Governance
Success underpinned by freedom and individual responsibility
ETH Zurich is founded on the ETH Act, which guarantees the federal government-supported university academic, organisational and financial autonomy. At ETH, freedom and a culture of enablement and trust go firmly hand in hand with a strong sense of responsibility and quality on the part of all employees. They provide the basis for the university’s long-term success and create an environment that fosters excellence in research, in teaching as well as in knowledge and technology transfer. A system of participation helps the governance function to make well-founded and consensus-based decisions. Within the university, overall responsibility rests with the President.
Continuous improvement safeguards the university’s future viability
ETH Zurich combines a flexible organisational structure with a subsidiary management culture where quality-related processes are the responsibility of academic departments, administrative departments and staff units. This enables it to respond swiftly to new challenges. Development focuses on a quality culture, which at ETH is understood above all to mean a culture of continuous improvement.
On 1 January 2025, ETH Zurich’s largest Executive Board domain, the Vice Presidency for Infrastructure, was renamed the Vice Presidency for Infrastructure and Sustainability (VPIN). This step underscores ETH’s responsibility for environmental, social and economic sustainability. ETH Sustainability is moving from the Office of the President to VPIN in order to bolster collaboration with other administrative departments in areas such as construction and energy. Moreover, a Sustainability Council will advance the sustainability strategy with input from the ETH community and society.
New structure in the Executive Board domain of Research
The Executive Board domain of Research has been restructured and now comprises the Office of Research and three departments: Research Initiatives and Infrastructures, Scientific Integrity and Research Ethics, and the Grants Office. This clear organisational structure ensures that researchers at ETH Zurich receive effective support. At the same time, the new structure enables the Executive Board domain to successfully tackle current and future challenges in research and best support ETH’s strategic objectives.
New procedure for cases of scientific misconduct
Since June 2024, new rules of procedure to address scientific misconduct have been in effect at ETH Zurich. The previous rules dating back to 2004 no longer met current requirements. A standing Integrity Commission (IC) will now take over the investigations with the support of the Scientific Integrity Office (SIO). The IC consists of specialists in different disciplines and is headed by a lawyer. Investigation reports are published online upon completion of an investigation. The procedure is thus significantly shorter and creates more transparency.
Sustainability: ETH in sustainability rankings
“We consider the internal discussions about the results of the evaluations to be very fruitful in the context of sustainability reporting in particular.”Stephan Zimmermann Wegmann, Head of Institutional Research
ETH Zurich’s sustainability efforts were assessed both nationally and internationally. The WWF University Rating 2024 places it in the upper-middle tier of Swiss universities. In the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025, it is ranked second worldwide. The results reflect outside impressions, enabling the university to identify any potential for improvement on governance and in embedding sustainability matters in day-to-day teaching and research.
Executive Board and organisation chart
ETH Zurich covers a very broad and innovative academic spectrum. Its 16 academic departments, along with various strategic initiatives, competence centres and networks, encourage cross-disciplinary cooperation. Comprising seven members in total, the ETH Executive Board is the university’s supreme committee. It has overall control of the organisation, is responsible for quality assurance as a whole and ensures that the university fulfils its social, cultural and economic responsibilities.
Risk management
At ETH Zurich, the purpose of risk management is to protect the tangible and intangible assets on which the success of ETH Zurich depends, in particular human capital, infrastructure and reputation. Whereas the President has overall accountability for risk management, responsibility for implementation lies with the Vice President for Finance and Controlling. The Executive Board is informed regularly about any substantive risks.
The Annual Report is produced in German and translated into English. Only the German version is binding.
? ETH Zurich, April 2025