This course starts with a broad conceptual and historical perspective on technological and scientific innovation, and then focuses on concepts, theories, and methods for policy analysis as well as their application to policy questions in a variety of issue areas.

The colloquium consists of presentations by guest speakers from academia and practice/policy. Students must attend all meetings in person and actively participate in the discussion.

Presentations by guest speakers from academia and practice. Students must attend all meetings in person and actively participate in the discussion.

Doctoral candidates from all ETH departments, whose research is related to global sustainable development issues, and conducting research in low- or middle-income countries are invited to give a presentation about their on-going work and discuss their doctoral project with a diverse group of researchers.

The ETH Global Development Summer School provides young researchers with the opportunity to work on current and sustainability-related topics in interdisciplinary and intercultural teams. Focus is given not only to teaching theoretical knowledge but also to solving specific case studies.

This course sensitises doctoral students to ethical issues that may occur during their doctorate. After an introduction to ethics and good scientific practice, students are familiarised with resources that can assist them with ethical decision-making. Students get the chance to apply and deepen their knowledge in an interactive face-to-face workshop.

The course provides an overview of the links among sanitation, water supply, waste management and environmental and health aspects. It gives an understanding of the specific challenges and possible solutions in ensuring environmental services and illustrates their impact on the population and settlements.

In this lecture series, students will learn from researchers around the globe about technological interventions designed to improve human well-being for complex, low-resource settings. Students will get familiar with frameworks from social sciences and engineering, helping them to understand and evaluate the discussed technologies and to put them into a broader context.

Since Europe surrendered their colonial assets, engineers from rich countries have returned to the African continent to address the real and perceived ills that they felt technology could solve. And yet, 70 years on, the promise of technology has largely failed to deliver widespread, substantive improvements in the quality of life. Why?

"Project based Course" (PBE). The course introduces students to the product development process. In a team, you will explore the early phases of conceptual development and product design, from ideation and concept generation through to hands-on prototyping. This is an opportunity to gain product development experience and improve your skills in prototyping and presenting your product ideas.

From the proverbial 'field' to the heart of Zurich, engineering research is guided by the same fundamental principles. With the goal to improve the human condition with technology, we designed this course to teach learners how to conduct a research project out of the lab, and apply open science principles to their data analysis projects.

In this course, interdisciplinary student teams work with societal partners to understand and address a real-world problem. Students design and implement a transdisciplinary, solution-oriented research project and communicate their findings to academic and broader societal audiences. In 2026, the focus is on climate change adaptation in Surselva, a mountain region in the Swiss canton of Grisons.