January 2010

ETH Zürich receives funding from the EU

The ETH Zürich will receive funding from the European Union. The EU subsidies go to a new initiative «climate-KIC» (Knowledge and Innovation Community). The ETH Zürich is involved in the project.

«It is very good news for the ETH Zürich and Switzerland as a whole that as a university of a non-EU country we are at the forefront of this pioneering initiative», ETH president Ralph Eichler commented about the decision of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The EIT’s decision emphasizes also the importance of the Greater Zurich Area as a hotbed for Research & Development and entrepreneurial innovation.

The climate-KIC aims to bring about concrete solutions and measures to solve the problem of climate change. Four themes are of particular interest: Assessing climate change and managing its drivers, transitioning to resilient low carbon cities, adaptive water management, and zero carbon production systems. For example, one challenge is to develop an evaluation standard for the monitoring of CO2 emissions.

An additional goal of the initiative is to create a generation of climate change entrepreneurs who will have the multidisciplinary skills to develop sustainable approaches to coping with the effects of global warming. The project has been launched by EIT in Budapest. Among the core partners are European top universities, leading companies and public sector organizations.

www.climate-kic-proposal.org

Please see also: Great results for universities of the Greater Zurich Area in global ranking

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