Léa Binggeli & Rémi Madrona

The transition of CAB from an at the time high-tech chemistry building into an office building, exemplifies to us an understanding of a university as a place for productivity and excellence in a society driven by profit. 

The academic pathways are clearly delimited, slowly turning ETH students into valuable products, answering job market needs. As professors retreat in their offices after their lecture, interactions with students remain limited and hierarchies are firmly held in place. 

We believe in a university that values the multiplicity of knowledge for each student, where one can discover a lecture given in an open space alongside a library. We believe auditoriums should become theatres, shifting the focus from an orator to a range of uses and misuses. It would then accommodate an open lecture, a casual discussion during lunch break or unexpectedly encountering a friend passing by. 

We believe in the diversity of how one learns. The traditional lecture in auditoriums should be challenged. Why not unbuilding the hierarchy between students and professors through workshops, focusing on discussions instead of monologues. The online format could also make knowledge more accessible to all, accommodating schedules and the spectrum of focus needs. 

We believe that ETH should consider acting like an open university and open some of its doors to a multiplicity of users. They can be matura students who want to study outside of their school library, curious families during a weekend outing or an association of elderly fascinated by the stars. 

We also believe that ETH should not be a mirror of the so-called neutral Swiss state.