement of Equity ETH Domain (consolidated)

m CHF

Revaluation reserves for

financial assets

Accum. mathematical

insurance profit / loss

for pensions

Reserves from hedging

transactionsValuation

reservesDonations /

bequests

Reserves for teaching

and research

Reserves for infrastructure and

administrationDedicated

reserves Free reserves

Co-financing of real estate

of the Federal Government

Accumulated surplus (+) /

deficit (–)

Confederation’s share of net

assets / equity Minority interestsTotal equity ETH Domain

2014 31 December 2013: Old accounting standard

973

973

Restatement IPSAS – – – – 381 229 18 628 668 104 – 396 31 – 31

1 January 2014: New accounting standard – – – – 381 229 18 628 668 104 – 396 1,004 – 1,004

Annual result 272 272 – 272

Items directly recognised in equity:

Revaluation of financial assets – – – – –

Defined benefit liability – 501 – 501 – 501 – – 501

Hedging transactions – – – – –

Total items recognized directly in equity – – 501 – – 501 – 501 – – 501

Reclassifications in equity – 34 13 11 58 142 2 – 140 62 – 62

Currency translations – – – – – – – –

Total changes in equity – – 501 – – 501 34 13 11 58 142 2 132 – 167 – – 167

31 December 2014 – – 501 – – 501 415 242 29 686 810 106 – 264 837 – 837

2015 1 January 2015 – – 501 – – 501 415 242 29 686 810 106 – 264 837 – 837



Revaluation of financial assets 2 2 2 – 2



Total items recognized directly in equity: 2 – 688 – – 686 – 686 – – 686

Reclassifications in equity – 36 8 16 59 41 18 – 119 – – –

Total changes in equity 2 – 688 – – 686 36 8 16 59 41 18 95 – 472 – – 472

31 December 2015 2 – 1,189 – – 1,186 451 249 45 745 851 124 – 169 365 – 365

Valuation reservesThis relates to the valuation of the net defined benefit liabilities according to the criteria of IPSAS 25. The in crease in the net pension liabilities can be traced to the change in the parameters as com-pared to 2014.

The dedicated reserves for teaching and research include electoral commitments amounting to 132m CHF (2014: 135m CHF).

* In this section in 2014 the entry transfers in equity also included entries opposite to equity, which mostly resulted from the posting of the dismantling of accelerator plants of the PSI. The entries for the provisions from 2009 and their consequences were withdrawn and the details were booked anew based on the declaration “Financing the disposal of radioactive waste that lies within the field of responsibility of the Federal Government”, which was issued at the end of 2014.


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Consolidated Statement of EquityTable 3: Statement of Equity ETH Domain (consolidated)

m CHF

Revaluation reserves for

financial assets

Accum. mathematical

insurance profit / loss

for pensions

Reserves from hedging

transactionsValuation

reservesDonations /

bequests

Reserves for teaching

and research

Reserves for infrastructure and

administrationDedicated

reserves Free reserves

Co-financing of real estate

of the Federal Government

Accumulated surplus (+) /

deficit (–)

Confederation’s share of net

assets / equity Minority interestsTotal equity ETH Domain

2014 31 December 2013: Old accounting standard

973

973

Restatement IPSAS – – – – 381 229 18 628 668 104 – 396 31 – 31

1 January 2014: New accounting standard – – – – 381 229 18 628 668 104 – 396 1,004 – 1,004



Revaluation of financial assets – – – – –



Total items recognized directly in equity – – 501 – – 501 – 501 – – 501

Reclassifications in equity – 34 13 11 58 142 2 – 140 62 – 62

Currency translations – – – – – – – –

Total changes in equity – – 501 – – 501 34 13 11 58 142 2 132 – 167 – – 167

31 December 2014 – – 501 – – 501 415 242 29 686 810 106 – 264 837 – 837

2015 1 January 2015 – – 501 – – 501 415 242 29 686 810 106 – 264 837 – 837



Revaluation of financial assets 2 2 2 – 2



Total items recognized directly in equity: 2 – 688 – – 686 – 686 – – 686

Reclassifications in equity – 36 8 16 59 41 18 – 119 – – –

Total changes in equity 2 – 688 – – 686 36 8 16 59 41 18 95 – 472 – – 472

31 December 2015 2 – 1,189 – – 1,186 451 249 45 745 851 124 – 169 365 – 365


Consolidated Cash Flow statementTable 4: Cash Flow statement of the ETH Domain (consolidated)

1 January –31 December

m CHF Notes


2014


2015


absolute %

Cash flows from operating activities

Annual result 272 214 – 58 – 21

Depreciation and amortisation 14 185 193 8 4

Financial result (non cash) 16, 17 8 12 4 50

Increase / decrease in net working capital – 66 – 15 51 – 77

Increase / decrease in net defined benefit liabilities 30 – 55 – 80 – 25 45

Increase / decrease in provisions 29 – 2 4 6 n. a.

Increase / decrease in long-term receivables – 42 24 66 n. a.

Increase / decrease in dedicated funds 31 8 – 31 – 39 – 488

Reclassification and other (non cash) income 8 – – 8 – 100

Net cash flows from operating activities 316 321 5 2

Cash flows from investing activities

Investments

Furnishing, vehicles, other movable goods 22 – 2 – 2 – 0

Machinery, tools and operational equipment 22 – 105 – 103 2 – 2

IT Hardware 22 – 30 – 22 8 – 27

Advance payments, mobile installations under construction 22 – 51 – 81 – 30 59

Property 22 – – – –

Buildings 22 – 7 – 4 3 43

Biotopes and geotopes 22 – – – –

Assets under construction 22 – 43 – 59 – 16 37

Investment in tangible fixed assets 22 – 237 – 270 – 33 – 14

Software 22 – 2 – 1 1 – 50

Licences, patents, trademarks 22 – – – –

Other intangible assets 22 – – – –

Intangible assets in realisation 22 – – 1 – 1 –

Increase in intangible assets 22 – 2 – 3 – 1 50

Increase in co-financing 25 – 5 – 22 – 17 340

Increase in loans 23 – 16 – 6 10 – 63

Increase in investments held 24 – – – –

Increase in current and non-current financial assets – 138 – 353 – 215 156

Divestments

Decrease in tangible fixed assets 22 3 14 11 367

Decrease in intangible assets 22 – – – –

Decrease in co-financing 25 – – – –

Decrease in loans 23 1 1 – 0

Decrease in investments held 24 2 2 – 0

Decrease in current and non-current financial assets 23 89 35 – 54 – 61

Net cash flows from investing activities – 302 – 602 – 300 – 99


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The cash flow statement shows the cash flows from operating activities and from investment and financing activities. The figures are shown according to the indirect method. The total cash flow corresponds to the change in the fund “Cash and cash equivalents”.

Cash flows from operating activitiesThe total cash flow from operating activities (321m CHF) is composed of the annual result corrected by the expenses and revenues that do not affect the liquidity.

Cash flows from investing activitiesThe balance of cash flow from investing activities in 2015 amounted to – 602m CHF (2014: – 302m CHF). The increase over the previous year is primarily due to a reclassification of current investments to current financial assets in the amount of 232m CHF.

Additions, tangible assetsThe consolidated investment statement provides information about the expenditure for the purchase or creation of assets that are used over more than one period. It basically only covers those invest-ments that pass to the ownership of the ETH Domain. These are a part of the cash flow from invest-ments (outflow of funds) in the cash flow statement. The cash flow from investments also includes the co-financing items, even though these are used for government-owned properties. They are entered in the balance sheet under non-current assets, and depreciated over the period of useful life of the property (see Notes Section 25 Co-financing).

The investments in government-owned buildings (investment credit for constructions of the ETH Domain – the credit taking into account the budgetary framework for the ETH Domain 2013–2016), are also listed here, as additional statistical information for the sake of completeness.

1 January –31 December

m CHF Notes


2014


2015


absolute %

Cash flows from financing activities

Increase in financial liabilities 27 – – – –

Decrease in financial liabilities 27 – 1 – 1 – 0

Other changes in equity 1 – – 1 – 100

Net cash flows from financing activities – – 1 – 1 –

TOTAL CASH FLOW 14 – 282 – 296 n. a.

Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 18 799 813 14 2

TOTAL CASH FLOW 14 – 282

Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 18 813 531 – 282 – 35

Net effect of currency translation on cash and cash equivalents

Contained in the cash flow from operating activities are:

Dividends received 1 3 2 n. a.

Interest received – 1 1 –

Interest paid – – – –


The investment activities resulted in a cash outflow of 270m CHF (2014: 237m CHF) for additions to tangible assets, in the year of the report 2015. The outflow from divestments of tangible assets amount to 14m CHF in 2015; this sum is not very significant overall. The volume of investments in movable and immovable fixed assets was significantly higher than the previous year’s figure in the 2014 statement (33m CHF or + 14 %). This shows the continuing high level of investments that are required for replace-ments and new acquisitions in scientific technologies and in the infrastructure of the ETH Domain.

The additional outlay for investments as compared to the previous year 2014 was allocated as follows: for mobile fixed assets additional funds amounting to 20m CHF were used (2015: 207m CHF). The total investments in immobile fixed assets increased in 2015 by 13m CHF to approx. 63m CHF.

Among the mobile fixed assets, the investments in scientific installations stayed at a high level (2015: 103m CHF; 2014: 105m CHF). The investments in IT declined, however (2015: 22m CHF; 2014: 30m CHF). This is primarily because there was no longer the high volume of investments in supercomputers at CSCS of ETH Zurich that were made in the year 2015. In the preceding year ETH Zurich made consider-able investments for example in the “Piz Dora supercomputer”. The investments in mobile installa-tions in construction projects showed a marked increase over the 2014 statement (2015: 81m CHF; 2014: 51m CHF).

In the immovable fixed assets there was also a relatively high increase for the installations under construction (2015: 59m CHF; 2014: 43m CHF).

The total for investments in movable and immovable fixed assets includes the user-specific tenant upgrades and the outlay for the operating facilities (building costs plan BKP 3 / BKP 9) – distributed over all the categories of tangible assets. These investments greatly increased in the past few years because of the brisk building activities of the ETH Domain and the upgrading of the infrastructure.

The largest investments in tangible assets in 2015 include the following, not yet conclusive, set of properties.

—— ETH Zurich: A recording and measuring system was procured for geophysics (1.4m CHF). Three sizeable procurements were for mass spectrometers for use in D-HEST, for inorganic chemistry, and for the Functional Genomics Center (total 3.6m CHF). An investment was made in a robotic system for the architecture department (0.9m CHF).

The procurements of ETH Zurich for ICT for supercomputing at the CSCS data centre amounted to 6.6m CHF.

The largest part of the investments was again that used for the user-specific extensions and facilities, and for the upgrading of property by tenants (total 11m CHF BKP 3) – especially for the LCA building at the CSCS.

—— EPFL: The largest investments were those made for the SB CIME-GE / Interdisciplinary Center for Electron Microscopy (total 4.8m CHF), for the wind tunnel (2.6m CHF), and for user-specific mod-ifications such as those for Campus Biotech (approx. 11m CHF).

—— PSI: The major portion was the investments in technical facilities in the field of technology and measurements for SwissFEL (45m CHF). Investments were also made in the Gantry 3 unit at the Center for Proton Therapy, amounting to 4.7m CHF. An additional amount of nearly 2m CHF went to the user-specific extensions (BKP 3).

—— WSL: At the plant protection laboratory, in connection with the user-specific extensions 5.2m CHF was invested in the operating facility and the equipment.

—— Empa: The largest investment was for the FIB microscope (1.4m CHF). Empa also invested 1m CHF in the vehicle drive systems for phase 1 of the project “move”. And Empa invested large sums in the user-specific extensions to the infrastructure for value-enhancing renovations in various buildings, such as the GA Swiss Coating Center (total BKP 3 approx. 3.5m CHF).

—— Eawag: 1.5m CHF was invested in 36 identical, experimental test ponds, and 1.4m CHF in the user-specific extensions for facilities.


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The co-financing items (2015: 22m CHF; 2014: 4.7m CHF) include the two buildings HIB / HIA of ETH Zurich at Hönggerberg (5.6m CHF) and planned projects of EPFL (16m CHF for the Buildings Under One Roof UoR and the ME building on the EPFL campus) and of Empa (NEST 0.5m CHF).

The total of all investments in tangible assets used by the ETH Domain in 2015 – without consid-ering the question of ownership – amounted to 471m CHF (2014: 420m CHF). Of these, 184m CHF was invested in government-owned properties. This high total volume of investments – especially those made in extensions – is a further evidence of achieving the Sub-objective 1 of Objective 9 of the performance mandate of the Federal Council to the ETH Domain, in 2015; another indication is the high maintenance costs of the infrastructure in the year 2015 (Notes Section 13 Operating Expenses).

Cash flows from financing activitiesNo significant amounts flowed to or out of financing activities.

The balance of – 282m CHF from the cash flows results from the change in the balance sheet item “Cash and cash equivalents”.


ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | Notes

Notes1 | Business Activity

The ETH Domain includes the two Federal Institutes of Technology ETH Zurich and EPFL, and the four research institutes Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa), and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). The six institutions are public law organ-isations of the Swiss Confederation with a legal personality. The ETH Domain also includes the Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH Board) as the strategic governing body, and the Internal Appeals Commission of the ETH as an independent appeals instance.

Detailed information on the business activity, management and reporting of the ETH Domain is provided in the chapter Governance (page 44 ff.).

2 | Accounting Principles

This annual statement is a consolidated account covering the reporting period from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015. The balance sheet date is 31 December 2015.

Legal PrinciplesThe accounting system for the ETH Domain is based on the following legal foundations (incl. direc-tives and regulations):

—— Federal Act on the Federal Institutes of Technology of 4.10.1991 (ETH Act; SR 414.110)—— Ordinance concerning the Domain of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology of 19.11.2003 (Regulation concerning the ETH Domain; SR 414.110.3)

—— Ordinance on Finance and Accounting of the ETH Domain of 5.12.2014 (SR 414.123)—— Accounting Manual for the ETH Domain (version 5.1)

Accountancy StandardSince 1 January 2015 the consolidated Annual Financial Statement of the ETH Domain has been pro-duced in accordance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). The underly-ing accounting provisions are laid down in the Accounting Manual Directive for the ETH Domain (Art. 34 Directives, Ordinance on Finance and Accounting of the ETH Domain, SR 414.123).

The balance sheet and income statement of the annual financial statement for 2014 were likewise adjusted to IPSAS (restatement), so as to ensure comparability of the current annual account with that of the preceding year. The 2015 budget was not adjusted (no restatement). Therefore the 2015 con-solidated annual financial statement can only be compared to a limited extent to the 2015 budget.

Use of Transitional Provisions of the New IPSAS StandardsFor the accounting years 2015 and 2016, there are transitional periods for the implementation of IPSAS in the following areas, which lead to deviations from IPSAS:

Deviation 1: For holdings > 20 % the standards IPSAS 6-8 are not applied (consolidated and separate financial statements, investments in associates, interests in joint ventures). Instead, these will be treated in a similar way to the former accounting method (based on the manual for accounting in the ETH Domain).

Reason: under IPSAS 6-8 the accounts must be assessed by institutions outside the core ETH Domain. This assessment is time-consuming and costly.

Deviation 2: Based on the contractual provisions the revenue from non-exchange transactions (IPSAS 23) is not completely divided into a current and non-current portion.

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Reason: for the restatement one had to evaluate numerous contracts. To check the contractually agreed payment deadlines would require too much additional work. The trade payables will be shown under the long-term borrowed capital, so that the overall picture of the balance sheet is not sub-stantially falsified.

Deviation 3: The provisions stated in the manual for accounting in the ETH Domain for “holiday and overtime reserves including already acquired long service awards” are not fully implemented.

Reason: the manual prescribes that reserves for holiday and overtime are to be calculated using the effectively recorded holiday and overtime credit. These data are managed in a decentralized manner, and the procedural adjustments needed to procure the data are time-consuming. During the tran-sitional period they will be processed using estimates as before.

Deviation 4: The provisions concerning disclosure of financial instruments (IPSAS 30; disclosures on fair value and financial risk management among other things) are not fully implemented.

Reason: The implementation of (IPSAS 30) requires extensive adjustments to the processes and procedures. The implementation and the retroactive procurement of relevant data is time-consuming and costly.

Deviation 5: The provisions on finance leases (IPSAS 13) are not applied for EPFL. Instead the previous accounting method applies (based on the manual for accounting in the ETH Domain), and any com-mitments made are disclosed in the Notes.

Reason: No IPSAS accounting provisions were in force at the time of signing the contract. Further-more, individual finance leases already come under the transitional provisions because of the transi-tional regulations in the area of simple partnerships / consolidation. This ensures an equal treatment.

Deviation 6: The provisions of IPSAS 23.76 ff. concerning the transfer of goods and services in-kind are not applied.

Reason: The complex state of affairs must be assessed in detail in all the institutions and requires procedural adjustments, among other things. This assessment and the procedural adjustments are time-consuming and costly.

Standards that have been published but not yet appliedThe following IPSAS have been published in the period before the consolidated annual financial state-ment was ratified. These only come into force later on, and are not applied, or not applied early on, in the present consolidated annual financial statement.

IPSAS 33 First-time adoption of accrual basis IPSASsIPSAS 34 Separate financial statementsIPSAS 35 Consolidated financial statementsIPSAS 36 Investments in associates and joint venturesIPSAS 37 Joint arrangements IPSAS 38 Disclosure of interests in other entities

All the above standards come into force as of 1 January 2017. Their effect on the consolidated annual financial statement of the ETH Domain will be systematically analysed, and implemented as of 1 January 2017.

Restatement of the 2014 consolidated balance sheet of the ETH DomainSince 1 January 2015 the accounting method of the ETH Domain has followed IPSAS. To create a suitable starting basis for the new accounting system, and to ensure the comparability of the current annual financial account with the previous periods, the following statements shall be adjusted to bring them in line with IPSAS, by restatements and with the participation of the auditors: the opening balance sheet as of 1 January 2014, the final balance sheet as of 31 December 2014, the 2014 income



statement, and the 2014 cash flow statement. Details about the preparation of the balance sheet and the valuation in the context of the new accounting method can be found in Section 3: Principles of the balance sheet calculation and valuation.

Restatement of the 2014 consolidated balance sheet of the ETH DomainDie wesentlichen Auswirkungen der neuen Rechnungslegung auf die Bilanz des ETH-Bereichs sind in nachstehender Tabelle ersichtlich.

Table 5: Restatement of the consolidated balance sheet of the ETH Domain 01.01.2014

Reclassification IPSAS Revaluation IPSAS

m CHF


(old) 31.12.13

Restricted funds Other

Net defined benefit liability

(IPSAS 25)

Revenue from non- exchange

transactions (IPSAS 23)

Tangible fixed

assets Other

Totalchanges

IPSAS

Opening balance

01.01.14

Total current assets 1,749 1 14 – 65 – 22 102 1,851

Total non-current assets 1,096 – 5 – 1,019 12 5 1,041 2,138

Total assets 2,845 1 19 – 1,084 12 28 1,143 3,989

Short-term liabilities 326 54 55 – – 18 – 41 132 458

Long-term liabilities 91 706 – 232 1,108 855 – – 2,437 2,527

Total liabilities 417 760 – 177 1,108 837 – 41 2,569 2,985

Total restricted funds 1,456 – 1,446 – 10 – – – – – 1,456 –

Valuation reserves – – – – – – – –

Dedicated reserves – 286 62 – 222 – 58 628 628

Free reserves 55 363 236 – 14 – – 613 668

Other equity 917 39 – 92 – 1,108 11 12 – 71 – 1,209 – 292

Total equity 973 687 206 – 1,108 247 12 – 13 32 1,004

Total liabilities and equity 2,845 1 19 – 1,084 12 28 1,145 3,989

The main changes can be summarised as follows:—— Dedicated capital The new accounting only allows the distinction between borrowed capital and equity on the lia-bilities side of the balance sheet. This means that second and third party funding is no longer shown as dedicated capital (– 1,446m CHF), but is allocated to either borrowed capital or equity (+ 760m CHF or + 687m CHF). The performance commitments in the earlier version, which were allocated to dedicated capital, have been reclassified as electoral commitments in the dedicated reserves.

—— Net defined benefit liabilities (IPSAS 25) The new accounting method requires the formation of provisions for staff pensions. These were booked for the restatement as non-current borrowed capital (total: + 1,108m CHF; of which staff pensions + 1,045m CHF and long service awards + 63m CHF), and the equity was reduced by the same amount (– 1,108m CHF).

—— Revenue from non-exchange transactions (IPSAS 23) According to IPSAS, revenue from non-exchange transactions (IPSAS 23) including the overhead contributions which are deemed as likely to be paid, are reflected as a whole in the balance sheet and the income statement already at the time when the agreement is signed. In the pre-vious accounting method, only the annual transferred incoming payments or billed payments were taken into account. Therefore as part of the restatement it was contractually agreed to post cashflows that have not yet come in as receivables, and services that have not yet been made as liabilities, as well as the related accruals of revenue and expense. This led to a corresponding increase in the balance sheet total (+ 1,084m CHF).

160


—— Property, plant and equipment (tangible assets) The introduction of the new accounting method required, for example, the revaluation of tangi-ble assets, immovable fixed assets, upgrading of property by tenants, and the sale of available holdings, which were reflected in the non-current assets (+ 12m CHF).

Restatement of the 2014 consolidated income statement of the ETH DomainThe main effects that the new accounting method has on the income statement of the ETH Domain can be seen from the following table.

Table 6: Restatement of the 2014 consolidated income statement of the ETH Domain

Revaluation IPSAS

m CHF


(old) 2014

Restricted funds

Net defined benefit liability

(IPSAS 25)

Revenue from non- exchange

transactions (IPSAS 23)

Tangible fixed

assets Other

Totalchanges

IPSAS


IPSAS2014

Operating result

Total federal contribution 2,473 – – – – – – 2,473

Tuition fees and other utilization fees 33 1 – – – – 1 33

Research contributions, mandates and scientific services

671 47 – 11 – 3 61 732

Donations and bequests – 71 – 22 – – 93 94

Other revenue 131 – 12 – – – – – 12 118

Operating revenue 3,307 106 – 33 – 3 143 3,450

Personnel expenses 2,044 – 9 – 38 – – – – 47 1,997

Other operating expenses 917 11 – – 7 4 22 939

Depreciation and amortization 188 1 – – – 5 – – 4 185

Transfer expenses 92 – 24 – – – – 5 – 29 63

Operating expenses 3,241 – 22 – 38 – 2 – 1 – 58 3,183

Operating result 65 128 38 33 – 2 5 201 267

Financial result

Financial revenue 23 – – 2 – 3 5 28

Financial expense 16 – – – – 6 6 22

Financial result 7 – – 2 – – 4 – 2 5

Annual result 73 128 38 35 – 2 1 199 272

The main changes can be summarised as follows:—— Reclassification Due to the different structure of the income statement reclassification was necessary in the amount of 128m CHF. This mainly affects the operating income and expenditure.

—— Net pension liabilities (IPSAS 25) The calculation of the provisions for staff pensions and long service awards in accordance with IPSAS resulted in a lower net pensions expenditure (– 38m CHF).

—— Revenue from non-exchange transactions (IPSAS 23) The changes to revenue from non-exchange transactions resulted in an increase in the operating revenue (+ 33m CHF) and the financial revenue due to the discounting of receivables (+ 2m CHF).

—— Property, plant and equipment (tangible assets) The changes to tangible assets led to adjustments being made in the depreciation and material expenses (– 2m CHF).



3 | Principles of the balance sheet calculation and valuation

The principles for preparing the balance sheet and valuation are derived from the basic principles of accounting. The annual statement applies the principle of accrual accounting, recording the revenue and expenditure in the period in which they occur, and this conveys a “true and fair view” of the actual assets, finance and revenue situation of the ETH Domain.

For the finances of the ETH Domain the ETH Board produces the annual financial statement with balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, statement of net assets, and notes, as well as the annual budget.

The consolidated financial statement is based on historical cost, the actual amount paid for assets. Exceptions to this rule are described in the following presentation of the accounting principles.

Consolidated companiesThe scope of consolidation of the ETH Domain includes the following units:

—— Board of the Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH Board), Zurich and Bern—— ETH Zurich, Zurich—— ETH Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne—— Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen—— Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf and Davos—— Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa), Dübendorf, St.Gallen and Thun—— Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Dübendorf and Kastanienbaum

Currency conversionThe reporting is prepared in Swiss francs (CHF). All figures are shown in millions of Swiss francs (m CHF) unless indicated otherwise. The main currencies and their exchange rates are:

Table 7: Main currenciesClosing rate as of

Currency Unit 31.12.14 31.12.15

EUR 1 1.2022 1.0875

USD 1 0.9936 1.0014

GBP 1 1.5486 1.4722

JPY 1 000 8.3080 8.3370

Foreign currency accounts in the balance sheet On each balance sheet date:a. monetary items in foreign currencies are to be converted using the exchange rate on the refer-

ence date (spot price on the balance sheet date);b. non-monetary items that were valued in a foreign currency at their procurement or manufac-

turing cost are to be converted using the exchange rate on the day of the transaction; and c. non-monetary items that are valued in a foreign currency at their actual value are to be con-

verted using the exchange rate on the date when the actual value was determined.

Foreign currency transactionsThe foreign currency transactions are first posted in the functional currency of the respective organ-isation. The amount in foreign currency is converted from the functional currency to the foreign cur-rency using the exchange rate valid at the time of the transaction. For the transaction date, the date on which the transaction is first posted is to be used. The resulting currency gains and losses, and those that result from the adjustment of the foreign currency holdings on the balance sheet date, are to be entered under other financial income and financial expenses.

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Posting of revenuesEach inflow of funds into a unit is to be examined to see whether it is revenue from exchange trans-actions (IPSAS 9) or revenue from non-exchange transactions (IPSAS 23). If there is a revenue from exchange transactions (IPSAS 9) that has not yet been paid, the corresponding amount is allocated to borrowed capital.

For revenue from non-exchange transactions (IPSAS 23), a distinction is to be made between whether or not there is an obligation to pay/repay. If there is such an obligation, the sum is to be booked as borrowed capital.

If there is neither a corresponding exchange nor an obligation to pay or repay as stipulated in IPSAS 23, a revenue that affects net income is to be booked, and the net assets / equity of the unit is increased accordingly.

In the ETH Domain the revenues can be allocated to the following categories:—— Total federal contribution—— Tuition fees and other utilisation fees—— Research contributions, mandates and scientific services—— Donations and bequests—— Other revenue

Total federal contributionThe grants by the Federal Government or Parliament to the ETH Domain include the financial contri-bution and the accommodation contribution. Both these types of revenue are classed as revenue from non-exchange transactions (IPSAS 23).

The contributions by the Federal Government are entered in the year they are paid. Unused funds result in reserves under equity.

Tuition fees and other utilisation feesRevenue from tuition fees and other utilisation fees are to be classed as a revenue from exchange transactions (IPSAS 9).

On principle the revenues are booked at the time when the goods are delivered or the services are provided. If significant services are provided beyond the balance sheet date, an accrued income is posted.

Research contributions, mandates and scientific servicesProject-related contributions are given to the institutions of the ETH Domain by various donors, with the aim of promoting teaching and research. Depending on the characteristics of the contributions, they are classed as revenue from exchange transactions or revenue from non-exchange transactions. The type of revenue posted depends on whether there is a payment or repayment obligation. A reve-nue from non-exchange transactions (IPSAS 23) is posted if there is a receivable that is legally bind-ing and the inflow of funds is likely, and there is no further payment obligation.

Donations and bequestsRevenue from donations and bequests is to be classed as a revenue from non-exchange transactions (IPSAS 23).

Other revenueOther service revenues and revenue from real estate, inter alia, are counted as other revenue. These revenues are classed as revenue from exchange transactions (IPSAS 9). On principle the revenues are booked at the time when the goods are delivered or the services are provided. If the service is pro-vided beyond the balance sheet date, an accrued income is posted.



Liquid assets Liquid assets include cash on hand, demand deposits, and fixed-term deposits at financial institutions, as well as moneys that are invested with the Federal Government, with a maximum term of 90 days.

Liquid assets in the national currency (CHF) are valued at the nominal value.

Posting of receivables and other receivablesReceivables from revenue from exchange transactions (from goods and services) and from revenue from non-exchange transactions are to be listed in an item on the balance sheet.

Receivables are entered at the time of realising the revenue, at their procurement cost, minus a value adjustment for expected payment defaults.

For receivables from revenue from non-exchange transactions (IPSAS 23), for example from SNSF and EU projects and from other donors, an inflow of funds in proportion to the total contractually agreed project volume is to be expected. Therefore the total project volume is usually booked as a receivable on the date when the contract is concluded, provided the actual value can be reliably determined. If the recording criteria cannot be fulfilled, details are entered under the contingent receivables.

Individual value adjustments are to be made if there are definite indications that the payment will not be made. For receivables without individual value adjustments, flatrate value adjustments are to be made according to defined specifications.

InventoriesInventories are to be valued at its procurement or manufacturing cost, or the lower net realisable value. The procurement or manufacturing costs are derived by using the weighted average method. For inventories that are difficult to sell, appropriate value adjustments are to be made.

Property, plant and equipment (tangible assets)Tangible assets are entered in the balance sheet at their procurement or manufacturing costs minus the accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is applied linearly, according to the estimated period of useful life.

The estimated periods of useful life are:

Table 8: Period of use of the asset categories

Asset category Lifespan ETH Zurich / EPFL Lifespan Research Institutes

Immovable fixed assets

Property unrestricted unrestricted

Tenant’s installations <= 1m CHF 10 years 10 years

Tenant’s installations > 1m CHF according to components 1

according to components 1

Buildings and constructions according to components 2

according to components 2

Biotopes and geotopes unrestricted unrestricted

Movable fixed assets

Machinery, equipment, tools, devices 5 years 5–10 years

Passenger vehicles, delivery vehicles, trucks, aircraft, ships, etc.

5 years 4–7 years

Furnishings 5 years 5–10 years

IT and communication 3 years 3–7 years

Technical operational facilities (large-scale research installations)

– 10–40 years

1 For properties with a total value of 1m CHF it is checked whether components (of a significant value with respect to the total value) must be capitalized and depreciated separately because of another lifespan (component approach).

2 The lifespan or expected useful life depends on the type of building, the purpose it is used for, and the building fabric (20–100 years). Installations under construction are not depreciated.

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Capitalized tenant’s improvements and installations in rented premises are depreciated over the estimated economic lifetime or the shorter period of the lease.

For incoming tangible assets, one checks whether parts (that represent a significant portion of the total value) should be separately capitalized and depreciated because of their different periods of useful life (component approach).

Major renovations and value-enhancing investments that increase the economic benefit of a tan-gible asset or extend its period of useful life, are to be capitalized and depreciated over the estimated economic lifetime. Costs merely for repairs and maintenance are to be entered as expenditure. Interest on borrowed capital intended for investment in building work is to be entered as an asset.

The residual value of tangible assets that are decommissioned or sold is to be derecognised from the balance sheet. The time of removal corresponds to the time when the installation physically ends. The profit or loss resulting from the derecognition of a tangible asset is entered as operating income or operating expenditure.

Mobile cultural items and works of art (e. g. teaching collections, art or historical collections, librar-ies) are not to be entered as assets. An inventory is to be kept of these items.

Intangible assetsIntangible assets are recorded at their procurement cost or manufacturing cost. For standard soft-ware, the depreciation is applied linearly over three years, with an effect on the income statement. Other intangible assets are depreciated linearly over the estimated period of useful life, with a period of depreciation that is to be determined for each individual case.

Impairments (tangible assets and intangible assets)Each year the tangible and intangible assets are to be checked to see if there are any indications of their value going down. If such indications are found, an impairment test is to be carried out. If the booked value continually exceeds the useful value or the net realisable value, an appropriate reduc-tion in value is to be entered, with an effect on the income statement.

LeasesLeases for real estate, equipment, other tangible assets and vehicles, where the ETH Domain basically assumes all the risks and opportunities associated with the property, are to be treated as financial leases. The asset and liability from a financial lease are entered at the fair value of the leased object or at the lower cash value of the minimum lease payments, at the date when the lease starts. Each lease payment is divided into amortisation and interest. The amortisation component is deducted from the capitalised lease liability.

Other leases, where the ETH Domain acts as the lessee or lessor, are entered as operating leases. They are not entered as assets but are entered as expenditure in the income statement.

Long-term leases of real estate are separately assessed depending on whether they are for plots of land or buildings.

Financial assetsFinancial assets are posted at their actual “fair value”, if they are purchased with the deliberate inten-tion of obtaining short-term profits from market price fluctuations, or if they are designated as financial assets valued at their market value (e. g. holdings that do not entitle the holder to exert a significant influence). Changes in value are entered as affecting the income.

Financial investments with a fixed maturity date, where there is the possibility and intention to keep them until their maturity date, are to be calculated in the balance sheet at their amortized cost using the effective interest method. The effective interest method allocates the difference between procurement and redemption value (premium/discount) over the period for which the corresponding investment runs, using the cash method.

The other financial investments, which are held for an indefinite period and may be sold at any time for reasons of liquidation or as a response to changes in market conditions, are classified as “available for sale”, and entered in the balance sheet at their market value. Profits and losses that are not realised are to be entered as equity, without an effect on the income, and only converted to an entry affecting the income when the financial investment is sold or it decreases in value (impairment).



Loans granted are to be entered in the balance sheet either as amortized costs (loan < 10m CHF), or as amortized costs using the effective interest method (loan > 10m CHF).

Derivative financial instruments are primarily to be used for the purpose of hedging an invest-ment or as a strategic position. The valuation is done solely at their market value. Any value adjust-ments are usually entered as having an effect on the income. One exception here: for the derivative financial instruments known as cash flow hedges, the value adjustment is entered as equity.

Real estate held as a financial investmentThe ETH Domain does not own any real estate held as a financial investment.

Investements heldUnder the transitional regulations, the valuation and documentation of the investments are done in a similar way to the former accounting method (see chapter 2, Principles of Accounting). On principle the valuation is made at the procurement price minus any value adjustment.

Co-financing of real estate of the Federal GovernmentCo-financing refers to third-party resource acquired by the ETH Domain that is used for building pro-jects for the Federal Government’s own properties. No rent is paid to the Federal Government for the co-financed portion.

The valuation of the co-financing items is done according to the valuation of the underlying prop-erties, which the Federal Government enters in the balance sheet at their procurement or manufac-turing costs minus the accumulated depreciation. This means that the value of the co-financing items goes down in the same measure as the ongoing depreciation.

Current liabilitiesThe current liabilities are usually entered in the balance sheet according to the date when the invoice is received, or for warehouse items it may also be when the goods were received. The current accounts with third parties (e. g. with social insurance companies) are also entered in the balance sheet under this heading. The valuation is made at the nominal value.

Financial liabilitiesThe financial liabilities are monetary liabilities that result from financing activities. They are usually interest-bearing.

Liabilities that are due for repayment within 12 months from the balance sheet date are current.The valuation is done at the amortized cost.

ReservesReserves are to be set aside when a past event leads to a present obligation, an outflow of funds is likely, and it can be estimated reliably.

Net defined benefit liabilitiesThe net defined benefit liabilities of the ETH Domain includes the obligations from the pension plans of the ETH Domain’s pension fund in the PUBLICA collective foundation, which provides benefits upon retirement, termination, death and disability. In accordance with the IPSAS 25 standard, the net defined benefit liabilities is calculated by subtracting the defined benefit obligation from the fair value of plan assets (occasionally subject to additional adjustments related to Paragraph 69b or to unvested prior service costs).

The defined benefit obligation is calculated by external actuarial experts using the Projected Unit Credit method (“PUC method”). The defined benefit obligation corresponds to the present value of accrued benefits as at the reporting date. The service cost corresponds to the expected increase in the defined benefit obligation resulting from one additional year of service.

The calculation is made using actuarial assumptions and reflects the information of each insured member (salary, vested rights, etc.). The assumptions include both demographic (retirement rates, disability rates, mortality rates, etc.) and financial ones (increases in salaries, increases in pensions,

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interest crediting rate, etc.). The calculated values are discounted back to the reporting date by applying the discount rate, which is based on the current underlying economic conditions (and as such can change over time).

The PUC method for this type of plan requires the distribution of benefit accruals evenly over the total years of service expected to be worked, instead of reflecting the actual distribution of retirement credits as defined in the ETH Domain’s pension fund, which are graded and actually increase with age. The defined benefit obligation was valued based on the membership data of the ETH Domain’s pension fund as at 31 October 2015, on the assumptions as at 31 December 2015 (e. g. Occupational Pensions Act [BVG] 2010 actuarial tables), and on the plan provisions of the ETH Domain’s pension fund. The results were then adjusted to the 31 December 2015 reporting date using actual cash flows.

The impacts of changes to the pension plan (past service cost) that are deemed fully vested are recognised immediately in the income statement in the period in which they occur. Any additional impacts are evenly spread over the period until the benefits become vested and are then gradually recognized in the income statement. Actuarial and investment gains and losses are recognised directly in equity in the reporting period in which they occur.

Significant other long-term employee benefits (e. g. jubilee benefits) are also valued using the PUC method.

Dedicated third-party fundsThe liabilities from earmarked projects are entered in the balance sheet as appropriated third-party resources, because the projects usually last for several years and one cannot determine the short-term component of the liability.

The valuation is done by considering the outstanding benefit commitments on the balance sheet date. The figure is calculated from the contractually agreed project total minus the payments made until the balance sheet date.

EquityThe equity is the unit’s residual claim to assets after deducting all its liabilities. In the ETH Domain, equity (own capital) is structured as follows:

Valuation reservesIn the valuation reserves, entries that are provided for by the standard are made, without affecting the income. These include:

—— Revaluation reserves for financial assets, that come under the category “available for sale”. Changes to the market value are booked via equity, until the financial assets are sold.

—— Valuation reserves from pension liabilities. The mathematical insurance profits and losses from pension liabilities are to be booked under equity, without affecting the income.

—— Valuation reserves from hedging transactions. If hedge accounting is used, positive and nega-tive replacement values from hedging transactions are booked under equity, without affecting the income, and released to income as soon as the underlying hedged transaction has an effect on the income.

Dedicated reservesThe dedicated reserves under equity include:

—— Donations and bequests—— Reserves for teaching and research (electoral commitments, teaching and research projects)—— Reserves for infrastructure and administration (value fluctuations, building projects).

The formation and release of earmarked reserves is done under equity via the account “Changes to equity” which is listed in the section “Balance sheet surplus / deficit”.

The revenue for dedicated reserves, except for electoral commitments, must have been obtained in advance, that means the funds must either have already been paid in, or entered in the balance sheet as a receivable, and be available for the intended purpose.



Reserves to cover commitments to elect / appoint new professors are to be set up if a correspond-ing assurance has been issued in writing and an employment contract is then concluded. It is mandatory to set up these reserves, even if the full reserves have not yet been generated.

Donations and bequestsThis item includes remaining funds, not yet used, from donations and bequests that do not qualify as borrowed capital but which are nonetheless tied to certain conditions. Freely available funds (without conditions) from donations and bequests are to be listed under free reserves.

Reserves for teaching and researchThe reserves “Teaching and research” indicate the use of the funds, not their origin. There are various internal grants for which dedicated reserves are to be formed. The reserves “Teaching and research” cover all these sums.

The internal grants must be clearly indicated and appropriately documented in a set of regula-tions or a resolution of the Directorate / Executive Board (e. g. for so-called election promises for new professorships). The dedicated funds under equity show that such internal grants exist and corre-sponding reserves to cover these internal obligations are to be set up.

Reserves for infrastructure and administrationThese include reserves for value fluctuations of the securities portfolio and reserves for building projects.

The value fluctuation reserves are determined from the investment strategy, and booked via the account “Changes in equity”.

The reserves for building projects relate to Federal Government funds which were granted and paid out for real estate projects, and which have not yet been used due to delays. Corresponding funds must be available from the federal financial contribution.

Free reservesThe free reserves include:

—— free reserves that are at the disposal of the Executive Board or institution management. There are no external or internal conditions imposed which would restrict their free disposal.

—— Free research reserves that are at the disposal of the departments and the professors. These derive from the remaining balance of completed third-party funded projects, or from any income from sidelines. They serve teaching and research, as well as to cover losses (e. g. from foreign currency fluctuations). They are not specifically earmarked in terms of time or purpose, however.

—— Free reserves from the federal financial contribution. These show the funds that have not yet been used, as at the reference date. They are not subject to any specific conditions.

Co-financing of real estate of the Federal GovernmentIf third-party resources acquired by the ETH Domain are used for building projects in real estate, and this real estate is owned by the Federal Government, one speaks of co-financing. These funds trans-ferred to the Federal Government are, firstly, entered as co-financing under non-current assets, and secondly, the third-party resources that are booked as revenue via the income statement are entered as earmarked equity under the heading of co-financing.

Accumulated surplus (+) / deficit (–)The item “Accumulated surplus (+) / deficit (–)“ shows the status of the accumulated results as at the balance sheet date. It is calculated as follows:

—— profit / loss carried forward—— annual result—— entry transfers in equity—— currency translation differences (of foreign, fully consolidated investments)

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The result carried forward is accumulated annually as part of the appropriation of profit. The portion of the profit that has not yet been distributed is included in the annual result. Currency translation differences of foreign, fully consolidated investments that arise during the consolidation are booked under equity, without an effect on the income.

Contingent liabilities and contingent receivablesA contingent liability is either:a) a possible obligation from a past event whose existence first has to be confirmed by a future event.

The occurrence of this event cannot be controlled, orb) a present liability from a past event that cannot be entered in the balance sheet because of the

low probability (from 10 to 50 % / “less than 50 %”), or for want of a reliable method of measuring it (criteria for booking a reserve are not met).

Financial commitmentsFinancial commitments are listed in the Notes if they are based on events prior to the balance sheet date, and will definitely lead to obligations towards third parties after the balance sheet date, and their amount can be reliably determined.

Segment reportingIn the ETH Domain, the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the research institutes are defined as segments. They form the basis for deciding about how to distribute the resources. Inter / segment transfers are based on the cost structure.

4 | Uncertainties in estimates and management judgements

Uncertainties in the methods used for estimates and management judgements (IPSAS 1.137)When preparing the consolidated annual account in accordance with the generally accepted prin-ciples of accounting, it is necessary to use estimates and assumptions which affect the stated amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenditure, and the disclosure of contingent receiva-bles and liabilities at the time when the accounts are prepared. The estimates and assumptions are continually updated, and are based on past experience as well as other appropriate, justified factors, such as expectations regarding the occurrence of future events. Additionally, when apply-ing the accounting principles, decisions have to be made that may have a significant effect on the figures shown in the consolidated annual account. Although these estimates are derived according to the best knowledge of the management bodies, the actual results may deviate from them.

This applies especially to the following situations:

Receivables – retention of valueValue adjustments of doubtful receivables are made depending on the age structure and by the man-agement’s estimates and judgements of the specific credit and default risk for individual receivables.

Property, plant and equipment – useful life / impairmentThe periods of useful life may change, an impairment test when such indications are found could lead to a reduction in the book value.

ProvisionsProvisions have a higher reliance on estimates than other balance sheet items. This may lead to a higher or lower outflow of funds depending on the outcome of the respective situation.



Net defined benefit liabilitiesThe calculation of the pension liability is done using the Projected Unit Credit method (PUC method) and is based on the long-term technical insurance assumptions, which may deviate from the actual future course of events. The determination of the discount rate and the future salary developments form an important part of the technical insurance valuation.

Record of donationsETH Zurich regularly receives donations. According to IPSAS these must first be entered as assets at their market value. Estimates have to be made by the management when assessing these market values.

Management judgements made in the process of applying the accounting policiesFinance leaseThe contract made by ETH Zurich with the Immobilien ETHFZ AG for the HCP building was classified as a finance lease. The opportunities and risks associated with the property are transferred according to the contract and the term of the lease forms the main part of the lifespan of the building.

Real estateTo value the real estate of ETH Zurich in accordance with IPSAS, external expert reports are made which classify the real estate as assets and not as a financial investment.

Details of other important sources of uncertainty in estimates on the balance sheet date Besides the aforesaid general types of uncertainty in estimates, the following specific sources of uncer-tainty should be mentioned on the reporting date.

Provisions for dismantling the accelerator systems and disposing of the radioactive componentsAt the PSI provisions are made for dismantling the accelerator systems and disposing of the radioactive components, amounting to 426m CHF (see description in Notes Section 29). Due to new cost estimates, provisions for the dismantling of the accelerator facilities were adjusted from 70m CHF to 426m CHF in the year 2014. The annual savings contributions amount to currently 1.75m CHF and will be increased gradually as of 2017 to 5m CHF, 8m CHF and 11m CHF. Due to the complex area it is not possible to make a reliable statement about how the costs develop. In particular, the future options for final storage of waste and the demand for a nuclear waste depository have a great influence on the way the costs change. Disposal cost estimates and a possible provision update are carried out coordinated with the Federal Government who is also in charge of radioactive waste from medicine, industry and research. Therefore no attempt is made to calculate the provisions at prices valid at the time of disposal of the nuclear waste, and a corresponding discounting.

Discounting ratesUniform discounting rates are defined for the discounting of receivables, liabilities and provisions. These are based on a risk-free interest rate and a credit risk premium. However, because of the current interest rate situation these discounting rates are subject to some uncertainties.

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5 | Comparison with the budget

The budget was approved by the Swiss Parliament by Federal Resolution IV concerning the 2015 Budget of the ETH Domain of 1 December 2014 and relates to the period from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015. It covers all units of the ETH Domain. The units of the ETH Domain prepare their budget and the annual statement according to the accrual principle.

The 2015 budget was not adjusted during the conversion to IPSAS (no restatement) and it is based on the balance sheet and valuation guidelines used in 2014 to produce the 2015 budget. Therefore the 2015 consolidated annual financial statement can only be compared to a limited extent and in some individual parts to the 2015 budget.

Table 9: Reallocation of funds ETH Domain Budget 2015

m CHF ETH Board ETH Zurich EPFL PSI WSL Empa Eawag Total credit

Status as at 1 January 2015 (Federal Resolution 11.12.2014)

63.8 1,082.9 574.7 291.2 52.1 92.6 55.1 2,212.4

Changes:

Credit reallocation: flexibility(Credit reallocation debited to Credit A4100.0125 constructions of ETH Domainin acc. with FHV Art. 20 para. 5)

– 21.2 – 1.5 2.8 – 2.5 – 0.7 1.7 21.0

Assignments by ETH Board:

Strategic Proposals Teaching and Research – 30.9 6.7 5.4 14.9 0.3 3.4 0.2 –

Competence Centers – 2.3 2.3 –

Credit reallocations within Competence Centers:

Energy and Mobility (CCEM) 0.4 0.2 – 0.6 – – 0.0 – 0.0 –

Environment and Sustainability (CCES) – 1.1 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.2 –

Materials Science and Technology (CCMX) 0.2 – 2.0 0.3 1.6 –

Biomedical Imaging (NCCBI) 0.1 – 0.1 0.1 – 0.1 –

Various credit reallocations – 0.1 0.3 – 0.0 – 0.0 – 0.2 –

Status as of 31 December 2015 30.7 1,110.2 579.6 308.8 50.2 96.9 57.0 2,233.5

The consolidated, budgeted annual result of the 2015 budget in accordance with Federal Resolu-tion IV amounted to 2.5m CHF. The originally budgeted annual result was not changed by the shifting of funds during the course of the year in the ETH Domain. To obtain a more realistic comparison with the 2015 annual financial statement, only the proposed changes to the second-party and third-party resources, and the budgeted changes to the internal performance commitments, were adjusted in the 2015 budget. This action increased the budgeted annual result for 2015 from 2.5 to 16m CHF. However, such an adjustment does not mean that one can speak of a restatement of the 2015 budget within the meaning of IPSAS.

The values for the 2015 budget correspond to the Federal Resolution IV regarding the 2015 budget of the ETH Domain. No adjustments to the budget were made by the Swiss Parliament or during the year of the report 2015.

These additional statistical data were not a part of the Federal Resolution IV regarding the 2015 budget of the ETH Domain. Due to the credit reallocation within the context of flexibility (– 21m CHF), the budgeted investment expenditure for 2015 related to immovable fixed assets declined from 206m CHF to 184m CHF (investments in government-owned buildings of the ETH Domain). The government-owned immovable non-current assets of the ETH Domain do not form part of the budget or account state-ment of the ETH Domain. The credit for investments in constructions of the ETH Domain belongs how-ever, to the two credit items that take into account the budgetary framework for the ETH Domain, so that it is again a part of the fund allocation by the ETH Board to the units of the ETH Domain.



6 | Segment reporting

Income statement by segments

Table 10: Income statement 2015 by segments

Financial statements 2015

m CHF ETH Zurich EPFL PSI WSL Empa Eawag ETH Board * ETH Domain

Operating result

Federal financial contribution 1,110 580 309 50 97 57 31 2,233

Federal contribution to accommodation 155 69 24 4 16 4 0 273

Total federal contribution 1,265 649 333 54 113 61 31 2,506

Tuition fees and other utilisation fees 22 10 1 – – – – 34

Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) 124 87 12 5 8 6 – 243

Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI)

20 17 3 – 11 1 – 2 49

Special federal funding of applied research 25 15 13 18 7 4 – 81

EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation (FP)

60 58 6 1 6 3 – 135

Industry- oriented research 52 40 15 1 20 2 – 1 129

Other project-oriented third-party funding 32 28 16 2 3 2 – 2 81


314 245 65 27 55 17 – 5 718

Donations and bequests 62 51 2 – – – – 115

Other revenue 48 26 28 2 8 1 – 11 102

Operating revenue 1,712 981 428 83 176 79 15 3,475

Personnel expenses 992 603 238 56 102 49 7 2,048

Other operating expenses 494 259 108 18 43 22 – 6 937

Depreciation and amortization 100 49 32 1 8 3 – 193

Transfer expenses 19 29 – 1 – 1 25 74

Operating expenses 1,605 940 377 76 153 75 27 3,252

Operating result 107 41 51 7 22 5 – 12 222

Financial result

Financial revenue 9 19 1 – – – – 29

Financial expense 8 29 – – 1 – – 38

Financial result 1 – 10 1 – – – – – 9

Annual result 109 31 52 7 22 5 – 12 214


Confederation’s share 109 31 52 7 22 5 – 12 214

Minority interests – – – – – – – –

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Table 11: Income statement 2014 by segments



Operating result

Federal financial contribution 1,104 556 280 47 101 52 55 2,195

Federal contribution to accommodation 158 69 25 4 17 4 0 278

Total federal contribution 1,262 625 305 51 118 56 55 2,473

Tuition fees and other utilisation fees 21 11 1 – – – – 33

Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) 112 80 10 4 8 5 12 231

Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI)

17 16 3 – 9 – – 1 45

Special federal funding of applied research 24 12 10 16 6 4 – 2 70

EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation (FP)

74 66 11 1 10 3 1 164

Industry -oriented research 67 38 21 1 19 1 – 147

Other project-oriented third-party funding 30 20 19 2 1 4 – 76


323 232 75 23 53 17 8 732

Donations and bequests 42 51 1 – – – – 94

Other revenue 52 32 27 2 6 2 – 4 118

Operating revenue 1,700 951 409 77 178 75 59 3,450

Personnel expenses 972 583 227 56 103 46 9 1,997

Other operating expenses 488 255 106 17 45 20 7 939

Depreciation and amortisation 98 44 31 1 7 3 – 185

Transfer expenses 16 20 – 1 – – 25 63

Operating expenses 1,575 903 364 75 155 69 42 3,183

Operating result 126 49 45 2 23 6 17 267

Financial result

Financial revenue 18 9 1 – – – – 28

Financial expense 5 17 – – – – – 22

Financial result 13 – 9 1 – – – – 5

Annual result 138 40 46 2 23 6 17 272


Confederation’s share 138 40 46 2 23 6 17 272


* including eliminations and non-allocable transactions.



Balance sheet by segments

Table 12: Balance sheet as of 31.12.2015 by segments


Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents 132 91 97 45 70 41 56 531

Current receivables 30 43 38 19 33 18 – 9 172

Current financial assets 859 263 21 26 41 25 – 1,235

Inventories 7 2 2 – – – – 11

Prepaid expenses and accrued income 21 11 9 – 2 2 – 45

Total current assets 1,048 409 167 91 146 87 47 1,994

Non-current assets

Tangible fixed assets 407 186 818 9 48 24 – 1,493

Intangible fixed assets 1 3 – – – – – 4

Non-current receivables 632 340 20 27 16 6 – 1,040

Financial interests – 1 1 – – – – 2

Non-current financial assets 3 20 – – 1 – 5 29

Co-financing 51 73 – – 1 – – 124

Total non-current assets 1,094 623 839 35 66 30 5 2,693

Total assets 2,142 1,032 1,006 126 212 117 52 4,686

Liabilities

Current liabilities 74 78 25 4 6 4 – 8 183

Short-term financial liabilities – 1 1 – – – – 2

Accrued expenses and deferred income 76 19 18 2 8 – – 123

Short-term provisions 38 19 13 4 6 2 1 84

Short-term liabilities 189 116 57 10 20 7 – 7 392

Dedicated third-party funds 636 372 130 60 68 27 – 1,293

Long-term financial liabilities 17 20 3 – – – – 40

Net defined benefit liabilities 987 542 291 74 138 50 17 2,099

Long-term provisions 32 20 437 3 5 2 – 498

Long-term liabilities 1,672 954 860 137 210 79 17 3,929

Total liabilities 1,861 1,070 917 146 230 86 10 4,321

Equity

Valuation reserves – 563 – 300 – 167 – 40 – 79 – 28 – 10 – 1,186

Dedicated reserves 526 162 17 6 20 11 3 745

Free reserves 392 148 94 46 59 61 51 851

Co-financing 51 73 – – 1 – – 124

Accumulated surplus (+) / deficit (–) – 126 – 121 145 – 33 – 19 – 13 – 2 – 169

Condederation’s share of equity 281 – 39 89 – 21 – 18 31 42 365


Total equity 281 – 39 89 – 21 – 18 31 42 365

Total liabilities and equity 2,142 1,032 1,006 126 212 117 52 4,686


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Table 13: Balance sheet as of 31.12.2014 by segments


Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents 145 336 110 45 60 47 70 813

Current receivables 27 28 51 20 11 12 – 10 139

Current financial assets 794 32 13 23 35 22 – 918

Inventories 7 2 2 – – – – 12

Prepaid expenses and accrued income 19 16 15 1 2 2 – 54

Total current assets 992 414 190 90 108 83 60 1,937

Non-current assets

Tangible fixed assets 400 181 755 7 42 23 – 1,407

Intangible fixed assets 1 2 – – – – – 3

Non-current receivables 621 341 34 15 43 7 – 1,062

Financial interests – 2 – – – – – 3

Non-current financial assets 1 24 1 – 1 – 4 30

Co-financing 47 59 – – – – – 106

Total non-current assets 1,070 609 790 22 86 30 4 2,611

Total assets 2,062 1,023 980 112 194 113 63 4,547

Liabilities

Current liabilities 77 77 22 3 5 5 – 9 180

Short-term financial liabilities – – 1 – – – – 1

Accrued expenses and deferred income 74 20 15 4 5 – – 118

Short-term provisions 39 17 13 4 6 3 1 83

Short-term liabilities 190 114 51 11 16 8 – 8 382

Dedicated third-party funds 647 386 148 48 69 25 – 1,323

Long-term financial liabilities – 14 4 – – – – 18

Net defined benefit liabilities 696 388 206 55 100 35 12 1,491

Long-term provisions 30 20 436 3 5 2 – 495

Long-term liabilities 1,373 807 794 106 174 62 12 3,328

Total liabilities 1,564 921 845 117 190 69 4 3,710

Equity

Valuation reserves – 237 – 128 – 69 – 17 – 35 – 11 – 4 – 501

Dedicated reserves 486 145 14 8 19 11 3 686

Free reserves 354 144 94 43 53 56 65 810

Co-financing 47 59 – – – – – 106

Accumulated surplus (+) / deficit (–) – 153 – 117 96 – 39 – 34 – 13 – 5 – 264

Condederation’s share of equity 498 102 136 – 5 4 44 59 837


Total equity 498 102 136 – 5 4 44 59 837

Total liabilities and equity 2,062 1,023 980 112 194 113 63 4,547




Cash flow statement by segments

Table 14: Cash flow statement 2015 by segments

m CHF


ETH Zurich EPFL PSI WSL Empa Eawag ETH Board * ETH Domain


Annual result 109 31 52 7 22 5 – 12 214


Finanical result (non cash) – 1 12 – – – – – 12

Increase / decrease in net working capital – 4 – 10 25 – – 19 – 7 – – 15

Increase / decrease in net defined benefit liabilities

– 37 – 17 – 13 – 3 – 7 – 2 – 1 – 80

Increase / decrease in provisions 1 2 – – – – – 4

Increase / decrease in long-term receivables – 9 1 14 – 11 27 1 – 24

Increase / decrease in dedicated funds – 11 – 14 – 19 12 – 1 2 – – 31

Reclassification and other (non cash) income

– 1 1 – – – – – –

Net cash flows from operating activities 147 57 91 6 30 2 – 12 321


Investments

Furnishings, vehicles, other movable goods – 1 – – – – – – – 2

Machinery, tools and operational equipment – 51 – 28 – 14 – 1 – 7 – 1 – – 103

IT Hardware – 16 – 3 – 2 – – – – – 22

Advance payments, mobile installations under construction

– 5 – 18 – 54 – – 4 – – – 81

Property – – – – – – – –

Buildings – 3 – 1 – – – – 1 – – 4

Biotopes and geotopes – – – – – – – –

Upgrading of property by tenant / plant installations under construction

– 13 – 11 – 27 – 2 – 4 – 3 – – 59

Investment in tangible assets – 89 – 61 – 97 – 3 – 15 – 5 – – 270

Software – 1 – – – – – – – 1

Licences, patents, trademarks – – – – – – – –

Other intangible assets – – – – – – – –

Intangible assets in realisation – – 1 – – – – – – 1

Investments in intangible assets – 1 – 1 – – – – – – 3

Increase in co-financing – 6 – 16 – – – 1 – – – 22

Increase in loans – – 5 – – – 1 – – – 6

Increase in investments held – – – – – – – –

Increase in financial assets – 95 – 235 – 8 – 4 – 6 – 3 – 2 – 353

176


m CHF



Divestments

Decrease in tangible fixed assets 1 9 2 – 1 – – 14

Decrease in intangible fixed assets – – – – – – – –

Decrease in co-financing – – – – – – – –

Decrease in loans – 1 – – 1 – – 1

Decrease in investments held – 2 – – – – – 2

Decrease of current and non-current financial assets

29 5 1 1 – – – 35

Net cash flows from investing activities – 160 – 302 – 104 – 6 – 21 – 7 – 2 – 602


Increase in current and non-current financial liabilities

– – – – – – – –

Decrease in current and non-current financial liabilities

– – – 1 – – – – – 1

Other changes in equity – – – – – – – –

Net cash flows from financing activities – – – 1 – – – – – 1

TOTAL CASH FLOW – 13 – 246 – 13 – 9 – 5 – 14 – 282

Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January

145

336

110

45

60

47

70

813

TOTAL CASH FLOW – 13 – 246 – 13 – 9 – 5 – 14 – 282

Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 132 91 97 45 70 41 56 531



Dividends received 1 1 1 – – – – 3

Interest received 1 – – – – – – 1

Interest paid – – – – – – – –

* including eliminations and non-allocable transactions. Allocation of cash flow account among individual segments.



Table 15: Cash flow statement 2014 by segments

m CHF




Annual result 138 40 46 2 23 6 17 272


Finanical result (non cash) – 2 10 – – – – – 8

Increase / decrease in net working capital – 44 – 22 1 – 1 – 1 – – – 66

Increase / decrease in net defined benefit liabilities

– 26 – 12 – 9 – 2 – 5 – 1 – 1 – 55

Increase / decrease in provisions 4 – 2 – 4 – – – – – 2

Increase / decrease in long-term receivables – 27 – 32 3 5 7 – 2 – 42

Increase / decrease in dedicated funds 1 2 2 – 3 3 3 – 8

Reclassification and other (non cash) income

– 1 6 3 – – – – 8

Net cash flows from operating activities 141 34 75 3 34 11 18 316


Investments

Furnishings, vehicles, other movable goods – 1 – 1 – – – – – – 2

Machinery, tools and operational equipment – 52 – 30 – 14 – – 6 – 2 – – 105

IT Hardware – 22 – 5 – 2 – – – – – 30

Advance payments, mobile installations under construction

– 4 – 14 – 31 – – 2 – – – 51

Property – – – – – – – –

Buildings – 3 – 2 – 2 – – 1 – – – 7

Biotopes and geotopes – – – – – – – –

Upgrading of property by tenant / plant installations under construction

– 15 – 3 – 18 – 3 – – 3 – – 43

Investment in tangible assets – 96 – 55 – 67 – 4 – 10 – 5 – – 237

Software – 1 – 1 – – – – – – 2

Licences, patents, trademarks – – – – – – – –

Other intangible assets – – – – – – – –

Intangible assets in realization – – – – – – – –

Investments in intangible assets – 1 – 1 – – – – – – 2

Increase in co-financing – 2 – 3 – – – – – – 5

Increase in loans – – 16 – – – – – – 16

Increase in investments held – – – – – – – –

Increase in financial assets – 121 – 4 – 1 – 5 – 5 – – 2 – 138

178


m CHF



Divestments

Decrease in tangible fixed assets 2 – 1 – – – – 3

Decrease in intangible assets – – – – – – – –

Decrease in co-financing – – – – – – – –

Decrease in loans – 1 – – – – – 1

Decrease in investments held – 1 1 – – – – 2

Decrease of current and non-current financial assets

54 4 30 – – 1 – 89

Net cash flows from investing activities – 164 – 72 – 36 – 9 – 15 – 4 – 2 – 302


Increase in current and non-current financial liabilities

– – – – – – – –

Decrease in current and non-current financial liabilities

– – – 1 – – – – – 1

Other changes in equity – – – 1 – – – 1

Net cash flows from financing activities – – – 1 1 – – – –

TOTAL CASH FLOW – 23 – 38 37 – 4 19 7 16 14

Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January

168

375

73

50

41

39

53

799

TOTAL CASH FLOW – 23 – 38 37 – 4 19 7 16 14

Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 145 336 110 45 60 47 70 813



Dividends received 1 – 1 – – – – 1

Interest received – – – – – – – –

Interest paid – – – – – – – –

* including eliminations and non-allocable transactions. Allocation of cash flow account among individual segments.



7 | Total federal contribution

Federal financial contribution

Table 16: Federal financial contribution

m CHF


2014


2015


absolute %

Federal financial contribution 2,195 2,233 38 2

The available funds from the approved budget of the ETH Domain for the years 2013–2016 are processed via the two credit items, federal financial contribution and investment credit for constructions of the ETH Domain. The credit item federal financial contribution is allocated to the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. The processing of the investment credit for constructions of the ETH Domain is done via the Federal Government as the “parent enterprise” (VE 620 BBL).

The federal financial contribution was used for the purpose of achieving the objectives indicated by the ETH Act (SR 414.110) and the performance mandate 2013–2016.

The financial contribution increased by 38m CHF (+ 1.8 %) over the 2014 statement. This corre-sponds to the entire growth of the two credit items taking into account the budgetary framework of the ETH Domain in the year of the report 2015 (+ 1.8 % compared to 2014). The increase was less than that foreseen in the ERI Dispatch (2015 finance plan: + 3.9 %), because in 2015 the ETH Domain paid a total of approx. 56m CHF to the KAP cuts (Consolidation and Task Evaluation Package) and across-the-board cuts made by the federal government.

The increase over the previous year 2014 came about as follows:—— The financial contribution in 2015 started at 2,212m CHF, in accordance with Federal Resolution I of 11.12.2014 concerning the 2015 budget. The increase compared to the 2014 statement was also partly due to the higher grant of 50m CHF (+ 15m CHF) awarded to the units of the ETH Domain in 2015, which was also included in the sum allocated by the Federal Resolution, and is based on a resolution of the ETH Board. By this the ETH Board supported Objective 8 (Subobjective 3) of the performance mandate 2013–2016 concerning a more performance-based allocation of funds, by honouring the extraordinary achievements of the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the four research institutes more strongly than in the previous year.

—— During the year of the report 2015, the sum of 21m CHF resulting from the budget-neutral credit reallocation (FHV Art. 20 paragraph 5, SR 611.01) was deducted from the investment credit for constructions of the ETH Domain (Credit A4100.0125, VE 620 BBL). The financial contribution therefore rose to 2,233m CHF as a result of the credit reallocation.

In 2015 the ETH Domain invested the following amounts in the national research infrastructures and large-scale research projects in accordance with Objective 4 of the performance mandate 2013–2016:

—— for the petaflops supercomputer at the CSCS in Lugano (ETH Zurich), 6m CHF (2014: 20m CHF); —— for SwissFEL at the PSI 35m CHF (2014: 40m CHF); —— for the Blue Brain Project at EPFL 20m CHF (2014: 20m CHF). This counts as a participation by EPFL under the European FET flagship initiative the Human Brain Project (HBP). The EU part of the so-called ramp-up phase, which lasts until 2016, is funded from the budget of the 7 th FP of the EU (FP7).

Because of the procedures described below a slightly distorted view of max. 15m CHF is shown compared to 2014. Due to the relatively lower amount of construction activity in 2015, some 15m CHF were reallocated via the budgeting of investment credit (Credit A4100.0125, 620 BBL), over to the financial contribution that increased correspondingly. On the one hand a decrease was caused by the

180


lower funds resulting from the streamlining of the property portfolio (2015: 7m CHF; 2014: 14m CHF), which were also shifted to the financial contribution, indirectly via the budgeting. The effect due to this procedure amounts to 7m CHF. On the other hand the credit reallocation between the two credit items taking into account the budgetary framework – both deducted from the investment credit – was about 5m CHF lower than in the previous year (2015: 21m CHF; 2014: 27m CHF).

The ETH Board approved a sum of approx. 26m CHF for the Swiss University Conference’s (SUC) programmes and projects of national importance, as part of Objective 6 of the performance mandate 2013–2016 concerning a stronger national cooperation. This mainly involves the cooperative pro-grammes proposed by the SUC: Nano-Tera.ch (8m CHF) and SystemsX.ch (13m CHF), and the cooper-ative and innovative projects (KIP-SHK 5m CHF). These project-dedicated funds were granted to the researchers in a competitive procedure by the SUC and the Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF (Nano-Tera.ch and SystemsX.ch). The funds are going for example to additional professorships and to research infrastructure related to energy studies. The funding of the two programmes Nano-Tera.ch and SystemsX.ch from the sponsor funding by the Federal Government is for a limited term, until the end of 2016.

The Federal Council wishes to specially promote research and innovation in the field of energy, so as to support the implementation of the new energy policy. The total amount of dedicated funds amounting to a total of 60m CHF, which were granted to the ETH Domain as part of the action plan “Coordinated energy research Switzerland”, included 16m CHF in the financial contribution in 2015, similar to the 2014 account. These funds were for used for such purposes as expanding the team of researchers and for research infrastructure related to energy studies.

For incentive and start-up funding of strategic projects for teaching and research in the ETH Domain, a total of approx. 20m CHF was paid out in 2015 (2014: 31m CHF). This includes the funds for continuing the Centers of Competence mentioned in Objective 6 of the performance mandate 2013–2016, amount-ing to 2.3m CHF (2014: 3.7m CHF). Of this, 2m CHF went to Leading House EPFL for the Competence Center for Materials Science and Technology (CCMX), and 0.3m CHF for the Competence Center for Biomedical Imaging (NCCBI). The two Competence Centers Energy and Mobility (CCEM) and Environment and Sus-tainability (CCES) were funded until 2013. Also included is the employer payment to support the cov-erage ratio of the pension fund of the ETH Domain at PUBLICA for five years starting from 2015 (2015: 3.5m CHF). This funding is aligned to the coverage ratio stipulated in Art. 44 BVV 2, and is not related to the net pension liabilities under IPSAS 25.

The total sum of the financial contribution includes the funding for dismantling the accelerator plants at the PSI, with an annual amount of 1.75m CHF (to run for a term of 40 years) based on the allocated reserves of 70m CHF. The future costs for dismantling the installations were reestimated by the Federal Government. Based on this cost study in 2011 a scheme was made to apportion the total costs. The PSI then used this to adjust the reserves for the accelerator facilities from 70m to 426m CHF (for conditioning, interim storage, dismantling, deep geological repository). The funding of the increase in provisions is not, however, part of the 2013–2016 budgetary framework for the ETH Domain. The annual savings will be adjusted to the higher provisions starting with the budget of the ETH Domain for the years 2017–2020, and the corresponding dedicated funds will be assigned starting in the 2017 budget.

The funds from the financial contribution were used to cover the ongoing operating expenses on the one hand, and on the other hand they served to finance investments in movables and intangible assets. The total for these investments in the year under review 2015 amounted to approx. 198m CHF (2014: 171m CHF). A large part (2015: 90m CHF) of these investments is connected to the building costs plans 3 and 9 (BKP 3 / 9).

The 2015 budget of the ETH Board contained a planned overbudgeting from the fund allocation of the ETH Board for 2015, in accordance with the resolutions pursuant to Art. 33a of the ETH Act. The resulting deficit in coverage was covered by reducing the amount of the reserves of the ETH Board (– 14m CHF). Therefore this event was not relevant to the credit level of the federal financial contri-bution and did not affect it.



Federal contribution to accommodation

Table 17: Federal contribution to accommodation for the ETH Domain

m CHF


2014


2015


absolute %

Federal contribution to accommodation 278 273 – 5 – 2

The federal contribution to accommodation is used to cover the expenses for the rental of properties in the ownership of the Federal Government. The credit is not part of the credits entitled in the funding of the ETH Domain. It affects financing, but not expenditures (no cash flow as a result of it). The calculations are based on the mathematical depreciation and capital costs for real estate.

The mathematical interest rate for the return on average capital employed was unchanged in 2015 at 2.5%.

The book value of the facilities (buildings and plots of land) at the end of 2015 was 4.3bn CHF, identical to the previous year. These installations on government-owned property are entered as assets in the balance sheet of the Federal Government as the “parent enterprise”. They do not form part of the assets of the ETH Domain.

The buildings are usually depreciated over a period of 40 years. Value-enhancing and value- sustaining investments are entered as assets. No depreciation is applied to the value of the land.

8 | Tuition fees and other utilisation fees

Table 18: Tuition fees / utilisation fees

m CHF


2014


2015


absolute %

Tuition fees and other utilisation fees 33 34 – 1

The amount of revenue from tuition fees and other utilisation fees is almost the same as the total in the 2014 statement. About 24m CHF of the total are attributable to tuition fees. Of this amount, the ETH Zurich collected 15m CHF and the EPFL collected 9.2m CHF. The amount of school revenue is directly dependent on the rise in numbers of students and doctoral students, as well as the level of the semester fees. The number of students and doctoral students increased by 820 compared with 2014 (2015: 29,357 students and doctoral students; 2014: 28,537 students and doctoral students; see p. 112). By contrast, the amount of semester fees was unchanged compared with 2014 (SR 414.131.7; Annexe 1, Ordinance on Fees in the ETH Domain).

The tuition fees account for just 1.0 % (2015: 0.9 %) of the respective operating revenue of ETH Zurich and EPFL, as measured by the respective entry in the 2015 statement.The fees for the Master’s programme (MAS / MBA) increased at the ETH Zurich due to the increase in the fees (MAS MTEC) and also due to the increased number of participants (MBA). The new MAS course in “Architecture and Digital Fabrication” has also contributed to higher tuition fees at the ETH Zurich in the year 2015 (effect: higher revenue from continued and advanced education courses of 1.1m CHF). At EPFL the income from continued and advanced education courses declined due to the accrual pro-cedure. The PSI likewise received a considerable amount of fees (2015: 1.3m CHF; 2014: 1.2m CHF).

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9 | Research contributions, mandates and scientific services

Table 19: Research contributions, services

m CHF


2014


2015

Of which revenue

from non- exchange

transactions(IPSAS 23)

Of which revenue

from non- exchange

transactions(IPSAS 9)


absolute %

Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) 231 243 242 1 12 5

Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) 45 49 49 – 4 10

Special federal funding of applied research 70 81 62 19 11 15

EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation (FP) 164 135 135 – – 29 – 18

Industry- oriented research (private sector) 147 129 43 86 – 17 – 12

Other project-oriented third-party funding (including cantons, communities, international organisations)

76 81 62 19 5 6

Total research contributions, mandates and scientific services 732 718 593 125 – 14 – 2

The revenue from research contributions amounted to 718m CHF in the reporting year 2015. Of that, 593m CHF was accounted for by non-exchange transactions (IPSAS 23) and 125m CHF by exchange transactions (IPSAS 9). Compared with the 2014 statement, the overall volume for the year 2015 remained at a high level. Despite the slight decrease compared to the 2014 statement, the expecta-tions under Objective 8 (Sub-objective 1) of the performance mandate 2013–2016 were met in the reporting year 2015. In accordance with this objective, the diversification of funding is to be pursued by an increase in the share of research contributions from the Federal Government (including the sponsoring organisations and the funds from the European Research Framework Programmes, FPs) and by the cooperation with private industry. The percentage of the research contributions – meas-ured by operating revenue – was about 21 % in the year under review 2015. This corresponds to the high percentage in the previous year 2014. The positive course in the year 2015 is to be rated very highly because it took place under difficult overall conditions (including a strong Swiss franc, third country status for Switzerland in the FP).

With regard to funds from the EU’s 8th Research Framework Programme “Horizon 2020”, in which Switzerland is currently considered a partially associated country, the Federal Government has taken national measures to finance Swiss participation in projects. These take effect in those areas of “Horizon 2020” in which Switzerland is not associated. In this respect, in 2015 funding of about 34m CHF was transferred to the ETH Domain by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) under competitive terms, and allocated by the units of the ETH Domain according to project progress (accrual). As part of the programme of investment in individual projects, a total of 115 projects from the ETH Domain were funded by the SERI by the end of 2015. For reasons of comparability with pre-vious years and the earlier FP periods, these funds were listed in revenue despite the funding from the Federal Government, not under government-funded research but under funds from the FP. Of the total research contributions of 135m CHF listed under the category of EU funds, the majority came directly from the EU, but a large portion was still funded by the Federal Government.

The teaching and research projects increasingly involve multi-year programmes (duration 3 to 5 years). Only the funds actually used in the year are indicated in the revenue, according to the accrual principle.

The level of the research contributions is not uniform over time. The research contributions from the Federal Government and its sponsoring organisations exceeded the total for the 2014 statement. The funds from collaboration with the cantons, municipalities, etc. remained at a constant level. Due to the difficult overall conditions, a decrease in the income from collaboration with private industry had to be posted for 2015 as compared to 2014. EU funding declined as well, compared with 2014. Overall, a stagnation in the revenue from research contributions was recorded in 2015 – but it was still at a high level.



The trend in the individual categories is as follows: The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is one of two important federal funding organisations. It awards the projects by a competitive selection process. The ETH Domain was once again very suc-cessful in applying for these competitive projects from the SNSF. As a consequence, a higher revenue was obtained in conjunction with the National Research Programmes (NRP), along with additional rev-enue for the National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR; + 12m CHF or 5 %). The ETH Domain received a total of 243m CHF from the SNSF. Most of this – 90% – went to the two Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH Zurich: 120m CHF; EPFL: 92m CHF), but the research institutes are also successful and show gains over the previous year.

The ETH Zurich was primarily responsible for the additional revenue. It posted additional income, for example for the Infrastructure Research Equipment (R’Equip) programme, in projects of the NFS (including NFS Digital Fabrication, MSE, RNA & Disease, MARVEL) as well as the System Biology SystemsX.ch project of the SNSF. As a result of the larger number of projects funded by research con-tributions from the SNSF, the revenue from overheads also increased in 2015. The EPFL obtained additional revenue due to the replacement measures for the temporary backup schemes and the ERC transfer contributions of the SNSF. The EPFL was successful with the projects of the Sinergia funding programme. As mentioned, part of the increase in funding from the SNSF in 2015 resulted from the fact that the SNSF – via a temporary backup scheme – funded grants and consolidator grants com-petitive terms like those of the EU.

The second important federal funding organisation, the Commission for Technology and Innova-tion (CTI), finances and manages the development of networked inter-university research centres called Swiss Competence Centers for Energy Research (SCCER) as part of the action plan “Coordinated Energy Research Switzerland”. The ETH Domain participated successfully with projects in all eight of the SCCERs, and units or institutions of the ETH Domain serve as Leading house for seven of them. Most of the increase in CTI funds resulted from the SCCERs. The ETH Domain received a total of 49m CHF from the CTI in 2015. Of that, the largest portion went to the two Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH Zurich: 18m CHF; EPFL 16m CHF), and a large amount also went to Empa (11m CHF). Empa is generally active in the SCCERs: it is the Leading House for the SCCER Future Energy Efficient Buildings & Districts (SCCER FEEB & D), and also participates in other SCCERs.

The increase in the special federal funding of applied research is specifically traceable to the increase in the number of research contracts of the research institutes. The Empa posted additional revenue for the Future Mobility Demonstrator project “move”. The WSL received a significant portion of its operating revenue – about 20 % of the total operating revenue of 17m CHF allocated to 150 govern-ment-funded research projects – to carry out research contracts for federal agencies. This includes large projects with the Federal Office of the Environment (FOEN) on a variety of topics such as forest and climate change, and in particular for projects concerning the Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI). The funding by the SERI in connection with the third country status of Switzerland for “Horizon 2020” is included under revenue from the European Research Framework Programmes (FP) and not under funds from government-funded research.

The ETH Domain is the most important recipient of funds from the EU Research Framework Pro-grammes in Switzerland. Included in the total on the 2015 statement (FP: 135m CHF) are also the federal funds for financing related to the “Horizon 2020” FP. Taking into account this competitive re-placement funding from the Federal Government, the total of the FPs corresponds to expectations for the budget.

It was mainly the time factor in the transition from the 7 th to the 8th FP “Horizon 2020” which resulted in a significant decrease compared to 2014 (164m CHF). This process has nothing to do with the par-tial association of Switzerland, it is standard procedure for the transition between two FPs. Significant compensation was provided by the Federal Government for the uncertainty resulting from the third country status of Switzerland and the possible negative effects this could have on the amount of rev-enue from “Horizon 2020”.

184


The financing of the 7 th FP is secured by grants from the EU. The ramp-up phase for the FET flagship HBP of the EPFL is likewise financed from the 7 th FP.

Income from the cooperation with the private sector (business-oriented research) fell slightly in 2015. The 129m CHF posted in the 2015 statement (2014: 147m CHF) is still at a high level when compared over the period of several years. The overall trend of increasing funds from the cooperation with the private sector is holding despite the difficult economic climate- Sub-objective1 of Objective 3 of the KTT strategy of the ETH Domain in accordance with the performance mandate of the Federal Council for 2013–2016 for the ETH Domain specifies increased cooperation with the private sector and the pub-lic sector for the realisation of joint projects. The high revenue in the 2015 statement indicates that these objectives were again achieved in 2015.

The PSI in particular benefited from the increased research contributions in connection with energy research in the reporting year 2015 (2015: 8.3m CHF). The EPFL posted high individual revenues in con-nection with turbine tests (Laboratoire des machines hydrauliques: 2.7m CHF), and the research into Huntingdon’s disease (0.9m CHF), and from the Nanocem research community (0.9m CHF).

The remaining project-oriented third-party resources include the contributions from the cooper-ation with cantons, universities and international organisations. These are contributions for large research projects. The total 81m CHF in the 2015 statement corresponds with the expectations based on the 2015 budget, and exceeds the already high value in the 2014 statement (76m CHF). In 2015 large contributions were again made by the Canton of Aargau to the SwissFEL (6m CHF), and by the Canton of Zurich (Zurich University Hospital) to Gantry 3 the proton therapy system at the PSI (3m CHF). The ETH Zurich received large contributions, for example from the cooperation with international organisations (including 3.5m CHF for climate KIC). The Canton of Wallis made a major contribution to the funding of the EPFL Valais-Wallis project (12m CHF). The EPFL also received a cantonal contribution (0.8m CHF) for the external site in Fribourg. The Canton of Waadt again supported various EPFL research projects at with funding (total: 2.5m CHF).

10 | Donations and bequests

Table 20: Donations and bequests

m CHF


2014


2015


absolute %

Donations and bequests 94 115 21 23

There was a positive growth in revenue from donations and bequests in 2015. The revenue increased greatly compared to 2014. The great majority of the donations went to the two Federal Institutes of Technology, and the PSI benefited from funding from donations and bequests as well. Both ETH Zurich (2015: 62m CHF; 2014: 42m CHF) and EPFL (2015: 51m CHF; 2014: 51m CHF) recorded an increase com-pared to the 2014 statement.



11 | Other revenue

Table 21: Other revenue

m CHF


2014


2015


absolute %

Revenue from licences and patents 15 10 – 5 – 34

Sales 15 14 – 1 – 10

Refunds 11 11 – – 3

Other services 35 32 – 2 – 7

Building revenue 13 13 – 3

Revenue from adjustment of real estate portfolio – – – n. a.

Profit from disposals – – – – 22

Capitalisation of own production – 4 4 n. a.

Other misc. revenue 28 17 – 11 – 39

Total other revenue 118 102 – 16 – 13

The number of patents and licenses for the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the four research institutes increased again in 2015. This figure was higher than the previous year, but this was not reflected in the 2015 revenue. The licensing revenue generally depends on the sales achieved; this is subject to normal fluctuations (volatility). In addition, the revenue for EPFL in 2014 included one-time license income of about 3.1m CHF (Composyt Light Labs) that no longer applied in 2015. In general, patents are the evaluation for new licenses in future and only generate licensing income in subsequent years.

The rental income for ETH Zurich includes in particular the income from renting apartments to guest lecturers, income from renting space to the University of Zurich, proceeds from leasing space to the student residential cooperative WOKO in Zurich, and to the children’s crèche.

The PSI entered as assets the services performed under its direction for the SwissFEL project in 2015 (see Notes Section 22, Additions to Tangible assets under construction).

12 | Personnel expenses

Table 22: Personnel expenses

m CHF


2014


2015


absolute %

Professors 194 198 4 2

Scientific personnel 877 895 18 2

Technical and administrative personnel, apprentices, trainees 631 665 34 5

Income compensation (EO), SUVA and other refunds – 16 – 17 – 1 4

Total salaries and wages 1,685 1,741 56 3

Social insurance (AHV / ALV / IV / EO / MuV) 105 107 2 2

Pension costs 134 122 – 12 – 9

Accident and sickness insurance SUVA (occupational / non-occupational accident insurance)

7 7 –

5

Family compensation fund (FAK / FamZG) 24 26 2 9

Total social insurance schemes and pensions expenses 270 263 – 7 – 3

Other employer contributions 11 11 – 1 – 5

Temporary personnel 9 14 5 50

Change in provisions for holidays and over time payments 1 – – n. a.

Change in provisions for contributions - long service awards 5 4 – 2 – 31

Other personnel expenses 15 15 – 0

Total personnel expenses 1,997 2,048 52 3

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The personnel strategy of the ETH Domain follows the specifications formulated in Objective 10 in the performance mandate of the Federal Council to the ETH Domain for 2013–2016 (ERI 2013–2016: BBl 2012 3338).

Compared to the 2014 statement, personnel expenses increased by 52m CHF (+ 2.6 %), to a total of 2,048m CHF. The additional costs compared with 2014 are primarily attributable to the higher number of positions and the salary measures decided by the ETH Board for the year 2015 in accordance with Articles 25–30 of the Personnel Ordinance of the ETH Domain (SR 172.220, 113).

The salary measures included an increase of 0.6 % as well as an additional 1.2 % in salary totals for managing the new payroll system (NLS); the financing for this was done in part using fluctuating gains (compensation). Individual adjustments such as the wage increases for the doctoral students at the ETH Zurich are likewise included in the wage measures. The increase in personnel costs of + 2.6 % was somewhat less than in the two previous years (2014: + 3.2 %; 2013: + 3.5 %). On the other hand, the growth in the number of full-time equivalents (FTE) continued as before. This affected the costs and explains the share of the additional costs for staff positions compared with the 2014 statement.

ETH Zurich changed the system of remuneration for doctoral students as of 01.01.2015. They are now paid at different rates according to the specialist area and the tasks taken on under the professorship, and are employed and paid at a 100 % employment level (unless there is a part-time position). Up to and including the 2014 statement, the ETH Zurich had set the salaries for the doctoral students according to a graded system of different quotas of working hours. The system change is does not cause added costs, but it does have a mathematical effect causing an increase in FTEs.

The share of the personnel expenditure as part of the whole operating expenditure in 2015 remained unchanged at just under 63 % (2014: 63 %).

The classification based on components shows the following trend:Of the personnel expenditure, 1,741m CHF (+ 56m CHF or + 3 %) was for wages and salaries. The share of 85 % of personnel expenditure is slightly above the previous year’s figure for the 2014 statement (2014: 84 %). To arrive at the total of employer contributions, which are directly dependent on the employee wages, the net pension expenditure (2015: 122.4m CHF) the procedures must be adjusted in line with IPSAS 25 (2015: + 79.7m CHF). The total of the employer contributions that are directly dependent on the employee wages amounts to approx. 342m CHF (2014: 325m CHF). In relation to the employee wages, this corresponds to 19.6 % (2014: 19.3 %), so that the ETH Domain was below the mathematical contribution rate of the Federal Government for 2015 (20.7 %). Some 44m CHF (2014: 42m CHF) was spent on the remaining items in personnel expenditure.

The analysis and breakdown of the increase in employee wages into the two most important cost drivers, the increase in number of positions and the wage measures, shows the following: the increase in the number of FTEs affected the costs for 2015. The additional costs resulting from the growth in number of positions in 2015 were estimated to be approx. 35m CHF. The ETH Board granted a general wage increase of 0.6 % for 2015 along with 1.2 % for individual wage measures as part of the new remu-neration system (NLS). Overall, the additional costs resulting from the wage measures granted in 2015 amounted to approx. 20m CHF compared to 2014.

The employer contributions directly related with the employee wages – adjusted by the net pension costs in accordance with IPSAS 25 – increased by 17m CHF (+ 3.6 %) over the 2014 statement. The average mathematical cost rate for the employer contributions of 20.7 %, which had increased over the previous year 2014, had practically no financial effect for the ETH Domain. The total of employer contributions remained relatively constant in relation to employee wages (2015: 19.6 %; 2014: 19.3 %).

The amount of employer contributions for employee benefits insurance is oriented toward reaching the obligatory minimum employer’s contribution rate of 11 % in accordance with Article 32g para-graph 1 of the Swiss Federal Personnel Act (SR 172.220.1) (2015: 11.6%; 2014: 11.2 %). In accordance with the resolution by the ETH Board, an annual contribution in the amount of 3.5m CHF is to be paid to the coverage ratio of the ETH Domain pension fund at PUBLICA, starting from 2015 and continuing for five years. This contribution was posted in the individual financial statement of the ETH Board and is part of the net pension expenditure in the 2015 statement.



The number of professors increased compared to the previous year. As a result, the amount of sala-ries paid out to professors also increased compared to 2014 (+4.3m CHF or 2.2 %). The highest increase was recorded in the area of scientific personnel. This shows how the trend in recent years continued into the year under review 2015. This development is also shown in the additional costs for wages in the category scientists with an increase of 18.2m CHF compared to the 2014 statement. The additional expense for scientists, as in previous years, was largely funded by research contributions from the Federal Government and from the cooperation with private industry (approx. + 10m CHF). The largest gain in wages compared with the previous year 2014 was seen in technical administrative personnel (+ 34m CHF or 5.4 %).

In accordance with Sub-objective 4 of Objective 1 of the performance mandate, the ETH Domain improved the supervision of students in teaching. The change in the number of employment positions in the ETH Domain is directly related to the change in the number of students. In year of the report 2015 the staff-student ratio was kept stable, partly thanks to the increase in number of employment posi-tions. Efforts by the ETH Domain to improve the staff-student ratio lead to corresponding additional costs.

As owner of the ETH Domain, in 2015 the Federal Government directly or indirectly funded about 90 % of the full-time positions, that is 1,856m CHF of the total personnel expenditure, thereby pro-viding stable funding and conditions for the employees of the ETH Domain.

27.6 % of the personnel costs are financed from the research contributions (2014: 27.4 %); this high portion amounted to approx. 564m CHF in 2015 (2014: 547 m CHF). Therefore in the year under review a small proportionate shift to a higher proportion of employees financed by research contributions was recorded in the ETH Domain. From the total of employees financed from the research contributions, 372m CHF was attributed to research contributions from the Federal Government and its funding organ-isations, and 192m CHF was attributed to cooperation with the private sector and other third parties (cantons, etc.). A comparison also shows that the percentage of FTEs that are financed by the research contributions (2015: approx. 33.7 %) exceeded the corresponding share of personnel expenditure (2015: 27.6 %).

13 | Other operating expenses

Table 23: Other operating expenses

m CHF


2014


2015


absolute %

Expenses for goods and materials 129 135 6 5

Cost of premises 250 392 141 56

Other operating cost 560 410 – 149 – 27

Total other operating expenses 939 937 – 2 0

The total of other operating expenses remained almost the same as in the previous year. Compared with the 2014 statement, a slight decrease of 2m CHF was recorded and the total was approx. 937m CHF (2014: 939 m CHF). Within the other operating expenses there were proportionate shifts between the main components of cost of premises (+ 141m CHF) and the other operating expenses (– 149m CHF), which practically offset each other. The ratio of total other operating expenses to the total operat-ing expenses was almost 30 %, which indicates a high level of stability in the numbers (2015: 28.8 %; 2014: 29.3 %).

The ETH Domain spent just under 135m CHF for goods and materials in 2015 (2014: 129 m CHF). Included in the expenses for goods and materials are the non-capitalisable fixed assets which means the procurement of equipment whose value is below the threshold (10,000 CHF per item) for capitalisable assets. The total at approx. 25m CHF was lower than the previous year’s level (2014: 31m CHF).

188


The cost of premises includes in particular the accommodation in government-owned property used by the ETH Domain (2015: 273m CHF; 2014: 278m CHF). This total corresponds with the federal contribution to accommodation in revenue (see Notes Section 7). The accommodation expenses is also the largest item in other operating expenses. The rental expense for external rented premises amounted to about 26m CHF in 2015. The decrease of about 7m CHF is because the rental expense for Campus Biotech in Geneva, which was posted by EPFL until the end of 2014, and charged on in each case, ended no longer applied in 2015 (Notes Section 11 Other revenue). The cost of premises includes the costs for maintenance and repair of the infrastructure. In reporting year 2015 these costs amounted to about 93m CHF (2014: 98m CHF). This involves in particular the user- specific adjustments, or the tenants’ improvements, and the non-capitalised parts of the building costs plan (BKP 3 capitali-sation threshold: 100,000 CHF per property) that are included in the operating expenses.

The substantial increase in energy costs had a heavy impact on other operating costs incurred in 2015. Compared with the previous year 2014, additional costs of 7.3m CHF (+ 13.2 %) were registered, resulting in a total of 62m CHF. This increase was the result of higher rates from the power companies, increased demand on cooling systems caused by the weather in summer 2015 and higher demand for gas and district heating. Furthermore, generally higher fees were paid for media (energy, water, waste removal, etc.) and thus significant cost drivers that explain the substantial increase in spend-ing compared with the 2014 statement. For IT and telecommunications (investments and costs), the ETH Domain used about 107m CHF in the year of the report 2015, of which 85m CHF for IT and 22m CHF for investments (2014: 108m CHF).

The amount of other operating expenses is closely related to the number of teaching and research projects that are carried out. The constantly increasing number of research projects put pressure on both the direct costs (cost of goods, cost for It/telecommunications, charges, cost for libraries, etc.) and the indirect costs. The indirect costs relate in particular to the infrastructure (maintenance and repairs to movable and immovable property, plant and equipment). These costs in 2015 amount to just under 92m CHF (2014: 94m CHF) and so remained at a constant high level. This correlates with and matches the development in the main usable area. The total for the cost of premises and for other operating costs again includes the high costs for tenants’ and users’ upgrades (BKP 3 – the non-capi-talised portion) and the generally higher costs for maintenance of the technical systems, similar to the previous year 2014.

Objective 9 of the performance mandate also includes provisions regarding the preservation of the value and functionality of the properties. In addition, measures for a more efficient use of energy were continued and intensified as part of the programme for introducing systematic Resources and Environmental Management of the Swiss Federal Administration (RUMBA) as well as the Federal Gov-ernment’s energy strategy for 2050.

14 | Depreciation and amortisation

The depreciation and amortisation for the reporting year 2015 amounted to 193m CHF. It was thus slightly (+ 5 %) above the previous year’s value (185m CHF).

The higher rate of depreciation and amortisation is associated with the continuous increase in investments in movable property, plant and equipment in the reporting year and the previous years. The total of investments in property, plant and equipment owned by the ETH Domain for the 2015 statement and the two previous years (2015: 287m CHF; 2014: 237m CHF; 2013: 236m CHF) significantly exceeded the amount of the annual rate of depreciation and amortisation in each case. The high investments are also reflected in the increasing procurement cost of f property, plant and equipment (2015: 1,492m CHF; 2014: 1,407m CHF). These processes also had the effect of increasing the amount of depreciation and amortisation in the reporting year 2015, and this trend may continue over the com-ing years.



15 | Transfer expenses

Table 24: Transfer expenses

m CHF


2014


2015


absolute %

Scholarships and grants for students and doctoral students

16 19 3 18

Contributions to research projects: 28 29 1 3

ETH Domain expenses for projects of national significance 3 3

Special initiatives 21 21

Other 5 7

Other transfer expenses 19 27 8 42

Total transfer expenses 63 74 11 18

The total of the transfer costs are included with the funds for the participation in projects of national significance based on Objective 6 (Sub-objective 5) for the performance mandate for 2013–2016 from the Federal Council to the ETH Domain in accordance with the ERI message 2013–2016 (BBI 2012 3147).

The member contributions in other transfer expenses also include the annual costs for member-ships in national and international research organisations.

The higher costs to the ETH Zurich for grants (BSc / MSc) affected the item “Scholarships and grants for students and doctoral students”.

The other transfer expenses of EPFL include the contribution to the Campus Biotech foundation (2015: 5m CHF).

The lower expense for the strategic projects of the ETH Board and the Centres of Competency compared to the 2015 budget (according to BB IV Budget 2015 Vol. 6 Federal Resolutions: 101m CHF) was due to the following causes: The contributions were first budgeted and applied centrally by the ETH Board as transfer expenses, and then assigned during the year to the institutions of the ETH Domain. The institutions then post the funds in other expense categories according to their use. This process is likewise used for the dedicated funding for energy research in accordance with the Energy Strategy 2050 (2015: 16m CHF).

The contributions to research projects include the funds for the SUC projects of national signifi-cance (2015: 26m CHF; 2014 25m CHF). These funds are transferred to the SNSF in the reporting year and posted as expenses in the individual financial statement of the ETH Board. The SNSF selects the pro-jects and assigns the funding competitively to the researchers (see Notes Section 9). This applies in particular to the annual instalments of the contributions to the Swiss initiatives in system biology for SystemsX.ch (2015: 13m CHF; 2014: 13m CHF) and for Nano-Tera.ch (2015: 8m CHF; 2014: 8m CHF). The transfer of the annual instalment for financing the dismantling of the accelerator plants at the PSI (1.8m CHF) is to be entered in the balance sheet as an asset under the non-current financial assets (see Notes Section 23). In the 2015 budget (Vol. 4 Special Accounts 2015 Budget of the Federal Govern-ment) this amount still figures under transfer expenses in the budget of the ETH Board.

The credit reallocation of 21m CHF had the effect of increasing the federal financial contribution at the expense of investment credits for ETH Domain buildings. The corresponding increase in the budgeted expense for 2015 was implemented in the budgeted transfer expenses for 2015, as in pre-vious years, which explains the internal increase of the 2015 budget from the original figure of 101m CHF according to Federal Resolution IV of 01.12.2014, to 122m CHF.

190


16 | Financial revenue

Table 25: Financial revenue

m CHF


2014


2015


absolute %

Interest 4 3 – 2 – 39

Income from investments 3 3 – n. a.

Market value adjustments 8 3 – 5 – 62

Other financial revenue incl. currency translation differences 12 21 9 77

Total financial revenue 28 29 1 6

The funds are invested on the basis of the treasury agreement between the Federal Finance Admin-istration and the ETH Board concerning the ETH Domain of 29.11.2007.

The ETH Board issued the investment guidelines based on Art. 34c paragraph 2 of the ETH Act (SR 414.440) which came into effect on 01.01.2008. The two Federal Institutes of Technology and the four research institutes defined their own investment strategies on this basis. In addition, the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the four research institutes give an annual account of the per-formance of the financial investments and any planned measures, in accordance with Section 4 (6) of the investment guidelines issued by the ETH Board.

The composition of the financial revenue has changed compared to last year. The poor market con-ditions resulted in negative market value adjustments in the asset management mandates (– 5m CHF). By contrast, positive currency differences for IPSAS 23 receivables (+ 12m CHF) were posted under other financial revenue.

17 | Financial expense

Table 26: Financial expense

m CHF


2014


2015


absolute %

Interest expense – – – n. a.

Financing costs (without interest expense) – – – n. a.

Value adjustment on financial investments 13 18 4 32

Other financial expense incl. currency translation differences

9 20 11 126

Total financial expense 22 38 16 71

The increase in financial expense is primarily traceable to other financial expenses. This primarily involves currency differences for high IPSAS 23 liabilities in euros for EPFL (+ 12m CHF).

The market value adjustments and value adjustments of financial assets is composed mainly of the share of losses (3.9m CHF) and a value adjustment (6.3m CHF) of the loan by EPFL to the SQNE.



18 | Cash and cash equivalents

Table 27: Cash and cash equivalents

m CHF 2014 2015

Difference vs. 2014

absolute %

Cash 1 1 – n. a.

Swiss Post 185 186 1 1

Bank 90 38 – 52 – 58

Short-term deposits (< 90 days) 537 306 – 231 – 43

Total cash and cash equivalents 813 531 – 282 – 35

The stock of cash and cash equivalents fell significantly in the year under review by 282m CHF to 531m CHF. The total is comprised mainly of investments made on the basis of the treasury agree-ment between the Federal Finance Administration and the ETH Board concerning the ETH Domain funding (of 19 November 2007). These are mainly the funds from the dedicated third-party resources or reserves which are temporarily deposited in the federal treasury before they are used in teaching and research. The decrease is mainly due to the reallocation from short-term investments (< 90 days) to current financial assets (> 90 days). Of the short-term investments by the end of 2015, 255m CHF is attributable to investments with the Federal Government (2014: 532m CHF).

For the short-term investments there were inflows of 140m CHF and outflows of a total of 371m CHF.

19 | Receivables

Table 28: Receivables

m CHF 2014 2015

Difference vs. 2014

absolute %

Current receivables

Receivables from exchange transactions 45 30 – 14 – 32

Receivables from non-exchange transactions 79 103 24 30

Receivables from ETH Domain and Confederation 10 24 14 137

Other receivables 7 16 9 116

Value adjustments – 2 – 2 – n. a.

Total current receivables 139 172 33 23

Non-current receivables

Receivables from non-exchange transactions 1,062 1,030 – 32 – 3

Receivables from ETH Domain and Confederation – 10 10 n. a.

Other receivables – – – –

Value adjustments – – – –

Total non-current receivables 1,062 1,040 – 22 – 2

The total receivables increased slightly as at the end of 2015, by 11m to 1,212 m CHF.The biggest gain was recorded in current receivables from non-exchange transactions as defined

in IPSAS 23, of 30 %. This is attributable to a more detailed allocation of current and non- current IPSAS 23 receivables. In particular the current receivables from non-exchange transactions in creased significantly for EPFL (+ 17m CHF) and Empa (+ 9.5m CHF). For EPFL this was specially due to the increased receivables from the Canton of Wallis in connection with EPFL in Sion. The PSI on the other hand recorded a decrease of 8.4m CHF which is attributable to project transactions. The other receivables increased overall by 9m CHF. This is primarily attributable to the payment in advance of the SUVA premiums by ETH Zurich.

192


Value adjustments of 2m CHF were recorded for the at-risk receivables.The non-current receivables from non-exchange transactions decreased by 32m CHF. This reduc-

tion is comprised of a decrease in receivables for EFPL, PSI and Empa, and an increase for the WSL by 11m CHF.

20 | Inventories

Table 29: Inventories

m CHF 2014 2015

Difference vs. 2014

absolute %

Inventories purchased 12 11 – – 3

Inventories self-produced – – – –

Total inventories 12 11 – – 3

The inventories entered in the balance sheet for the past fiscal year are almost unchanged at over 11m CHF. Basically the ETH Domain does not have considerable inventories or its own products to sell. The inventories contain recurring warehouse items such as chemicals, laboratory materials and test materials that are used in teaching and in research. An annual physical inventory is done for stocks with a total value of more than 100,000 CHF, while an estimate is made for the other inventories.

21 | Prepaid expenses and accrued income

Table 30: Prepaid expenses and accrued income

m CHF 2014 2015

Difference vs. 2014

absolute %

Interest – – – –

Other prepaid expenses and accrued income 54 45 – 9 – 16

Total prepaid expenses and accrued income 54 45 – 9 – 16

The prepaid expenses and accrued income decreased slightly by 9m CHF in the year under review, compared to the previous year. While at ETH Zurich an increase in the item by about 2m CHF was recorded due to higher prepayments for IT maintenance, insurance, media procurement for 2016, and leasing, the accrued income and prepaid expenses at EPFL fell by more than 5m because fewer invoices were paid in advance than in the previous year.



22 | Tangible fixed assets and intangible assets

Tangible fixed assets

Table 31: Tangible fixed assets

m CHF 2014 2015

Difference vs. 2014

absolute %

Furnishings, vehicles, other movable goods 17 15 – 3 – 15

Machinery, tools and operational equipment 875 865 – 11 – 1

IT Hardware 67 46 – 20 – 30

Advance payments, mobile installations under construction 143 213 70 49

Total movable assets 1,102 1,139 37 3

Property 6 6 – n. a.

Buildings 159 185 26 16

Biotopes and geotopes – – – –

Assets under construction 140 163 23 16

Total immovable assets 305 354 49 16

Total tangible fixed assets 1,407 1,493 85 6

The balance sheet value of the tangible fixed assets increased by 85m CHF to 1,493m CHF. This is mainly due to the marked increase (+ 93m CHF) in the installations under construction, in both movable and immovable assets, which are related to the user-specific tenants’ upgrades. The buildings also recorded a significant increase. The movable fixed assets increased by 37m CHF (+ 3 %). With the excep-tion of installations under construction, the book value of items in the movable fixed assets (movable goods, machines, IT) increased in comparison to 2014. Strong growth of 49m CHF (+ 16 %) was recorded for the book value of the immovable assets compared to the previous year 2014.

The asset value (book value) of the total tangible fixed assets used by the ETH Domain – regardless of the question of ownership – amounted to approx. 5,808m CHF by the end of 2015 (of which: 4,316m CHF in the ownership of the Federal Government and entered as assets in the balance sheet of the Federal Government).

Movable assetsAbout 484m CHF of the book value of the item Machinery, tools and operational equipment (2015: 865m CHF) were held by the PSI. This mainly refers to the remaining value of the capitalised dis-mantling of the accelerator plants at the PSI. A cost study by the Federal Government in 2011 on the waste disposal costs for nuclear power plants included an estimate of the total costs for the shutting down and dismantling of government installations. The share for the PSI was determined to be 425.9m CHF. This share of the PSI for the costs of shutting down and dismantling the accelerator plants was entered as an asset under machinery, equipment, technical operational facilities and at the same time entered as a liability in the long-term provisions in borrowed capital, and is to be depreciated linearly over time.

The balance sheet value of Information Technology fell significantly by 20m CHF compared to 2014 (residual value in 2015: 46m CHF). In 2014 large amounts were invested in the HPCN of the CSCS (ETH Zurich). This was not the case in 2015. In addition, the ETH Zurich took measures in 2015 to update the ICT equipment and wrote off older, already depreciated equipment.

194


Immovable assets: buildings / propertyThe item Buildings mainly include the capitalisation in connection with the immovable portion of the users’ and tenants’ upgrades (BKP 3) that are owned by the ETH Domain. The balance sheet value for this was 185m CHF at the end of 2015. This mainly involves upgrading premises in property owned by the Federal Government or in rented buildings (tenants’ upgrades).

The book value of the buildings and property owned by the ETH Domain without residual value from the BKP 3 items amounted to 17m CHF at the end of 2015, and they are all owned by ETH Zurich. A finance lease for ETH Zurich (17m CHF) is likewise entered in the buildings subtotal.

Mobile installations / assets under construction / advance paymentsAmong the installations under construction, the investments made in connection with the tenants’ and users’ upgrades were of particular importance. Also included here are the internally produced and capitalised assets of the PSI for SwissFEL.

The marked increase compared to 2014 – 93m CHF – mainly relates to the PSI and its in stallations under construction for SwissFEL (approx. 75m CHF). A significant portion of the increase, approx. 15m CHF, also relates to installations under construction at EPFL. Of the total volume of installations under con-struction, and specifically the capitalised advance payments which amounted to a total of 376m CHF at the end of 2015, a full 103m CHF was just for the user-specific tenants’ upgrades at ETH Zurich; and 217m CHF was for the capitalisation of user-specific tenants’ upgrades and capitalisation associated with SwissFEL at the PSI.



Table 32: Change in tangible fixed assets 2015

m CHF

Total tangible

fixed assets

Total movable

assets

Furnish-ings,

vehicles, other

movable goods

Machinery, tools and

operational equipment IT Hardware

Advance payments,

mobile installations

under construction

Total immovable

assets Property Buildings

Biotopes and

geotopes

Assets under

construction

Cost

Status as of 1 January 2015 2,885 2,519 57 1,981 338 143 367 6 220 – 140

Additions 287 207 2 103 22 81 80 – 22 – 59

Reclassifications – – – 8 – – 8 – – 27 – – 27

Disposals – 102 – 92 – 1 – 39 – 50 – 2 – 9 – – – – 9

Status as of 31 December 2015 3,071 2,634 58 2,052 310 213 437 6 268 – 163

Accumulated depreciation

Status as of 1 January 2015 1,478 1,417 40 1,106 271 – 61 – 61 – –

Depreciation and amortisation 187 164 4 118 43 – 22 – 22 – –

Impairments 1 1 – 1 – – – – – – –

Reversed impairments – – – – – – – – – –

Reclassifications – – – – – – – – – – –

Disposals value adjustments – 88 – 88 – 1 – 37 – 50 – – – – – –

Status as of 31 December 2015 1,578 1,495 44 1,187 264 – 83 – 83 – –

Balance sheet value as of 31 December 2015

1,493 1,139 15 865 46 213 354 6 185 – 163

thereof leased assets 17 – 17

Table 33: Change in tangible fixed assets 2014

m CHF

Total tangible

fixed assets

Total movable

assets

Furnish-ings,

vehicles, other

movable goods

Machinery, tools and

operational equipment IT Hardware

Advance payments,

mobile installations

under construction

Total immovable

assets Property Buildings

Biotopes and

geotopes

Assets under

construction

Cost

Status as of 1 January 2014 2,324 2,013 55 1,494 321 144 311 6 163 – 142

Additions 639 587 4 502 30 51 52 – 9 – 43

Reclassifications – – 10 – 32 – – 42 10 – 54 – – 45

Disposals – 78 – 72 – 1 – 47 – 13 – 10 – 6 – – 6 – –

Status as of 31 December 2014 2,885 2,519 57 1,981 338 143 367 6 220 – 140


Status as of 1 January 2014 1,359 1,313 36 1,036 237 46 – 50 –

Depreciation and amortisation 180 164 5 113 46 – 16 – 16 – –

Impairments – – – – – – – – – – –

Reversed impairments – 4 – 4 – – 4 – – – – – –

Reclassifications – – 4 – – – 4 – – –

Disposals value adjustments – 58 – 53 – 1 – 39 – 13 – – 5 – – 5 – –

Status as of December 2014 1,478 1,417 40 1,106 271 – 61 – 61 – –

Balance sheet value as of 31 December 2014

1,407 1,102 17 875 67 143 305 6 159 – 140

thereof leased assets – – –

The total Procurement cost of tangible fixed assets amounted to 3,071m CHF at the end of 2015 (+ 186m CHF). This increase is divided between Machinery, tools and operational equipment (+ 72m CHF), Buildings (+ 49m CHF) and Installations Under Construction (+ 93m CHF).

The large additions at the PSI and at ETH Zurich were of particular importance for the overall in crease.

196


The purchase values for IT decreased. The main reason for this was that ETH Zurich adjusted its asset history sheet and wrote off IT goods that had long since been depreciated. In addition, IT had recorded high investments in previous years, particularly in connection with the implementation of the national strategy for High Performance Computing and Networking (HPCN). This resulted in correspondingly high depreciation. This depreciation exceeded the value of the additions in 2015. There were reallo-cations between the asset classes Installations under construction and Property, i. e. as completed installations with tenants’ and users’ upgrades were entered as assets. The completed installations were for example the LCA building for CSCS in Lugano, the facilities in the LFO building, and the first stage of the new LEE CLA 4 building for ETH Zurich, the plant protection laboratory for the WSL, and equipment in the “Aquatikum” building for Eawag.

The amount of Accumulated value adjustments increased in the reporting year, to – 1,578m CHF. The amount of depreciation for technical equipment and machines continued to increase, and was slightly higher than the average of recent years, at 119m CHF. The amount of depreciation is directly related to the higher level of investment in previous years.

Intangible assets

Table 34: Intangible assets

m CHF 2014 2015

Difference vs. 2014

absolute %

Software 2 2 – 14

Licences, patents, trademarks – – – – 50

Other intangible assets – – – 0

Intangible assets in realisation – 2 1 335

Total intangible assets 3 4 2 59



Table 35: Change in intangible assets 2015

m CHF

Total intangible

assets 2015 Software

Licences, patents,

trademarks

Other intangible

assets

Intangible assets in

realisation

Cost

Status as of 1 January 2015 16 15 – – –

Additions 3 1 – – 1

Reclassifications – – – – –

Disposals – 2 – 2 – – –

Status as of 31 December 2015 17 15 – – 2



Depreciation and amortisation 1 1 – – –

Impairments – – – – –

Reversed impairments – – – – –


Disposals value adjustments – 2 – 2 – – –

Status as of 31 December 2015 13 13 – – –

Balance sheet value as of 31 December 2015 4 2 – – 2

thereof leased assets –

Table 36: Change in intangible assets 2014 *

m CHF

Total intangible

assets 2014 Software

Licences, patents,

trademarks

Other intangible

assets

Intangible assets in

realisation

Cost


Additions 2 2 – – –


Disposals – – – – –




Depreciation and amortisation 1 1 – – –

Impairments 1 1 – – –

Reversed impairments – – – – –


Disposals value adjustments – – – – –


Balance sheet value as of 31 December 2014 3 2 – – –

thereof leased assets –

* The 2014 values are only partly comparable with 2015, because no complete retroactive assessment of the internally produced and capitalised assets was made (simplifying the restatement).

The Intangible assets include activated licenses, patents, rights and software. The book value of the intangible assets increased by 1m CHF over the previous year, to 4m CHF. This increase is mainly due to projects in the realisation phase at EPFL.

198


23 | Financial assets

Table 37: Financial assets

m CHF 2014 2015

Difference vs. 2014

absolute %

Current financial assets

Securities, discounted papers and fixed deposits 123 147 23 19

Positive replacement values – – – –

Short-terms loans – 1 – n. a.

Other short-term financial assets 795 1,086 292 37

Total current financial assets 918 1,235 316 34

Non-current financial assets

Securities, discounted papers and fixed deposits – – – –

Long-term loans 19 15 – 4 – 22

Other long-term financial assets 10 14 3 34

Total non-current financial assets 30 29 – 1 – 3

The current financial assets increased by 316m CHF over the preceding year. This is mainly due to the reallocation of the financial assets in relation to the Federal Government at EPFL. These now have a term of more than three months and are therefore listed with the other current financial assets (+ 292m CHF). The increase in securities, discount papers and fixed deposits is due to the increase in the asset manage-ment mandate of ETH Zurich.

Deposits with the Federal Government account for the majority of the current financial assets (1,065m CHF), as well as the asset management mandate of ETH Zurich (approx. 138m CHF).

The non-current financial assets fell slightly (1m CHF). This is primarily the result of the reduction in long-term loans. Loans from EPFL to the SQNE were revalued (– 6m CHF).

Of the total financial assets (1,264m CHF), at the end of 2015 about 1,070m CHF were placed with the Federal Government (2014: 782m CHF) and 194m CHF with private financial institutions (2014: 166m CHF).



24 | Investments

Table 38: Investments held for each institution of the ETH Domain

CHF

Balance sheet value

2014Acquisition

valueValue

adjustmentFair value

2015

Share in capital

(in %) Institution

Total investments held 2,515,772 2,234,074 – 100 2,233,974

Alstom Inspection Robotics AG 24,000 24,000 – 24,000 24.00 ETH Zurich

Business Tools AG – 16,700 – 16,700 33.40 ETH Zurich

ETH Zürich SEC AG 100,000 100,000 – 100,000 100.00 ETH Zurich

ETH Store AG 100,000 100,000 – 100,000 50.00 ETH Zurich

Inspire AG 34,000 34,100 – 100 34,000 34.00 ETH Zurich

SQIE, Société pour le Quartier de l’Innovation EPFL 2,172,172 1,443,674 – 1,443,674 95.00 EPFL

AT Advanced Accelerator Technologies AG, Villigen – 25,000 – 25,000 25.00 PSI

Dectris AG 35,600 35,600 – 35,600 20.00 PSI

Eulitha AG 20,000 20,000 – 20,000 20.00 PSI

Hydromethan AG 20,000 20,000 – 20,000 20.00 PSI

innovAARE AG, Villigen – 330,000 – 330,000 15.14 PSI

leadXpro AG, Villigen – 75,000 – 75,000 30.00 PSI

SLS Techno Trans AG 10,000 10,000 – 10,000 9.09 PSI

Based on Art. 3a of the ETH Act (SR 414.110), and as part of the performance mandate and the direc-tives of the ETH Board concerning investment in companies in the ETH Domain of 9 July 2014, the two Federal Institutes of Technology and the research institutes are allowed to set up companies, partic-ipate in them, or collaborate in some other manner with third parties, in order to fulfil their tasks.

In the ETH Domain such investments are currently held by EPFL, ETH Zurich and the PSI.ETH Zurich has a 100 % holding in ETH Zurich SEC AG, which was unchanged as of 31 December 2015.

EPFL likewise held as of 95 % holding in the SQIE (Société pour le Quartier de l’Innovation EPFL) that was unchanged as of 31 December 2015. In agreement with the transitional regulations (see Devi-ation 1) for the introduction of IPSAS, the investments are treated in a similar way to that used in the previous accounting method and no sub-consolidation is performed.

200


25 | Co-financing

Table 39: Co-financing

m CHF 2014 2015

Difference vs. 2014

absolute %

Cost

Status as of 1 January 121 126 5 4

Additions 5 22 18 374

Disposals – – – –

Status as of 31 December 126 148 22 18

Accumulated value adjustments

Status as of 1 January 17 20 3 16

Depreciation and amortisation 3 4 1 48

Disposals – – – –

Status as of 31 December 20 24 4 21

Balance sheet value as of 31 December 106 124 18 17

The additions amounting to a total of 18m CHF in 2015 include the following co-financing items for government-owned property: at ETH Zurich 5m CHF were co-financed for the HIB building and 0.6m CHF were co-financed for the HIA building on Hönggerberg. EPFL received co-financing amounting to a total of 16m CHF for both the buildings, Under one Roof (UoR) and ME on the campus of EPFL. The NEST property (Empa) was co-financed in the year of the report 2015 with 0.5m CHF from AWEL and the Göhner foundation. Value adjustment for the co-financing with annual depreciation resulted in a balance sheet value of 124m CHF by the end of 2015. No disposals were recorded in 2015.

26 | Current liabilities

Table 40: Current liabilities

m CHF 2014 2015

Difference vs. 2014

absolute %

Trade payables 70 85 15 21

Liabilities to social insurance institutions 29 19 – 10 – 35

Other current liabilities 81 79 – 1 – 2

Total current liabilities 180 183 3 2

The current liabilities are mainly the pending supplier invoices which will only be paid in the follow-ing year. The total of 183m CHF in 2015 represents only a slight increase over the previous year. The increase is predominantly due to the larger procurements and financial obligations of ETH Zurich and EPFL (+ 15m CHF). On the other hand, the liabilities vis-à-vis social insurance institutions dropped by 10m CHF.



27 | Financial liabilities

Short-term financial liabilities

Table 41: Short-term financial liabilities

m CHF 2014 2015

Difference vs. 2014

absolute %

Liabilities to financial institutes – – – –

Short-term finance lease liabilities – – – –

Negative replacement values – – – –

Other short-term financial liabilities 1 1 – n. a.

Total short-term financial liabilities 1 2 – n. a.

The short-term financial liabilities in the reporting year 2015 were at a low level, as they were already in 2014, and are almost unchanged.

Long-term financial liabilities

Table 42: Long-term financial liabilities

m CHF 2014 2015

Difference vs. 2014

absolute %

Long-term finance lease liabilities – 17 17 n. a.

Other long-term financial liabilities 18 23 5 28

Total long-term financial liabilities 18 40 22 123

The long-term financial liabilities increased overall by 22m CHF to 40m CHF by the end of the year under review. This significant increase is primarily due to liabilities from finance leases, which rose to 17m CHF in 2015. The finance leasing includes the new HCP office and seminar building on the Hönggerberg campus of ETH Zurich. Here the cash value of the future minimum lease payments was entered in the balance sheet as a liability in accordance with IPSAS 13. The other financial liabilities also increased, by 5m CHF or 28 %, and include the SQNE for EPFL.

202


Table 43: Finance lease

m CHF

Futureminimum

leasingpayments

2015

Future financialexpenses

2015

Present value of future

minimum leasing pay-

ments and financial expenses

2015

Due date

Due within 1 year 1 1 –

Due within 1 to 5 years 6 5 1

Due after more than 5 years 32 17 16

Total as of 31 December 39 22 17


2015

Leasing expenses

Lease payments expensed in period –

Additional details

Future revenue from sublease (from non-cancellable contracts) –

ETH Zurich has two leasing agreements with Immobilien ETHZF AG for office and teaching buildings (HCP1 and HCP2) which are classified as finance leases. The buildings were occupied in September 2015 and the agreements run until 30 June 2043 and 30 August 2044.

There are no options for extension or purchase. The net rent is indexed at 80 %, however, and can be adjusted at the end of each year.

28 | Accrued expenses and deferred income

Table 44: Accrued expenses and deferred income

m CHF 2014 2015


absolute %

Interest – – – –

Other accrued expenses and deferred income 118 123 5 4

Total accrued expenses and deferred income 118 123 5 4

The accrued expenses and deferred income increased by 5m CHF to 123m CHF by the end of the year under review. This is primarily attributable to increased accrued expenses and deferred income for ETH Zurich (+ 2m CHF) and the PSI (+ 3.4m CHF), which is due to the change in the accruals of pro-jects.



29 | Provisions

Table 45: Provisions – summary

m CHF 2014 2015


absolute %

Provisions for overtime and vacation 83 83 – n. a.

Other long-term employee benefits (IPSAS 25) 68 72 4 5

Dismantling 426 426 – n. a.

Guarantees and warranties – – – –

Litigations 1 1 – 1 n. a.

Other provisions 1 1 – n. a.

Total provisions 579 582 4 1

Table 46: Provisions – derivation 2015

m CHF

Provisions for overtime and

vacation

Other long-term employee

benefits (IPSAS 25) Dismantling

Guarantees and

warranties LitigationsOther

provisionsTotal

provisions

as of 1 January 2015 83 68 426 – 1 1 579

Creation (incl. increase) 2 4 – – – 1 7

Reversal – 2 – – – – 1 – – 3

Appropiation – – – – – – –

Reclassification – – – – – – –

Increase of present value – – – – – – –

as of 31 December 2015 83 72 426 – 1 1 582

of which short-term 83 – – – – 1 84

of which long-term – 72 426 – – – 498

Table 47: Provisions – derivation 2014

m CHF

Provisions for overtime and

vacation

Other long-term employee

benefits (IPSAS 25) Dismantling

Guarantees and

warranties LitigationsOther

provisionsTotal

provisions

as of 1 January 2014 82 63 70 – 2 2 219

Creation (incl. increase) 2 5 356 – – 1 364

Reversal – 2 – – – – – 2 – 4

Appropiation – – – – – – –

Reclassification – – – – – – –

Increase of present value – – – – – – –

as of 31 December 2014 83 68 426 – 1 1 579

of which short-term 83 – – – – 1 83

of which long-term – 68 426 – 1 – 495

There were no significant changes to the provisions in the reporting year compared to the previous year.The additional benefits for staff consisted of provisions for holidays and overtime and have not

changed from the previous year. This credit for the employees is classified as short-term. The calcu-lation of the holiday and overtime credit is done by institution and consists of a transitional regula-tion (see Notes Section 2 Principles of Accounting, Deviation 2) concerning the level of detail for the calculation. The likelihood of an outflow of funds is difficult to estimate.

204


The other benefits due under IPSAS 25 include the acquired long service awards / loyalty bonuses, which are to be valued by independent actuaries using the projected unit credit method. There was a slight increase in in these provisions in the year of the report (+ 4m CHF).

The amount of other provisions include in particular 426m CHF for the dismantling of the accelerator plants and the disposal of radioactive components at the PSI. The estimation of the provisions is based on the 2011 cost study by the Federal Government, which includes both the total costs for waste disposal (conditioning, interim storage, dismantling / shutting down, deep geological repository) as well as the allocation scheme for the costs expected up until 2100. Due to unforeseeable developments in this area it is not possible to make a reliable statement on the progress of costs (see Notes Section 4 Uncertain-ties in Estimates and Management Judgements), and it was decided not to discount the reserves.

30 | Net defined benefit liabilities

In the pension scheme of the ETH Domain at PUBLICA, three pension plans are managed for the employ-ees and one for the professors. The assignment of employees to a pension plan is done based on their particular pay scale. According to IPSAS 25, the pension plans are qualified as performance-oriented (“defined benefit”) based on the regulatory performance commitments.

The regulatory coverage ratio for the ETH Domain’s pension scheme at PUBLICA, in accordance with BVV 2 (Ordinance on the Swiss Occupational Pensions Act), amounted to 100.5 % at the end of the year (2014: 105.7 %). The economic coverage ratio for the ETH Domain’s pension scheme at PUBLICA was 72.7 % at the end of the year (2014: 81.3 %).

No further changes were made to the pension plan in 2015, so there was no past service cost to be applied later within the net pension cost.

Table 48: Net defined benefit liabilities

m CHF


2014


2015

Present value of funded defined benefit obligation – 7,861 – 8,325

Fair value of plan assets 6,369 6,225

Surplus (+) / deficit (–) – 1,491 – 2,099

Present value of unfunded defined benefit obligation – –

Net defined benefit liabilites – 1,491 – 2,099

The increase in the net defined benefit liabilities is mainly due to the valuation of liabilities using a lower discounted interest rate.

Table 49: Analysis of profit and losses charge / (credit)

m CHF


2014


2015

Current net service cost 211 247

Interest cost 99 61

Expected return on plan assets – 178 – 189

Immediate recognition of (gain) / loss from other long-term employee benefits – –

Past service cost – –

Total charge / (credit) recognised in profit and loss 133 120

The net profit and losses charge for the employer is composed of the employer’s past service cost and the interest expense for the pension liabilities less the expected yield on the pension assets. Possible events such as plan curtailments and plan settlements must also be considered. The net charge / (credit) recognised in profit and loss of the ETH Domain in 2015 amounted to 120m CHF (previous year: 133m CHF). A net charge / (credit) recognised in profit and loss of 127m CHF is expected for next year.



The employer contributions are set by the regulations, and the savings contributions are graded by age and increase as the age increases. In accordance with the valuation methods of IPSAS 25, the past service cost is calculated so that the financing of the defined benefit liability is distributed equally across the entire duration of employment. This can lead to differences between the employer con-tributions and the employer’s past service cost. The paid employer contributions in 2015 amounted to 199m CHF (previous year: 188m CHF), and include a one-off investment of 4m CHF for the year 2015. The employer’s past service cost amounted to 247m CHF (previous year: 211m CHF). The higher, current past service cost is explained by the valuation method in accordance with IPSAS 25, based on the number of persons currently insured and by applying the technical insurance assumptions.

The estimated employer contributions for 2016 amount to 205m CHF.

Table 50: Change in present value of defined benefit obligation during year

m CHF


2014


2015

Defined benefit obligation as of 1 January 7,055 7,861

Plan improvements (past service cost) – –

Current net service cost 211 247

Interest cost 99 61

Employee contributions 99 107

Net benefits paid – 269 – 288

Liability (gain) / loss due to experience – 1 80

Liability (gain) / loss due to assumption changes 666 257

Defined benefit obligation as of 31 December 7,861 8,325

Table 51: Change in fair value of plan assets during year

m CHF


2014


2015

Fair value of pension fund assets as of 1 January 6,010 6,369

Employer contributions 188 199

Employee contributions 99 107

Net benefits paid – 269 – 288

Expected return on plan assets 178 189

Actuarial gain / (loss) on plan assets 165 – 351

Fair value of plan assets as of 31 December 6,369 6,225

Table 52: Analysis of amounts recognised in equity

m CHF


2014


2015

Liability (gain / loss due to changes in assumptions 666 257

Liability (gain) / loss due to experience – 1 80

Asset (gain) / loss – 165 351

Allowance for true-up of opening balance sheet – –

Change in irrecoverable surplus, effect of limit in paragraph 69(b) – –

Total amount recognised in equity 501 688

Cumulative amount of (gain) / loss recognised in equity 501 1,188

The amounts recognised in equity in 2015 amounted to 688m CHF (previous year: 501m CHF). This results in a total accrued amount as of 31 December 2015 of 1,188m CHF (previous year: 501m CHF).

206


Table 53: Percentage of plan assets invested in asset category

Percentage


2014


2015

Liquidity 2.83 2.24

Shares 30.66 30.44

Bonds 57.58 58.21

Mortgages 0.52 0.46

Real estate 4.83 5.00

Commodities 3.58 3.65

Total percentage of plan assets invested in asset category 100.00 100.00

There are no known financial investments of the ETH Domain’s pension fund with the employer or pension fund real estate used by the employer.

The expected revenues were determined from the allocation of the assets of the ETH Domain’s pension fund.

Table 54: Actual return on plan assets

m CHF


2014


2015

Expected return on plan assets 178 189

Actuarial gain / (loss) on plan assets 165 – 351

Actual return on plan assets 343 – 163

The cash value of the defined benefit obligation is determined annually by independent actuaries using the projected unit credit method. Technical insurance assumptions are required for this. The discounted interest rate of 0.4 % was determined based on government bonds.

Table 55: Key assumptions used to determine the defined benefit obligation at end of year and profit and loss charge for new financial year

Percentage


2014


2015

Discount rate 0.80 0.40

Underlying consumer price inflation 0.80 0.60

Rate of future compensation increases 1.15 0.90

Rate of pension increases 0.10 0.00

Expected rate of return on pension fund assets 3.00 2.75

Table 56: Key assumptions used to determine profit and loss charge for current financial year

Percentage


2014


2015

Discount rate 1.45 0.80

Underlying consumer price inflation 0.70 0.80

Rate of future compensation increases 1.15 1.15

Rate of pension increases 0.10 0.10

Expected rate of return on pension fund assets 3.00 3.00



Table 57: History of asset values, DBO, surplus (+) / deficit (–) and experience gain / (loss)

m CHF


2012


2013


2014


2015

Fair value of plan assets, end of period n. a. 6,010 6,369 6,225

Present value of funded defined benefit obligation (DBO), end of period

n. a. – 7,055 – 7,861 – 8,325

Surplus (+) / deficit (–) n. a. – 1,045 – 1,491 – 2,099

Present value of unfunded defined benefit obligation (DBO), end of period

n. a. – – –

Experience gain / (loss) on plan assets n. a. n. a. 165 – 351

Experience gain / (loss) on DBO n. a. n. a. 1 – 80

31 | Dedicated third-party funds

Table 58: Dedicated third-party funds

m CHF


2014


2015

Difference vs. 2014

absolute %

Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) 464 483 18 4

Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) 83 59 – 24 – 29

EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation (FP) 334 326 – 7 – 2

Special federal funding of applied research 130 135 5 4

Industry- oriented research (private sector) 90 84 – 6 – 7

Other project-oriented third-party funding 77 77 1 1

Donations and bequests 145 128 – 17 – 12

Total dedicated third-party funds 1,323 1,293 – 31 – 2

The dedicated third-party funds are income that may only be used for the specified research project. This item decreased in the reporting period by 31m CHF to 1,293m CHF. The decrease of 2 % was mainly due to a decrease in research contributions from the Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) by 24m CHF. In 2015 it was no longer possible to obtain such a large order volume for the SCCER pro-jects (Coordinated Energy Research Switzerland) as had been obtained in 2014. A decline by 7m CHF in the research contributions from the European Union also resulted in a decrease in the dedicated third-party funds. This decrease is attributable to the phasing out of the 7 th re search programme (FP7) of the European Commission. The other project-oriented third-party funding also decreased in the reporting year, because the large projects came to an end and could not be replaced on the same scale. These decreases were partly compensated for by other research contracts from the Federal Government (Swiss National Forest Inventory 2016–2019). The amount of donations and bequests decreased slightly as well.

208


32 | Contingent liabilities and contingent receivables

Contingent liabilities

Table 59: Contingent liabilities

m CHF


2015

Guarantees –

Warranties 1

Litigation –

Other 965

Total contingent liabilities 966

There is a guarantee in the amount of 1m CHF at EPFL to cover possible foreign VAT.At ETH Zurich there are legal proceedings in progress due to unwarranted fee claims concerning a

signposting concept from a discontinued contract (0.2m CHF).EFPL lists under other contingent liabilities the possible effects of joint liability from tenancies

associated with the simple partnerships controlled by EPFL. At the end of 2015, these were comprised as follows:

—— SQIE: total 309 m CHF The tenancy lasts until 30 April 2041 (31 years).

—— SQNE: total 525m CHF The tenancy lasts until 28 February 2044 (30 years).

—— Campus Biotech: total 124m CHFThe University of Geneva and the Campus Biotech foundation in Geneva hold joint and several

liability until 30 June 2043.

In addition, at EPFL there are contingent liabilities in connection with repairs to three buildings on Campus Biotech amounting to 9m CHF. The time of occurrence here is at the end of the contract on 30 June 2043.

Contingent receivables

Table 60: Contingent receivables

m CHF


2015

Off-balance sheet receivables 1

Other –

Total contingent receivables 1

The receivables not entered on the balance sheet include damage claims from water damage to a new building in Hönggerberg for the ETH Zurich in the amount of 1m CHF. A settlement agreement has been created. The time of occurrence for this contingent receivable is not yet known. The probability of an inflow of funds is 80 %.

ETH Zurich receives research funding and donations from third parties, for which it is not possible to present the not yet transferred funds as receivables in accordance with IPSAS 23. These entries do, it is true, bear the essential features of an asset, but the future, proportionate inflow of funds to ETH Zurich cannot be reliably determined and quantified for these contracts.



This involves the following activities:—— At least 50 research contracts with the SNSF on which several partners are working. ETH Zurich is responsible for the project coordination and payment processing. The allocation of the amounts of funding for the projects is periodically discussed with the contractual partners. The distribu-tion of the contractual amount to the partners is not specified in the contract.

—— Donation from Hansjörg Wyss of 120m USD for the Wyss Translational Centre Zurich (WTZ), a centre for translational research between ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, which was established in December 2014. The remaining funds are expected to be received in the next ten years; the apportioning to the University and ETH is done based on the planned projects and operating costs.

—— To date ETH Zurich has received more than 100m CHF from the estate of Dr. Branco Weiss, which was invested in the programme “Society in Science” of “The Branco Weiss Fellowship” to support young researchers. In the next few years one can expect an inflow of funds from liqui-dations that are still due; at present it is not possible to state the magnitude of these.

33 | Financial committments

Table 61: Financial committments

m CHF


2015

Financial committments <= 1 year 38

Financial committments from 1 to 5 years 4

Financial committments > 5 years –

no due date / not defined 9

Total financial committments 51

The financial committments refer primarily to open orders and mainly affect ETH Zurich (41m CHF) and EPFL (10m CHF).

34 | Operating lease

Table 62: Operating lease

m CHF


2015

Due dates

Due within 1 year 18

Due within 1 to 5 years 48

Due after more than 5 years 113

Future minimum payments for non-cancellable operating lease 179

Leasing expenses

Minimum lease payments 23

Conditional lease payments –

Payments from subleasing –

Leasing payments of current period 23

Additional details

Future revenue from sublease (from non-cancellable contracts) –

210


The largest leasing agreements are those of ETH Zurich (future minimum lease payments in the amount of 97m CHF) and EPFL (future minimum lease payments in the amount of 73m CHF). This primarily involves the rental of various properties. In addition, Empa has rental agreements and other leases with a volume of about 8m CHF.

The leasing expenses for the period are divided among ETH Zurich (17m CHF), EPFL (4m CHF) and Empa (2m CHF).

35 | Foreign currency differences

In 2015 a net amount of 0.7m CHF in foreign currency gains were posted in the income statement.

36 | Remuneration for key management personnel

Table 63: Remuneration to key management personnel

1,000 CHF


2015

ETH Board 682

Directorate 2,374

Personnel expenses for key management personnel 3,056

Table 64: Key positions

FTE


2015

ETH Board * 1.92

Directorate ** 6.00

Number of persons (in full-time equivalents) 7.92

* Workload: President of the ETH Board: 80 %, one member of the ETH Board: 70 %, remaining members of the ETH Board without management functions: 7 % each

** Board members with management functions and the directors of the other research institutes.

37 | Events after the reporting date

The consolidated annual financial statement of the ETH Domain for 2015 was approved by the Federal Council on 6 April 2016. No significant events have occurred to date in the ETH Domain that would necessitate a disclosure regarding the consolidated annual financial statement of the ETH Domain as at 31 December 2015 or an adjustment to it.


Report of the Auditors


212



Selected abbreviations

AAQ Swiss Agency of Accreditation and Quality AssuranceARE Federal Office for Spatial DevelopmentBLO Federal Construction and Properties Service CDIP Committee on Development and Intellectual PropertyCREM Centre de Recherches Energétiques et MunicipalesCRPP Centre de Recherches en Physique des PlasmasCSCS Swiss National Supercomputing CentreCTI Commission for Technology and Innovation CTI French Commission des titres d’IngenieurCWTS Centre for Science and Technology StudiesDGNB German Sustainable Building CouncilEAER Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research EnAW Energy Agency of the Swiss Private SectorERC European Research Council ESS European Spallation Source in Lund, SwedenEuropean XFEL European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser in HamburgFEDRO Federal Roads OfficeFOCP Federal Office for Civil ProtectionFOPH Federal Office of Public HealthFOEN Federal Office for the Environment FBL Federal Office for Buildings and LogisticsFONES Federal Office for National Economic SupplyFET Future and Emerging Technologies FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern SwitzerlandFPA Framework Partnership AgreementFP EU Research Framework Programme for Research and InnovationGII Global Innovation Index GHG Greenhouse Gas Protocol HBP Human Brain ProjectHEIG-VD School of Business and Engineering of Vaud HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western SwitzerlandHEdA Federal Act on the Funding and Coordination of the Higher Education SectorHPCN High-Performance Computer and Networking StrategyHSR University of Technology Rapperswil IARU International Alliance of Research UniversitiesIDSS Initiative for Data Science SwitzerlandIPSAS International Public Sector Accounting StandardsICT Information and Communications TechnologyJTC Joint Transnational CallsKBOB Conference for the Coordination of Construction and Real Estate ServicesKTT Knowledge and Technology Transfer LANL Los Alamos National Laboratory, USALIST Luxembourg Institute of Science and TechnologyLNLL Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USALWF Long-term Forest Ecosystem Research ProgrammeMAS Master of Advanced Studies MBA Master of Business Administration

MNCS Mean Normalized Citation Score MNJS Mean Normalized Journal ScoreMOOC Massive Open Online CourseMSCA Marie Skłodowska-Curie ActionsNCCS National Centre for Climate ServicesNCCR National Centre of Competence in ResearchNEST Next Evolution in Sustainable Building TechnologiesNRP National Research Programme NAC New Accounting StandardPPP Public-Private PartnershipPPtop v10% Proportion of top 10% publicationsQS Quacquarelli Symonds Ranking SERI State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SCCER Swiss Competence Centers for Energy Research SCNAT Swiss Academy of SciencesSDC Swiss Agency for Development and CooperationSEC Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability SECO State Secretariat for Economic AffairsSED Swiss Seismological ServiceSGNI Swiss Sustainable Building CouncilSHIS Swiss University Information System SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics SINQ Swiss Spallation Neutron SourceSLF WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLS Swiss Light SourceSNSF Swiss National Science FoundationSPC Swiss Plasma Center (formerly the Center for Research in Plasma Physics, CRPP) SµS Swiss Muon SourceSTEM Science, technology, engineering and mathematicsSUC Swiss University Conference (since 1 January 2015: SHK, Schweizerische Hochschulkonferenz) SVGW Swiss Gas and Water Industry Association SwissFEL X-ray Free Electron LaserSWO Foundation for the Economy and EcologyTHE Times Higher Education RankingTORQUE Tiny, Open-with-Restrictions courses focused on Quality and EffectivenessDETEC Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and CommunicationsVILB Regulation concerning Real Estate Management and Logistics within the Federal Administration VSA Swiss Water Association WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization WMRIF World Material Research Institutes ForumWoS Web of ScienceWTZ Wyss Translational Center ZurichZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences

List of abbreviations

214

Publisher

ETH Board, Häldeliweg 15, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland

Project management and editorial office: ETH Board Communication team, ZurichDesign and layout: phorbis Communications AG, Basel and Klarkom AG, BernReports: Barbara Vonarburg, Schlossrued, and institutions of the ETH DomainPhotography: Christian Grund, 13photo.ch or as per image credits Translation and proofreading: Translation-Probst Ltd., WinterthurPrinting: Stämpfli AG, BernPress date: 24 February 2016

The Annual Report is published in German, French and English and is available electronically at www.ethboard.ch/en/annualreport2015. The German version of the annual financial statements shall be binding.

Special thanks are due to the following people for their contributions and cooperation:

—— all scientists in the ETH Domain’s institutions for supporting the reports,

—— Dr Markus Stauffacher, member of the ETH Board,—— all members of the ISP Group of the ETH Domain (Implementation of Strategic Planning),

—— all members of the ETH Domain ComTeam (Heads of communications) and their staff

—— and the departmental Heads and employees of the ETH Board staff and of the institutions of the ETH Domain

© ETH Board, April 2016

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Documents

ANNUAL REPORT - Startseite · 2016. 5. 17. · ANNUAL REPORT of the ETH Board on the ETH Domain Dr. Fritz Schiesser President of the Board Zurich / Bern, February 2016. Mission Statement