Martin Vetterli’s term as president of the internationally-recognised Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) has been renewed for an additional four years.
The Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive body, said in a statementExternal link that under VetterliExternal link’s leadership, the EPFLExternal link “had progressed in its policy of excellence in both teaching and research at the international level, further cementing its position among the world’s top universities”.
One of the country’s two federal institutes of technology – the other is the top-ranked ETH ZurichExternal link – the EPFL was placedExternal link 18th in the 2020 QS World University Rankings and 38th in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. It took joint third place in the THE “most international universities” rankings along with the ETH Zurich.
Confirming the appointment on Wednesday, the government said that during Vetterli’s first term, the EPFL had developed a strong focus on basic research and had strengthened its activities in the fields of sustainability and energy, robotics, digitisation, imaging and artificial intelligence. This had contributed to innovation in Switzerland, it said.
Vetterli, a professor of communication systems who has held the EPFL top job since 2016, said he was looking forward to leading the EPFLExternal link for a further four years. His mandate starts in January 2021.
External Content
I am very grateful for the trust I receive from the government and population of #SwitzerlandExternal link🇨🇭!
According to the THEExternal link, the EPFL “has a particularly strong reputation in engineering with 13 engineering science programmes, and more recently it has become known for its work in the life sciences, as well as having strong computer science programmes”.
Last year, the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper reported that the EPFL was seeking additional federal funds to support its recent expansion. Its sister institution, the ETH Zurich, currently gets just over half of the federal funding available, the newspaper said.
Elsewhere there have been some changes in Switzerland’s top academic posts. Earlier this month, swissuniversities, the umbrella body, elected the rector of the University of Geneva, Yves Flückiger, as its president. Among Flückiger’s priorities is cooperation with Europe in the fields of research and education, “particularly the country’s participation in the research programmes of Horizon Europe (2021-2027),” a swissuniverisities statement said.External link
He succeeds Michael Hengartner, who became the president of the ETH BoardExternal link – which oversees both the ETH Zurich and the EPFL (and which recommended that Vetterli continue in the role) – at the beginning of February 2020. The Swiss-Canadian was formerly the rector of the University of Zurich, Switzerland’s largest university.
He takes the post after a turbulent year for the ETH Zurich, which included allegations of bullying against a professor who was later dismissed.
More
More
EPFL marks 50 years of scientific progress
This content was published on
Over the past five decades, the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) has been the home of many scientific discoveries.
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Trump tariffs: ‘I’m a bit perplexed’, says former US ambassador to Switzerland
This content was published on
The former US ambassador to Switzerland, Edward McMullen, says he is optimistic for the Alpine country with regard to the 31% tariff on imports imposed by US President Donald Trump.
Swiss Federal Court upholds Beny Steinmetz’s bribery conviction
This content was published on
Switzerland's highest court has upheld the conviction of French-Israeli mining magnate Beny Steinmetz for bribery of foreign public officials.
This content was published on
The Trump administration has imposed a 31% tariff on imports from Switzerland. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter has warned against "giving in to alarmism" in an interview published on Saturday,
This content was published on
Scientists have shown that bonobos combine their calls into complex sound sequences that resemble combinations of human words.
This content was published on
US parliamentarians have threatened the UN Human Rights Council with sanctions similar to those against the International Criminal Court (ICC).
This content was published on
Thanks to abundant snowfall, lift operators benefited from increased visitor numbers, with the number of guests jumping by 12% year-on-year.
This content was published on
The radical, open, undulating student building at Lausanne’s Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) was designed by the Japanese star architect team SANAA.
EPFL pulls out of Hyperloop to focus on sustainability
This content was published on
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne has announced that it will no longer compete in the Elon Musk-organised transport competition.
EPFL hosts open campus event to mark 50th anniversary
This content was published on
More than 300 activities will be offered to visitors on September 14 and 15 at its Ecublens campus in canton Vaud. The sweeping programme includes lab visits, workshops, conferences, exhibitions, shows and scientific demonstrations. Highlights include the many stands of the Scientastic Festival and Drone Days, which will introduce the public to these curious unmanned…
Prestigious Swiss university sacks ‘bullying’ professor
This content was published on
One of Switzerland’s top universities has followed through on its threat to sack a professor following allegations of bullying.
EPFL software aims to protect the world’s most endangered species
This content was published on
Researchers in Lausanne have developed software that helps biologists better identify animal and plant species most exposed to climate change.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.