Saving Miles

Students who produce outstanding scholarly work are nominated for a semester award. In this series, we look at a few examples to show what makes an excellent thesis, how it can benefit teaching, what motivates students to produce outstanding work, and how they are supported and guided by teaching staff.

Geography student Rocco Bagutti is interested in sustainable mobility systems – in particular, minimizing the negative environmental impact of travel. In the spring of 2020, he therefore joined the Air Miles Group, which critically examines the flights taken by the Department of Geography in order to reduce them as much as possible. After all, staff are well aware of harmful emissions, their impact on climate change and, not least, the consequences of melting glaciers, which are the subject of intense research in this very department.

The young student from Ticino met with committed members of staff, from professors to teaching and research assistants as well as administrative employees – all of whom pulled together to get involved. The Air Miles Group took on a pioneering role at UZH with this cause. It later received the Team Effort Award at the UZH Dies academicus for dedicating countless hours of voluntary work to gathering and publishing the flight data of staff and guests every year since 2017. 

Rocco Bagutti saw the air travel data as a hidden treasure trove that could be scientifically evaluated to provide the department with in-depth information. He therefore proposed to analyze this data using statistical methods in his Master’s thesis.

He also wanted to answer certain questions: what were the reasons for flying? Under what conditions were the employees of the Department of Geography prepared to forgo flying? And what alternatives did they use?

The group responded to Bagutti’s proposal with great approval. Peter Ranacher, senior teaching and research assistant and member of the Air Miles Group, offered his academic support for the Master’s thesis. The topic was also accepted by geography professor Michael Zemp. “I was hugely motivated to do something of interest for the Department of Geography,” says Bagutti.

Rocco Bagutti proceeded to plan his thesis step by step. He first conducted a statistical analysis of the flight data collected from the department. Using a geographical information system (GIS), he visualized the flows of flights in the form of charts, constructed temporal and spatial mobility patterns, and then combined the flight data with the results of an online questionnaire in which all members of academic staff at the department took part.

A single methodical approach was not sufficient to determine the potential of different reduction measures. For this reason, Bagutti followed a multi-method approach that was particularly challenging, as supervisor Peter Ranacher emphasizes. Bagutti acquired the technical and data science skills independently; here he also sought and found support outside the Department of Geography. Ariane Wenger, an environmental scientist at ETH Zurich, tackled reducing academic flights in her dissertation as part of ETH Zurich’s air travel project. Bagutti was able to benefit from Wenger’s expertise.

Using statistical methods, Bagutti gained a precise picture of how often flights are taken and to which destinations. He also conducted a staff survey to find out the opinions held by researchers at the Department of Geography on reducing air travel.

In response, he received deep insights into the dynamics of academic careers and recognized just how important international relations are in the academic world. “Travel is not only necessary to carry out research projects but also, for example, for networking at conferences,” he notes. For instance, he was able to show in which cases virtual communications are preferred, and in which cases on-site are necessary.

“For his Master’s thesis, Rocco Bagutti conducted an academic study that meets very high standards and also provides great practical value in the long term,” says supervisor Peter Ranacher. “Anyone who plans their Master’s thesis as carefully, conducts it as precisely and analyzes it as professionally as he has done undoubtedly deserves a semester award.”

“Rocco’s study was very useful for reducing air travel at UZH,” Ranacher concludes. The study provided a foundation for documenting the reasons for air travel at the Department of Geography, and it helped UZH find solutions for reducing air travel without adversely affecting research projects and academic careers.

Thanks to its publication, the study also made a valuable contribution to academic literature. Air travel at the Department of Geography and the resulting emissions have decreased substantially in recent years, as can be seen in the annual reports. For instance, members of the department flew 30% less in 2023 than they did in the reference period from 2017 to 2019.

Rocco Bagutti was a member of the Sustainability Task Force at the Department of Geography until 2024. He has now completed his studies and works at the Federal Roads Office.