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Dr. Gnanli Landrou grew up in a clay house in Togo. Today he combines know-how from his home country with what he learned in his doctoral degree at ETH to develop a building material for the future: cement-free concrete that is both eco-friendly and low-cost. His story is just one of many illustrating why embracing and encouraging diversity is key for the success of any forward-looking institution that wants to excel in innovation.

While Switzerland never had colonies, it was still involved in colonial practices and discourse and benefited economically from colonialism. In the NZZ, ETH4D member Professor Harald Fischer-Tiné discusses the involvement of Swiss players in the colonial business, the role of historians in current debates, and the ability of postcolonial studies to help us understand ideas, values and linguistic relics from the colonial past that still shape contemporary society.

The Leading House Asia launches a call for Bridging Grants with China, Japan, South Korea and members states of ASEAN to establish existing collaborations between Swiss scientists and their collaborating partners.