ETH Zurich founds Albert Einstein School of Public Policy
On 21?October, the University opened a new interdisciplinary centre to improve links between science, technology and policymaking. The director of the centre, Tobias Schmidt, talks about the first activities planned for the Einstein School of Public Policy.
From climate change to pandemics, armed conflict and artificial intelligence – in the face of these and other challenges, effective collaboration between science and policy is more important than ever. It is with this in mind that ETH Zurich has founded the Albert Einstein School of Public Policy.
This new interdisciplinary centre aims to combine science, technology and policymaking by expanding and further developing existing activities in education, in research and in dialogue with policymakers.
Professor Schmidt, why does ETH Zurich need a school of public policy?
We want to support politicians, civil servants and public officials in making fact-based decisions informed by current knowledge. To do this, we want to engage in active dialogue and provide the necessary foundations.
In what form will you do so?
Networks and personal relationships between researchers and individuals from the field of policy are key to successful dialogue. Education, including continuing education, is therefore vital for us – because that’s exactly how these networks are created. Research is also important because it allows us to address relevant issues in close dialogue with societal stakeholders. We use different formats for the actual exchange of knowledge and are keen to break new ground.
Can you give us a few examples?
One noteworthy example is the ETH Policy Fellowships. This programme offers administrative decision-makers the opportunity to come to ETH for a short time and build connections with researchers. Conversely, it also allows researchers to familiarise themselves with issues and processes in the public administration. In addition, we are developing formats such as co-designed research or schemes that allow students to get involved – in the style of a hackathon – in real-life policy issues. Dialogue with decision-makers is always at the heart of our endeavours, because both sides learn from each other.
But isn’t this knowledge transfer already happening? Right now, everybody is talking about Ueli Weidmann’s report on transport planning…
It goes without saying that many researchers are already involved. Since it was founded, ETH Zurich has been a place that federal politicians and public administrators can turn to. But the questions are becoming increasingly diverse and complex, and ETH has also grown over the years. Informal contact is no longer sufficient – there’s also a need for effective structures. On the one hand, we see ourselves as the first point of contact for people such as policymakers who need expertise from ETH. On the other hand, we want to systematise the exchange of knowledge and build mutual understanding and trust with societal stakeholders. ETH professors in the COVID-19 Science Task Force have shown how important such relationships are, especially during a crisis.
Can you elaborate on that?
Some of my colleagues who were involved in the Task Force told me that they were met with some degree of scepticism because people wanted to find out what hidden interests they were pursuing. This is because politics in Bern deals with interest groups, and that is a key question for them. It took some time for decision-makers to realise that science has no hidden agenda. A certain lack of understanding also arose from the fact that the advice from researchers changed over time. This was due to the emergence of new findings.
And what does that look like from the academic perspective?
The representatives from the universities sometimes found it difficult to understand why the political authorities didn’t immediately implement their recommendations to the letter. However, political decisions are also based on public acceptance, political and economic costs, and different value systems.
And the Einstein School of Public Policy aims to promote this mutual understanding. But why is the new organisational unit called a school?
The name follows a tradition in the English-speaking world, where such institutions are referred to as “schools”. The best-known example is undoubtedly the Harvard Kennedy School. In organisational terms, we are an ETH centre, comparable to the AI Center or the Energy Science Center. Like them, we also conduct research and teaching, as well as engaging in knowledge exchange – or policy dialogue. By following the model of the English-speaking world, we’re also emphasising our international ambitions. After all, it is not only Bern that is an important partner in policy dialogue. And in terms of teaching, we want to bring more international students to ETH, particularly in our executive education programmes.
The full name is the Albert Einstein School of Public Policy. Why Einstein?
Einstein is ETH’s best-known alumnus, and his influence extends far beyond the world of science. He didn’t see science as something that is isolated from society, and he believed that scientists have a moral responsibility to the public. Einstein is a role model for all academics who want to get involved in policy-making and societal debates. He was known for engaging in dialogue with policymakers without ever wanting to be a politician himself. This distinction is very important to us. Moreover, we wanted to use a physicist in our name to express that the Einstein School is located at a scientific/technical university and seeks to make strong use of this expertise. This makes the school unique in the world.
Although the Einstein School has been newly founded, it will be able to build on the activities of the Institute of Science, Technology and Policy (ISTP), which you led. What will be adopted from the ISTP?
The ISTP was a kind of pilot for the Einstein School. We established a very successful Master’s degree programme, which we will continue at the school, but we also saw what doesn’t work so well and what we need to do differently.
“Interdisciplinarity doesn’t come about simply by putting five professors from different fields and five doctoral students around the same table. ”Tobias Schmidt
Can you give us an example?
One example is that we learnt how we need to design research projects. Interdisciplinarity doesn’t come about simply by putting five professors from different fields and five doctoral students around the same table. We need an interface – interdisciplinarily trained specialists who speak the language of both the natural sciences and engineering, on the one hand, and the social sciences, on the other. The aim is for these specialists to contribute their expertise to research activities across all topic areas.
You address the six subject areas in which you want to offer research, teaching and dialogue. Where are you setting your first priorities?
We have the great privilege of having important strategic partners involved in individual issues. To name two examples, we have the Center for Security Studies on board in the area of peace, conflict and security, and the KOF Institute in the area of economics and innovation. We’ll be implementing a first flagship project of our own in collaboration with the Federal Office for Agriculture. One of our researchers has received a large grant for this purpose, with contributions from various foundations and major retailers. We’re also planning to work closely with the other ETH centres, for example in the areas of environmental, energy and food systems, as well as AI and digital.
What aspect of your new role are you personally looking forward to the most?
I’m particularly looking forward to the intensive exchange with policymakers, as well as with students. Demand for such interfaces is enormous, both at ETH and internationally. There are courses with several hundred students interested in what technological development means from a political point of view. Above all, I’m looking forward to creating a genuinely new programme for people who don’t necessarily want to remain in research but who are interested in societal issues and want to pursue a career in government, for example. I’d be delighted if graduates of the Einstein School were to get involved in the federal parliament one day.
Albert Einstein School of Public Policy
At the Einstein School, more than 70 members from 13 departments will focus on six subject areas: (1) Artificial Intelligence and Digitalisation (2) Environmental, Energy and Food Systems, (3) Spatial Planning and the Built Environment, (4) Public Health, (5) Economy and Innovation, and (6) Peace, Conflict and Security. They will work closely with existing centres and institutes in the respective fields.
The Einstein School is led by Tobias Schmidt, Professor of Energy and Technology Policy at ETH Zurich. Schmidt is supported by a management board made up of five other people: Dominik Hangartner, Professor of Policy Analysis, is the Head of Teaching and Continuing Education and Training. Robert Finger, Professor of Agricultural Economics and Policy, and Tanja Stadler, Professor of Computational Evolution, are in charge of research at the Einstein School. As Professor of Practice, former Federal Chancellor Walter Thurnherr is Head of Strategy and Policy Dialogue. Benedikt Knüsel, Head of the Science-Policy Interface unit, will be the school’s executive director.