ETH Zurich sees top position at risk due to lack of funding
Published: Thursday, Apr 18th 2024, 12:50
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The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich sees its top positions in the university rankings under threat. The budget will not be able to keep pace with the continuing increase in student numbers in the coming years. For this reason, drastic measures will have to be considered.
ETH Zurich considers its funding from the federal government to be insufficient in the coming years, as it announced on Thursday at the presentation of the 2023 Annual Report. If the current level of funding remains as promised, cost-cutting measures are likely to be necessary.
Among other things, a restriction on student growth or a hiring freeze in research and teaching is being examined. The discontinuation of entire research areas and degree programs is also mentioned as a possible measure.
ETH Zurich was already facing major financial challenges last year. Student numbers continued to rise sharply, the ETH Domain was not being compensated for inflation and the federal government's austerity measures were an additional burden.
Thanks to cost discipline, a positive trend in donations and a positive financial result, the bottom line was still a surplus of CHF 50 million (previous year: CHF -73 million).
The reserves will soon be exhausted
However, ETH Zurich's liquidity has steadily decreased since 2020, according to the press release. The liquidity requirements for investments and operations could not be fully covered by federal contributions and other income.
"We are currently living off the freely available reserves, which will be completely used up by the end of 2025," Stefan Spiegel, Vice President for Finance and Controlling, is quoted as saying. However, ETH urgently needs reserves in order to be able to make larger investments and compensate for fluctuations in the future.
While the number of students at ETH Zurich has more than doubled over the past 20 years, the federal financial contribution has only increased by around 50 percent. According to ETH Zurich officials, the federal government's forthcoming Dispatch on the Promotion of Education, Research and Innovation (ERI Dispatch) for the years 2025-2028 will further exacerbate the situation.
©Keystone/SDA
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