Infrastructure and Organization
To continue fostering excellence and diversity in the future, UZH is constantly developing its digital, organizational and structural environment.
In shaping its digital future, UZH follows an integrative approach that encompasses all its areas of activity – from research and studies to teaching and university services. This approach not only focuses on more efficient processes but also on digital environments that facilitate exchange and cooperation, enabling UZH staff and students to make even more effective use of the benefits of diversity at the university. In 2024, UZH formulated an implementation agenda (Digital Charter) for its digital strategy, which it had adopted in the previous year. The seven focus lines include building UZH’s profile in terms of artificial intelligence and data science, improving the quality and management of personal, organizational and financial data, and developing an AI assistant for students. In addition, UZH is pressing ahead with existing projects such as the launch of an intranet platform for employees and the introduction of end-to-end processes in HR.
UZH updated its risk management in 2024, improving its ability to make sound management decisions in a wide range of strategic areas. UZH’s risk profile covers 10 key topics including educational excellence, IT availability, real estate management and sustainable financing. A newly established risk management process supports the Executive Board of the University, the faculties and other university units in assessing risks and proactively seizing opportunities. Standardized risk analysis processes and measures, such as for cybersecurity or protecting intellectual property, contribute to the resilience of UZH. In certain areas, risks are consciously accepted as a driver of creativity. The wide range of topics covered reflects UZH’s interdisciplinary and global focus. This approach to risk management reinforces UZH’s role as a forward-looking institution.
The education and research center FORUM UZH is planned as a place for different disciplines to come together in research and teaching, and for vigorous interaction and exchange between academia and society. As a result, it will embody the values that characterize UZH’s identity. The future main building of UZH will bring together three faculties under one roof and provide space for interaction, public events, sport and gastronomy. In March 2024, the city of Zurich granted the building permit, and construction began in August 2024. The new building is scheduled to open in 2030.
UZH is firmly committed to developing an open-access publishing culture. In 2024, it was able to complete the first implementation phase for its Open Science Policy, launched in 2021. The share of freely accessible publications at UZH is now at 70 percent, helped in part by the Read & Publish agreements negotiated for UZH at the national level. Established at the University Library, the Open Science Services Office supports UZH researchers in the publication process and in dealing with research data. In the second phase set to begin in 2025, UZH aims to step up its efforts to promote open data and open code, in addition to open access. The goal is to make research data accessible according to FAIR principles, meaning data should be findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. In future, the Data Stewards network will play a central role in the provision of high-quality research data. This network evolved out of one of the 27 UZH projects in total, which were funded by swissuniversities as part of the National Open Science Strategy. A wide variety of topics are covered by the projects, ranging from open research data in cancer treatment to digital editions in the humanities. The high number of successful project grants in Open Science highlight UZH’s pioneering role on the path to a more open academic culture in Switzerland. UZH is also strongly advocating Open Science at the federal level. In 2024, it played a key part in developing strategy papers for national data clusters in life sciences/health and in social sciences/humanities.
UZH is a multi-faceted knowledge institution that performs its duties with a high degree of self-management and participation on the part of its employees. This requires a leadership culture that combines the freedom necessary for research and teaching with the requirements of business operations. To promote a common understanding of leadership for all employees, UZH updated its Leadership and Management Principles in 2024. These principles are binding for line managers and now also contain descriptions of specific practices and information on available support and continuing education. They provide the framework for UZH leadership tools and are updated on a regular basis.
UZH intends to fill professorships more closely in line with university and faculty strategies and priorities. It plans to take greater account than ever before of interdisciplinary and cross-faculty topics of particular relevance for the future, such as digital transformation, sustainability, diversity and internationalization. By 2030, around a quarter of the current professors at UZH will have retired. In view of this upcoming generational shift, the goal is to ensure excellence in research and teaching in the long term. UZH is creating the necessary conditions for this with the Strategic Professorship Planning project, which it launched in 2024.
To meet the complex building infrastructure needs of a modern educational and academic organization over the long term, in 2024 UZH adopted a comprehensive real estate strategy for the period until 2050. It provides a framework for UZH’s needs-based, sustainable and future-oriented building development in accordance with regional urban development goals.
UZH is continuing to develop its financial governance in order to use existing resources as effectively as possible and facilitate the planning of research and teaching. For instance, the leaders and managers of the approximately 300 UZH units will receive better support in financial matters and roles will be more clearly defined. Implementation of the project launched in the two previous years began in 2024.
The UZH Foundation acquires private third-party funds for UZH, thereby expanding its possibilities for conducting excellent research and teaching. With CHF 51 million in agreed donations, it achieved its second-best result in 2024 since it was founded in 2012. Among other things, a single generous donation enabled the creation of a research center including two new professorships for investigating violence against women and discrimination. Since 2012, around 2,000 private individuals, companies and foundations have contributed more than CHF 380 million to the funding of research and teaching at UZH.
Through its strategic project portfolio, the Executive Board of the University is paving the way for the continued development of UZH for the long term. 2024 was comprised of 10 projects, including the Financial Management, Strategic Professorship Planning, and UZH Accessible projects, which are presented in this annual report. UZH’s digital strategy was also developed as part of the strategic project portfolio. You can find an overview on the UZH website.
