ETH4D News

Earlier this year, ETH4D visited Ghana to strengthen institutional partnerships with Ashesi University in Accra and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi.

This Spring semester, ETH4D is offering four courses where students can gain insights topics relevant for global sustainable development and participate actively to contribute to sustainable development through their studies, research and as members of society.

Apply for our funding programs supporting research, innovation and collaboration for the benefit of people in low-income countries. Deadline for the applications: 30 April 2020.

An exciting Master thesis opportunity with field work in Guatemala is available, under the supervision of Cristina Dominguez, one of the doctoral students in the ETH4D network.

Désirée Ruppen, one of the doctoral students in the ETH4D network, is writing her doctoral thesis on community-based water quality monitoring of Deka River in Zimbabwe. Check out this video to find out more.

The IARU Summer School on “Borderland: Critical Approaches to Field Research in the Global South” combines research, education and a NGO placement experience. Advanced Bachelor students as well as Master students from the IARU network (including ETH Zurich) are invited to apply before 1^st March.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) is looking for young researchers to present innovative ideas related to the emergency realm (migration, protection of persons, conflicts, natural disasters, etc.) in any major domain of the humanitarian field. Application deadline: 2^nd February 2020.

In collaboration between ETH Zürich and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST), ETH Sustainability and ETH4D are planning a Summer School on solid waste management in Kumasi, Ghana. 5 master's or PhD students from both KNUST and ETH will have the opportunity to get trained and act as tutors. Application deadline for tutors: 9th February 2020.

As part of the CAS Regenerative Materials, Prof Eike Roswag-Klinge will speak about Natural Buildings on Thursday 16^th January 2020 during an open guest lecture.

We are delighted to present to you the first grant recipients of the ETH4D Research Challenges, which address challenges faced by underprivileged people in low income countries. These projects also foster collaborations between ETH researchers and non-​academic partners (i.e. Private Sector, NGOs, Governmental Organizations) and partners from the Global South.

The ETH4D Research Challenges programme is a funding scheme in which ETH4D members can apply for funding between 10 and 100 kCHF. Application deadline is 28th February 2020.

On 4th December 2019, ETH for Development held its second General Assembly which gathered more than 20 heads of research groups as well the leadership of various ETH Units including Global, ETH Sustainability and ETH NADEL. The main activities of ETH4D in 2019 were presented and members were invited to weigh in with their ideas for the future.

The ETH4D Executive Office is looking for a Program Associate and an Intern in Global Sustainable Development to support it with various administrative and management tasks and strengthen its communication and outreach activities.

ISTP Colloquium on Tuesday, 26th November 2019 on "Borderland Urbanism: Infrastructure for Fragmented Cities" by Dr. Deljana Iossifova, Senior Lecturer in Urban Studies at the School of Environment, Education and Development and Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Manchester.

The Swiss Economic Institute KOF together with NADEL will hold the international conference on “Education and Decent Work for Youth” on 4-5 June 2020 at ETH Zurich. They invite contributions from scholars in economics, sociology and educational science. Submission deadline: 14 February 2020.

ISTP Colloquium on Tuesday, 19th November 2019 on "Can corporate forest policies achieve global conservation objectives?" by Prof. Rachel Garrett, Assistant Professor of Environmental Policy at ETH Zurich and newest member of ETH4D.

Read more about Engineering for Development (E4D) Scholar Moritz Gold's project on the conversion of organic waste into animal feed through fly larvae, where he works to bring the process to a viable scale.

ETH4D Executive Director Adina Rom took part in a discussion on the Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen Club programme on how serious social justice is for Switzerland and gave her insight on how science can contribute to social justice.

As part of a panel discussion on making an impact with sustainability research, Dr. Adina Rom and the other panelists share the advice given during the session in this post.

On 14th November 2019, ETH Zurich and UZH students and scientists will present their research projects and showcase their impact in Africa during a half-day colloquium.

Thanks to unreliable electricity grids, fossil-fuel powered generators in low- and middle-income countries constitute as much generation capacity as up to 1,000 coal-fired plants, finds a new report from the IFC and the Schatz Energy Research Center. That sounds bad for the climate and public health, but generators also help people stay out of poverty...

Learn more about Georg's experience in South Africa, where he worked as the Head Teaching Assistant at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) from 2016 to 2018.

The focus of the Autumn 2019 programme for Treffpunkt Science City is “There is no life without water”. As part of this multi-day event, Sunday 24th November 2019 will be dedicated to the theme of “Clean Water for All”.

During this lecture, H.E. Dr. Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary, Provisional Technical Secretariat for the Comprehensive Nuclear-​Test-Ban Treaty Organization, will connect Science, Diplomacy and World Security to the case of the Nuclear-​Test-Ban Treaty.

ETH Zurich is looking to hire a Professor of Development Engineering, who will take a central role in shaping development engineering research and in teaching development engineering courses, educating future leaders of sustainable development. Application deadline: 15 January 2020

On the occasion of being named Doctor Honoris Clausa at the Faculty of literature and humanities at the University of Freiburg, internationally renowned Nigerian writer and feminist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will address, in public conversation, questions about feminism and race, and the role literature can play in creating freer, fairer societies.

The annual public World Food System Center Research Symposium will take place on Thursday, October 31st and will highlight the research that the World Food System Center Research Programs support as well other food system relevant research conducted by the World Food System Center and collaborating groups at ETH Zurich, Agroscope, Eawag, Empa, and FiBL.

ISTP Colloquium on Tuesday, 8^th October 2019 on “Energizing Development: Scaling Decentralized Electricity Systems in East Africa” by Nathan Williams, professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh USA.

The ETH for Development Launch Event took place on Wednesday September 18th and gathered over 120 people from research, NGOs and industry. The event officially inaugurated this ETH-wide initiative, backed by the ETH+ program, that aims to drive new research and education initiatives to identify and implement solutions for poverty reduction.

On November 1^st and 2^nd, the Swiss Society for African Studies and the Centre for African Studies Basel will host an interactive, interdisciplinary event in Basel, bringing together a selection of Swiss and international scholars studying Africa.

Panel discussion on October 16th with the aim to provide inspiring examples of how research can be effectively applied to enhance the sustainability of our society and natural environment. The panel, featuring Dr. Adina Rom, will focus on real-world examples and combine insights from both academics and practitioners. The panelists will share experiences from their work bridging research with action then the audience will have time to ask the panel questions.

Colloquium on Tuesday, 24th September 2019 on "High stakes, High Hopes: Urban Theory in Partnership" by Sophie Oldfield, professor in Urban Studies at University of Basel and University of Cape Town and based at the African Centre for Cities.

The Hack4Good program enables ETH Zurich students to work closely with NGOs and develop and implement data-driven solutions to increase these organizations' impact. Application deadline: September 24th 2019.

Apply for our ETH4D Exchange Grants, for ETH faculty members to either travel to lower income countries for lectures, courses and collaboration meetings or to bring partners from institutions in lower income countries for a research stay or a workshop/conferene. Application deadline: 30 November 2019.

Executive Director Dr. Adina Rom’s PhD project placed second at the PEGNet Best Practice Award 2019.

Apply for our Engineering for Development scholarships, for candidates from lower income countries to attend continuing education programmes at ETH Zurich. Application deadline: 30 November 2019.