Inclusion of people with disabilities at ETH Zurich
Today, 3 December, is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. It is and remains the goal of ETH Zurich to treat all members of the community – with or without disabilities – in an open and inclusive manner. How can you contribute to this, and what support do we offer you??
Around 1.9 million people with disabilities live in Switzerland. In addition, there are those with temporary impairments due to illness or accident. ETH Zurich has been committed to accessibility and a barrier-free environment in accordance with the principle of ‘design for all’ for several years. Numerous offers and services are available – both in the built and digital environments.
Contact persons and services
The contact persons in the respective departments will be happy to support you with expert knowledge, information material, courses or other services. Lecturers and teaching staff, for example, receive expert support from the Teaching and Learning Department on accessible learning materials, inclusive teaching and disadvantage compensation.
Students with disabilities can contact the Counselling and Coaching Centre. Staff members with disabilities are supported by their respective HR contact persons. In addition, all ETH members now have access to the services of ETH Diversity with regard to accessibility and disabilities.
Take action
Are you interested in contributing to the inclusion of people with disabilities? Come to one of our awareness workshops on different types of disabilities – both visible and invisible – and broaden your perspective! You can register without obligation at and we will be happy to contact you as soon as we have set the dates for 2026.
Accessibility: What's new?
- The Real Estate Management and Facility Services are currently optimising the outdoor lighting at the ETH 365体育官网_365体育备用【手机在线】 H?nggerberg and in the city centre. This involves eliminating missing or insufficient lighting and glare.
- The new indoor map application PolyMaps shows your current location within and between the buildings of ETH Zurich and allows you to search for lecture halls, meeting rooms, restaurants or toilets. If desired, only barrier-free routes to the destination are displayed.
- With the conversion of the video portal of the IT services, users can now edit their videos themselves, including subtitles (see: Barrier-free video).
- There is another accessible study area in the Collections and Archives reading room (HG H 26), which is equipped with visual and hearing aids, ergonomic furniture, appropriate lighting and assistive software. A total of five accessible study areas are available in various ETH libraries
- Corporate Communications and the Unit for Teaching and Learning offer various courses on the topic of digital accessibility. Have you been provided with a document that is not yet accessible? Take advantage of the services offered by the ETH Library to convert it into an accessible format.
Overall coordination of ‘Accessibility & Inclusion’ now part of ETH Diversity
Since the middle of this year, strategic responsibility for this topic has been transferred to the Vice-Presidency for Personnel Development and Leadership. With the takeover of overall coordination for ‘Accessibility & Inclusion’, the ETH Diversity team is expanding into a new dimension. At the same time, HR Consulting launched a project with the external page profil foundation to strengthen and further develop the topic of ‘Working with disabilities at ETH Zurich’.
Julia Dannath, Vice President for Personnel Development and Leadership, welcomes the latest development on the topic of inclusion at ETH Zurich:
‘People with disabilities have a right to equal participation – that is a human right. Diversity and inclusion enrich the university. They open up new perspectives, promote empathy and strengthen cohesion. That is why ’living inclusion‘ is also one of ETH Zurich's social and leadership competencies.’
Legal requirement and social responsibility
ETH Zurich is committed to complying with the applicable legal requirements and ensuring that the ETH community is open and respectful towards all people: inclusion is a task for society as a whole, which aims above all to break down prejudices, stigmatisation and discrimination and enable equal participation for all. This is not the sole responsibility of people with disabilities or subject matter experts, but is ideally shared by all ETH members.
Find out more
Further information on consultations, services, events and projects, as well as news on the topic of accessibility, can be found on the Accessibility website.
Comprehensive information and services on the topics of diversity, equal opportunities and inclusion are available on the ETH Diversity website.
Note on the translation
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