Ulrich Weidmann stepping down from the ETH Executive Board in spring 2027

What prompted you to step down from the Executive Board?
Ulrich Weidmann: I will turn 63 in March after having served on the Executive Board for more than ten years. I will officially retire at the end of July 2028. I would like to remain involved in various ways and allow myself sufficient time to make the transition to this new phase of my life. Resigning from the Executive Board is the first step in this direction.

When will you step down from the Executive Board?
I have set my resignation for 31 March 2027, deliberately three months after Jo?l Mesot¡¯s. This provides the new ETH Zurich President with ample time to select my successor without pressure and to shape the future composition of the Executive Board.

What does the future hold for the VPIN domain after your resignation? Are there any projects you are determined to complete, or conversely, any you deliberately wish to leave to your successor?
I am trying to remain focused on ETH Zurich¡¯s interests. Ideally, nobody should even notice the change in VPIN leadership. That¡¯s why I'm not delaying any projects. On the contrary, we remain fully committed to the projects we have started and are pushing ahead with them. It is especially important to me that we continue developing the innovative programmes from the past two to three years as much as possible. These include ¡°ETH Net Zero¡± by 2030, the digital twin of campus infrastructure by 2028, and the ¡°Future of Work¡± project, which focuses on the specific requirements of the university¡¯s faculty. These initiatives are valuable for ETH Zurich in the long term and are economically worthwhile. They are in a crucial development phase and now need the necessary initial investment. Any delay would mean that the benefits for ETH Zurich would be realised later. I am confident that my successor will share this view. At the same time, it is clear that now is not the right time to launch entirely new, multi-year, large-scale projects. I am happy to leave this to my successor.

Construction and infrastructure projects are often the focus of cost-cutting measures. What was it like to be under such intense pressure to cut costs?
It has always been important to me that VPIN allocate more support to reduce ETH Zurich¡¯s financial burden than its academic units. Given the very substantial budgets that VPIN oversees, our cost-saving measures have a significant impact. Every franc we save benefits teaching and research, which in turn reinforces the university as a whole. When I joined the Executive Board in 2016, I didn¡¯t expect to face so many rounds of cost-cutting. But this is what makes my role as Chief Operating Officer so interesting ¨C I have to constantly find ways to increase efficiency without sacrificing service quality. This has allowed us to boost productivity by roughly 15 percent ¨C and probably more ¨C in the past decade.

During your tenure, you had to deal with a number of challenging events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Palestine protests and even a cow dung attack in the Audi Max. How did you handle these situations?
While these situations were unpleasant, they were also extremely exciting for me in my role as VPIN Head. Crises create a different leadership reality: you are suddenly under time pressure and in the public spotlight during an emergency. But that¡¯s only one side of the coin.

What is the other?
In every crisis, I was impressed by how closely ETH employees worked together across departmental boundaries, how quickly they set priorities and the speed and quality of their response. The COVID-19 pandemic demanded a lot of time and energy. Yet I never found this phase gruelling; on the contrary, I found it intense, constructive and extremely cooperative. When it matters, we all stand together at this university. We can rely on this ¡°One ETH¡± mindset.

You also introduced ¡°One VPIN¡± to foster a common understanding and a unified approach within your Executive Board domain. Have you achieved this?
The aim of ¡°One VPIN¡± is to encourage our employees to think and act across departments. We have made great strides in this regard. Without a common approach, it would not be possible to advance ambitious projects such as the digital twin of the H?nggerberg campus or the new HWS building in such a short time. Anchoring this mindset remains an ongoing task.

Is there anything close to your heart that you would like to achieve before stepping down as VPIN Head?
In my capacity as Head of VPIN, I am eager to finalise the process of determining who will build the planned new HWS teaching and research building and under what conditions. HWS is more than just another building; it represents our most significant project for the coming decades. The consolidation of D-INFK sites in HWS will not only add a large department to the H?nggerberg campus but also establish a counterpart to the Heilbronn campus. A new development phase will begin on the H?nggerberg campus once the Learning Center and the ETH Library join D-INFK in HWS. This move will also create opportunities to better utilise and organise the limited space on the Zentrum campus, which is currently occupied by various units spread across multiple buildings and locations.

Will you continue to be associated with ETH after your retirement, or will you take on other responsibilities for ETH?
I will remain a professor at ETH until my retirement in mid-2028. During this period, I would like to publish a textbook on supply and production planning in public transport ¨C the third volume, following those on railway infrastructure and pedestrian traffic. I will also support the implementation of the ETH Heilbronn campus as a member of Boris Z¨¹rcher's team.

You authored the ¡°Transport 2045¡± report for Federal Councillor Albert R?sti. Do you plan to participate more frequently in public discussions as a national rail expert?
That¡¯s not my style ¨C unless I¡¯m specifically asked. However, I am open to consulting roles where I can contribute strategically to the advancement of public transport behind the scenes. Currently, I already serve on several public transport boards.

Do you already have a leisure-time project planned for your life after ETH?
My leisure time itself will actually be a project. Doing things that we enjoy together with my family and people who are important to my wife and me ¨C that¡¯s what I am looking forward to most.