Heilbronn news 2/25 – Forty proposals for professorships received

ETH Zurich plans to establish fifteen professorships in the field of ¡°responsible digital transformation¡± on its campus in Heilbronn. his is provided for in the agreement between the university and the Dieter Schwarz Foundation (DSS). In a first step, five professorships are to be created.

The profiles of the professorships are currently being developed in a broad-based two-stage process. The process is being coordinated by the Office for Faculty Affairs and accompanied by a commission of experts. It includes professors from eight departments.

ETH President Jo?l Mesot initiated the process in November last year. In a call, he invited all departments to submit pre-proposals for professorship profiles. He emphasized that the far-reaching impact of AI and the pace of developments require not only subject-specific but also interdisciplinary research efforts.

Interdisciplinary collaboration as a factor for success

¡°Particularly with a view to future study programs, a certain degree of coherence among the professorship profiles is crucial for the success of the Heilbronn campus,¡± explains Larissa Schefer, Head of the Office for Faculty Affairs. The aim is to avoid creating isolated professorships in Heilbronn as far as possible.

In a workshop, the departments discussed synergies between profile ideas. Schefer was particularly pleased that all departments contributed to this discussion.

The deadline for the call expired in mid-January. Forty pre-proposals were received, which also included outlines with initial considerations for possible thematic clusters.

In preparation for the decision-making process by the school management, the expert commission appointed by the president discussed the pre-proposals in terms of their expected contribution to the successful establishment and operation of the Heilbronn campus. Specifically, the commission also considered how a professorship could benefit from the Heilbronn innovation ecosystem and how it could contribute to it. It formulated a recommendation to the school management regarding the next steps.

The school management decided to have 36 profiles further developed. The departments are now invited to draw up full proposals based on these. ¡°In this step, individual ideas from the pre-proposals will also be brought together, so that we can expect a maximum of two dozen full proposals,¡± says Schefer.

Clusters as a guide for further development

Thematic clusters will serve as a guide for the next steps. The president's original call set the thematic priorities: in addition to the core areas of ¡°artificial intelligence (AI)¡± and ¡°information and cyber security,¡± these include ¡°applied AI¡± and ¡°human-centered AI¡± in view of the profound digital transformation.

Given the breadth of the profile proposals received, different thematic clusters are conceivable, including those aligned with ETH's strategic impact areas: ¡°Health and well-being,¡± ¡°Environment and resources,¡± and ¡°Responsible digital transformation.¡±

¡°The interdisciplinary discussion of profiles and their combinations into potential thematic clusters should be continued,¡± says Schefer. The aim is to find an optimal balance between the professorships in the core and applied areas within the fifteen targeted professorships and to lay the foundation for inspiring collaboration between them.

Full proposals by early June

The criteria for evaluating the full proposals remain unchanged. It will be essential to demonstrate how a profile can interact with other ETH professorships in Heilbronn and the thriving ecosystem on campus and in the surrounding area.

The departments now have until June 2 to continue their discussions and develop the profiles into full proposals. These will be reviewed by the expert group by mid-July so that the Executive Board can make further decisions after the summer break. The first professorships will then be advertised in autumn.