How I Misunderstood Academia: Realizations from Transfer to ETH Zurich

They say seeing things from a distance gives you a great perspective, and I feel it is really true. Recently, I started my master’s degree in Data Science at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, to the general public known as the ETH. (I was specific in the naming, as the term ETH is misleading: all federal technological institutes in Switzerland are ETH, for example, the EPFL in Laussane is also an ETH, so the ETH Zurich should be referred to as ETHZ). Leaving all the pedantic details aside, I would like to share my first impressions from this institution with the general public. I feel a strong obligation to do so, as the technical university in Zurich is getting more and more popular, many of my peers consider it as their future destination. It is really attractive due to its low tuition and high international recognition. Last year I spent countless hours reviewing curricula of different programs across the world and the admission conditions to select the optimal degree, and I am sure there are many people doing the same this Fall, so hopefully this information can come in handy.

And as I have just finished my Bachelor’s degree in the Netherlands, I feel I can give an interesting perspective. Especially, because I have just moved, and I still feel the contrast strongly. At the same time, I have been here just a week, so it is necessary to take all of these conclusions as preliminary.

Most Things Are The Same

…or the changes are just minor. Although it might surprise you a bit that the lectures start 15 minutes past the full hour, and the buildings have floors numbered from E (Erdgeschoss, meaning ground floor) with increasing alphabetical order going up. One gets used to quickly to these small things. They are vital for the survival of a new student, but by no means necessary to discuss.

Sometimes I even find myself naming things in the old way, calling the sport association ACLO (as it was named in Groningen) as opposed to ASVZ, which is its true name. That is just because everything works almost in the same way. In the end, they are western European universities. They all have two semesters (somewhat) and a rector up top the organization.

Menzas are awesome!

One thing that is just remarkably better in Zurich, and that is the food for students. In Groningen, all canteens were commercial and not subsidized, a meal on the campus would cost you around 8-15 euros. However, that is just a normal commercial price you would pay for a small meal in the vicinity of the center in some fast food corner. In Zurich, the prices for commercial services are through the roof, however, on university campuses they are curbed by a state subsidy. This means, that a meal that in the centre would cost you 25-30 CHF costs you a half in the school canteen, with the mass production pushing the price down to 7-10 CHF a meal. On top of that, you get the meal instantly, without much waiting (apart from the queue that appears in peak hours).

Superiority Complex

Let’s face it. ETH is proud to be ETH. In the introductory lecture, we have already been congratulated to our admission and told that ‘many would give a lot to even be able to be in our spot’. This was quickly followed by the wishes of good luck of surviving at this institution, as the workload is known to be demanding. ETH harvests a lot of talent from Europe, and is trying to make the best use of it. That means pushing it to the top of its performance. Peer pressure and impostor syndrome are more common than the flu on campus, and one can sense in the air.

Funny byproduct of this is that the local student sports association ASVZ has created napping rooms in the school buildings: too tired? Just drop in for a nap! On the faculty social media channel for computing science students, a daily announcement to keep up the motivation is posted. This nicely conveys that some people get really juiced out over the year. Even the teacher on the first day told us that we should take care of ourselves: first eat and sleep, then study. One has to ask themselves what this school is all about if such measures are needed?

To say the least, people are proud to be members of this institution. Sometimes even too proud and they let others know. Maybe superiority complex is a bit to strong of an expression, but it is certainly a different feeling from what I am used to from Brno and Groningen.

There is NO Student Life

In very stark contrast with the Netherlands, there is a lot fewer student associations. But that would come as no surprise given that the workload here is so high. However, it becomes even stranger, when asking current students you get quite depressing answers:

• So what are your hobbies?
  • I have none, I study.
• Where do you hang out in free time?
  • (Laughs.) Man, I barely do that anymore.
• What is your favorite thing to do in Zurich?
  • Oh, whenever I can I am out of here. People seem not to have (generally) many other hobbies. They come here to study. That is the mindset here. Very different from the Netherlands, where every motivated student has some side hustle or at least a hobby.

    Ratios

    The male/female ratio at ETH is clearly messed up, the university reports 2 male to 1 female, but roaming around the campus it feels more like 5:1. One more reason to maintain my relationship I established during my bachelors, since if I were to try to find someone in the university here, I would have a problem. Thankfully, next door is the liberal sciences university of Zurich, where females are plenty.

Another messed up ratio is the one of students to staff. Just two days ago I had a friend complaining to me that he is waiting to be admitted to a course which has a cap of 900 students: all spots were already taken. Graphs show that hiring has generally not kept up with the increasing popularity of ETH in the recent years. It is really hard to get to work with a professor for supervision, way harder than at smaller universities. I was lucky to be supervised in my bachelor’s thesis by an assistant professor, I can just dream of that at ETH.

Huge Startup Culture

Now let’s talk a bit professionally. Zurich is not only the banking centre of Switzerland, but there is a lot more business going on around it. And one part ETH is really proud of: the start-ups.

Starting from the small to the big, the university has its own Student Project House, where students can prototype their own projects. It hosts a course on entrepreneurship, with counseling and networking events. It even finances a lot of start-ups itself, or helps them get referral for funding. The so-called spin-offs, startups that come from ETH research are a mark of success, bringing billions of CHF in investments every year. This is one of the reasons I have picked Zurich, so this makes me very happy.

Focus on Research

ETH is a research institution, new knowledge is what they crave and need. That is why there is big emphasis on students doing research project with their supervisors (though mainly PhDs or postdocs). There is also a big amount of researches visiting this institution. There are talks, lecture series or symposia almost everyday, and conferences take place here all the time.

Professors are Cracked

…and are students too. No genuinely. The Swiss government has the money to pay the best professors, and you can feel it. Profs here have each thousands of citations on their names, and many have founded a company, or achieved something else even more remarkable. The people are the biggest asset of this institution.

Academia is NOT Made for Teaching

You might be thinking, Michal, where comes the point you will understand academia? Well, here it is. My recent discovery is that…

Academia is not made for teaching. It is a research institution. It is not a teaching institution. Most staff join it to develop ideas, and rarely to develop talent of others. Teaching is just a by-product of that. Let me give you an analogy.

Academia teaching is like your mom cooking. The goal of your mum is to raise you, not to make 5 star meals. She needs to quench your hunger, so she makes food. She manages quite well, and you also learn to like it with time. Academia is the same, it wants researchers and money, so it has to teach. But it does it to the extent that it is good.

This realization made me stop assessing university on the quality of its teaching, but more on the quality of its research. Although most of general public join a university to obtain a degree, for the ones on the top we won’t mean more than a side hustle.

Thank you for reading so far, I hope you like this post, and I am looking forward to discussing what I wrote here with any of you!