Letting ideas flow

Water was the focus of ETH Week 2016. For the second edition of this week-long event, ETH Zurich called on bachelor's and master's students from all departments to approach a subject creatively and develop collective solutions.

During ETH Week 2016, students work in interdisciplinary groups on concepts and ideas on the theme of water. (Image: ETH Zurich / Alessandro Della Bella)
During ETH Week 2016, students work in interdisciplinary groups on concepts and ideas on the theme of water. (Image: ETH Zurich / Alessandro Della Bella)

Textbooks stayed at home for the week: during ETH Week 2016, around 180 students worked independently on a subject in small interdisciplinary groups, and presented creative concepts at the end. This year's theme was ‘Challenging Water’.

ETH Week was held for the first time last year and was so well received that it was now in its second edition, with a greater number of participants. The event is part of the Critical Thinking initiative, through which ETH Zurich promotes interdisciplinary and creative thinking.

For many students, the incentive to participate is the fact that their own ideas are sought after: they can and should actively develop something, rather than learning passively. This year, under the guidance of professionals and on the basis of visits to companies and lectures given by experts, they designed solutions related to water, a key resource. The demanding technical programme was complemented by team events and sports activities.

Friday, 16th of September, all 18 of the 8- to 10-member groups presented their finished concepts to a jury. The participants also were able to choose their favourite solution via an app, and the best ideas received awards from Rector Sarah Springman. The award ceremony took place at the H?nggerberg campus in the HIF building, which served as a meeting place as well as the central location for lectures and work over the course of the entire week.

Updates from ETH Week and the winning team are published on the external page ETH Week Facebook page.

Théophile-Messin Roizard, French bachelor's student in the 3rd semester of engineering.
Théophile-Messin Roizard, French bachelor's student in the 3rd semester of engineering.

‘I find it motivating to work with others on a project, and the mix of different degree courses is great. It's a completely different way of learning: We develop an idea, toss it out, and then come up with something new – and we're free to find our own solution.’

‘I'm here as a tutor for the second time because I find ETH Week extremely inspiring. I would love to fill a bottle with the atmosphere and smell it over and over again to gain new inspiration.’

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Julian Helfenstein, Swiss doctoral student at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences.
Gunther Klobe, German master's student in the final year of physics.
Gunther Klobe, German master's student in the final year of physics.

‘The interdisciplinary exchange offers so much. You learn to understand the vocabulary of other departments and also to translate yourself to some extent so that others can understand what you mean. I also like that we learn new things in a fun manner here.’

‘I registered because as an environmental engineer, I'm very much involved with the topic of water. While developing the concept in the team this week, I noticed that others from technical degree courses often think only about the technology when looking for a solution, not about the people.’

Carina Heuberger, Swiss master's student in the 1st year of environmental engineering.
Carina Heuberger, Swiss master's student in the 1st year of environmental engineering.
Xingong Xu, Chinese bachelor's student in the 1st semester of computer sciences.
Xingong Xu, Chinese bachelor's student in the 1st semester of computer sciences.

‘I've never collaborated with such a large group in a workshop before, and I find it very productive. It's exciting to interact with different subject areas, and everyone works in a very purposeful manner. I also really enjoyed the lectures.’

‘ETH Week is a wonderful opportunity for students from all subject areas to tackle important societal issues and look for solutions together. They learn new approaches and, most importantly, critical thinking, which they will need later in the workplace.’

Sarah Springman, Rector of ETH Zurich.
Sarah Springman, Rector of ETH Zurich.
Suzanne Thoma, CEO of BKW Group (all photographs: ETH Zurich/Alessandro Della Bella).
Suzanne Thoma, CEO of BKW Group (all photographs: ETH Zurich/Alessandro Della Bella).

‘Interdisciplinary approaches are becoming more and more important as technologies increasingly grow together. We therefore need people who can bring these different technologies together. This is especially true of my industry, the energy sector.’

 

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