What happens to boat refugees who never reach the other shore? This question preoccupies religious studies scholar Daniela Stauffacher. She researches the official treatment of and rituals performed for migration victims in southern Italy. More …

The Parliament of the Canton of Zurich yesterday unanimously resolved to provide 108 million francs of funding for the DIZH, the ground-breaking joint initiative by Zurich’s higher education institutions. More …

When it comes to disease-causing viruses, medicine is still waiting for a breakthrough. The reason lies in the special way these quasi-living organisms function. Viruses don’t simply attack us; they live in constant symbiosis with us. More …

The new Center of Competence for Sustainable Finance (CCSF) was inaugurated at UZH last week. At the opening, Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the Nobel prize for economics and chair of the center’s academic advisory board, spoke about the risks and opportunities of climate change. His message was clear: Decisive action must be taken – now. More …

Technology transfer office Unitectra recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. In the interview below, Managing Director Adrian Sigrist explains what has changed and why the organization has thrived. More …

Accomplished alumni look back on their studies at UZH. This article features professional flautist and music educator Renate Lemmer. More …

Artificial heart valves save many lives. But the problem is that a prosthesis is never as robust as the real thing. This is why UZH Professor Maximilian Emmert wants to get the human body to rebuild the damaged valves itself. More …

Political scientist Fabrizio Gilardi and his colleagues established the Digital Democracy Lab. More …

Some parts of Zurich are colorful and full of life, while others appear drab and empty. Psychologist Alice Hollenstein knows what brings joy to city dwellers – and what doesn’t. More …

Open science is gaining momentum. According to Mark Robinson and Marc Thommen, the open science delegates newly appointed by UZH to support the transformation to greater cooperation, the movement will bring about major changes in the academic system. More …

Digitalization is bringing widespread and fundamental changes to the finance sector. Three doctoral candidates at UZH have organized an international workshop to explore where these changes might lead. More …

Alex Rübel works with animals from all over the world, but has stayed loyal to his roots: Born and raised in Zurich, he studied veterinary medicine at UZH and has served as the Director of the Zurich Zoo for 28 successful years. Watch our video to find out what his plans are when he retires in 2020. More …

There should be interstellar comets hiding in our Solar system after making a journey of many lightyears. Maybe we have already seen one but believed it was a “normal” comet formed in the solar system, says Tom Hands, astrophysicist at the University of Zurich and member of the NCCR PlanetS. More …

Hydrogen is a clean source of electricity, fuel and fertilizer. The problem is that hydrogen still isn’t produced very sustainably. This could change – thanks to artificial photosynthesis. More …

A new National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) will be based at the University of Zurich. Entitled “Evolving Language”, it will investigate the origins and future of language. UZH linguist Balthasar Bickel will serve as co-director of the research network alongside Anne-Lise Giraud from the University of Geneva. The national network includes numerous other universities and research institutes within Switzerland. More …

Energy from hydrogen, free train travel, green investments, repairing not replacing, no more plastic, modified seeds and biodiversity. The focus of the new UZH Magazin is on saving the world – we present seven ideas from UZH researchers for a bright and sustainable future. More …

Aimed at promoting open access, the negotiations between swissuniversities and major publishing houses Elsevier, Wiley and Springer Nature have come to a largely successful conclusion. However, no agreement could be reached with Springer Nature. This has consequences for members of UZH from January 2020 onwards, as access to journals belonging to this publishing house will no longer be secured from 1 January 2020. There are alternative ways of access, which we will present below. More …

Biophysicist Ben Schuler will serve as a fellow at the Biophysical Society starting early next year. The US-based organization has recognized Schuler’s innovative contributions to protein research, marking the first time a researcher at the University of Zurich has received this honor. More …

Robotics professor Davide Scaramuzza and his research group finished in second place at the AlphaPilot international drone race. Among the nine finalists, the first three places were all won by university teams. More …

After several years at the helm of large organizations, Ingrid Deltenre has returned to her alma mater – part-time, at least. She is President of the Executive Committee of the EMBA at UZH. More …