I studied mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich in the 70s. Through my position as President at the Careum Foundation, a large institution in the education of health professionals, I have had professional contacts with ETH which have led to many exciting touchpoints. In terms of Careum’s strategy, interprofessional education is key, and that is something Careum is trying to push with the medical faculty of the University of Zurich and ETHZ activities in the field of health. In addition, ETH Professor Robert Riener is a valued member of Careum’s Board, and his participation was recommended by the former President of ETHZ.

I am retiring 2021, but in the handover process I am keen to have my successors continue this promising relationship, so that Careum and ETH can continue to work together and initiate new educational projects.

Personally, I am interested in mentoring post-graduates, which I recently started doing. My intention and my contribution through the ETH Circle would be to help people who have already graduated, by helping them to master their careers.

The ETH Circle needs to create win-win situations. We need a model where for both the members and ETH it is clear that we need to pursue this project because it is important and we believe in it. My observation is that ETH is very siloed, and better coordination would be invaluable in terms of how external constituents perceive the institution.

ETH is very successful, and my belief is that this will continue. However, one of the things I have observed is that, compared to other top 10 universities in the world, ETH is not well known. The acronym ETH is difficult in and of itself; when I worked and studied in the US, I had to describe ETH as the MIT of Switzerland, because people had never heard of it, let alone understood what “ETH” stood for. Reinforcing the visibility of ETH abroad through the ETH Circle would be something for our group to explore.

I could also imagine that ETH could become even more international in the future, with outposts and educational offerings all around the world (Singapore ETH Centre, MOOCs, etc). Thinking about and defining the benefits of being a global player could also be something the ETH Circle could contribute to.