École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne
École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
Type Public
Established 1853[1]
Budget 965 million CHF[2]
President Martin Vetterli
Academic staff
 3,971 (2016) [3]
Administrative staff
 1,195 (2016) [3]
Students 10,536 (headcount 2016, 27.7% female, 57.4% foreign nationals)[3]
Undergraduates 5,418 (2016)[3]
Postgraduates 4,925 (2016)[3]
Location Écublens (near Lausanne), Vaud, Switzerland
46°31′13″N 6°33′56″E / 46.52028°N 6.56556°E / 46.52028; 6.56556Coordinates: 46°31′13″N 6°33′56″E / 46.52028°N 6.56556°E / 46.52028; 6.56556
Campus Urban
Language French, English (only Masters and upwards)
Nationalities 125+
Affiliations AUF, EUA, Eurotech, CLUSTER, RESCIF and TIME
Website www.epfl.ch
EPFL
Location: Lausanne, Switzerland

The École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL; English: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne) is a research institute/university in Lausanne, Switzerland, that specializes in natural sciences and engineering.[4] The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology complex has three main missions: education, research and technology transfer at the highest international level.

EPFL is widely regarded as a world leading university. The QS World University Rankings ranks EPFL 12th in the world across all fields in their 2017/2018 ranking, whilst Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranks EPFL as the worlds 11th best school for Engineering and Technology.[5][6]

EPFL is located in the French-speaking part of Switzerland; the sister institution in the German-speaking part of Switzerland is the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich). Associated with several specialised research institutes, the two universities form the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain (ETH Domain), which is directly dependent on the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research.[7] In connection with research and teaching activities, EPFL operates a nuclear reactor CROCUS,[8] a Tokamak Fusion reactor,[9] a Blue Gene/Q Supercomputer[10] and P3 bio-hazard facilities.

History

École spéciale de Lausanne 1857

The roots of modern-day EPFL can be traced back to the foundation of a private school under the name École spéciale de Lausanne in 1853 at the initiative of Lois Rivier, a graduate of the École Centrale Paris and John Gay, the then professor and rector of the Académie de Lausanne. At its inception it had only 11 students and the offices was located at Rue du Valentin in Lausanne. In 1869, it became the technical department of the public Académie de Lausanne. When the Académie was reorganised and acquired the status of a university in 1890, the technical faculty changed its name to École d'ingénieurs de l'Université de Lausanne. In 1946, it was renamed the École polytechnique de l'Université de Lausanne (EPUL). In 1969, the EPUL was separated from the rest of the University of Lausanne and became a federal institute under its current name. EPFL, like ETH Zurich, is thus directly controlled by the Swiss federal government. In contrast, all other universities in Switzerland are controlled by their respective cantonal governments. Following the nomination of Patrick Aebischer as president in 2000, EPFL has started to develop into the field of life sciences. It absorbed the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) in 2008.[11]

In 1946, there were 360 students. In 1969, EPFL had 1,400 students and 55 professors. In the past two decades the university has grown rapidly and as of 2012 roughly 14,000 people study or work on campus, about 9,300 of these beings Bachelor, Master or PhD students. As EPFL first became a federal institute under its current name in 1969, with a student body of then less than 1500, the university is included in the Times Higher Education list of top 100 universities under 50 years old. The environment at modern day EPFL is highly international with the school now attracting top students and researchers from all over the world. More than 125 countries are represented on the campus and the university has two official languages, French and English.

Admission and education

Like every public university in Switzerland, EPFL is obliged to grant admission to every Swiss resident who took the maturité high-school certificate recognized by the Swiss Federation. As such, for Swiss students, EPFL is not selective in its undergraduate admission procedures.

The real selection process happens during the first year of study. This period is called the propaedeutic cycle and the students must pass a block examination of all the courses taken during the first year at the end of the cycle. If the weighted average is insufficient, a student is required to retake the entire first year of coursework if they wish to continue their studies at the school. Roughly 50% of students fail the first year of study, and many of them choose to drop out rather than repeat the first year.[12] The failure rate for the propaedeutic cycle differs between fields of study, it is highest for Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering majors where only 30–40% of students pass the first year.

For foreign students, the selection procedure towards the undergraduate program is rather strict, and since most undergraduate courses are taught in French, foreign students must provide documentation of having acquired a level B2 proficiency as measured on the CEF scale, though C1 proficiency is recommended.

As at all universities in Switzerland, the academic year is divided into two semesters. Regular time to reach graduation is six semesters for the Bachelor of Science degree and four additional semesters for the Master of Science degree. Though only 58% of the student's who manage to graduate are able to graduate within this time-period.[12] The possibility to study abroad for one or two semesters is offered during the 3rd year of study under certain conditions as EPFL maintains several long-standing student exchange programs, such as the junior year engineering and science program with Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, as well as a graduate Aeronautics and Aerospace program with the ISAE in France. The final semester is dedicated to writing a thesis.

Entrepreneurship is actively encouraged to foster a start-up culture among the student body as evident by the EPFL-Innovationpark being an integral part of campus. Since 1997, 12 start-ups have been created per year on average by EPFL students and faculty. In the year 2013, a total of 105 million CHF was raised by EPFL start-ups.[13]

Rankings

University Rankings 2017
Engineering & Technology Rankings
Global
Times 11
QS 12
ARWU 11
Europe
Times 5
QS 5
ARWU 2

The three most widely observed international university rankings, QS World University Rankings, Academic Ranking of World Universities and Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranks EPFL 5th, 2nd and 5th respectively in Europe in their 2017 rankings. In the rankings EPFL competes with Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London and its sister institution, ETH Zurich, for the European top five spots in Engineering and Technology.

QS World University Ranking 2017/2018 ranks EPFL as the worlds 12th best university across all fields, and world 11th in the Natural Sciences subcategory.[14] Academic Ranking of World Universities 2016 ranks EPFL world 11th and Europe 2nd in the Engineering, Technology and Computer Sciences category.[15] THE World University Rankings 2016–2017 ranks EPFL world 11th in the Engineering and Technology subcategory.[16]

EPFL typically scores high on faculty to student ratio, international outlook and scientific impact. The specialized CWTS Leiden Ranking[17] that "aims to provide highly accurate measurements of the scientific impact of universities" ranks EPFL world 13th, and 1st in Europe in the 2013 rankings for all the sciences.

Although EPFL generally ranks among the worlds best universities on measures such as citation index, international outlook and scientific impact, due to the young age and small size of the school, it tends to rank comparatively low in name-brand surveys. A recent example of this being the Times 2017 reputation ranking where EPFL was ranked world 45th, comparatively low for EPFL.[18] In recent years, multiple EPFL faculty members have been selected as Young Global Leader or as Young Scientist by the World Economic Forum, increasing the visibility of EPFL outside tech-circles.[19]

The Times 100 Under 50 Rankings is a ranking of the top 100 universities in the world under 50 years old. Since EPFL in its current form was formed in 1969, EPFL is included in this ranking. EPFL was ranked 1st in the world for three years in a row in 2015,[20] 2016 [21][22] and 2017.[23] Times Higher Education also ranked EPFL as the most international university in the world two years in a row 2014[24] and 2015.[25]

Campus

The EPFL Learning Center.
The MX buildings.
The SwissTech Convention Center.
Aerial view of the EPFL, which forms a large campus with the University of Lausanne (UNIL) at the shores of Lake Geneva.

The École d'ingénieurs de l'Université de Lausanne, from which EPFL in its modern-day form originates, was located in the center of Lausanne. In 1974, five years after EPFL was separated from University of Lausanne and became a federal institute under its current name, the construction of a new campus at Dorigny in Écublens, a suburb south-west of Lausanne on the shores of Lake Geneva, began. The inauguration of the first EPFL buildings of the new campus took place in 1978.

The EPFL campus has been evolving ever since. The first stage of the development plans, with a total budget of 462 million Swiss francs, was completed in 1984 and in 1990 the second stage was completed. The construction of the northern parts of campus began in 1995 with the construction of the Microtechnology building, completed in 1998, and the architecture building, completed in 2000. In 2002, the department of architecture also moved to the campus in Écublens, uniting all departments of EPFL on the same site. The latest addition to the EPFL campus is the Rolex Learning Center completed February 2010. The Rolex Learning Center includes areas for work, leisure and services and is located at the center of the campus. The EPFL campus is now being expanded with the construction of the SwissTech Convention Center to be completed in 2014.

Together with the University of Lausanne, also located in Écublens, the EPFL forms a vast campus, welcoming about 20,000 students, at the shores of Lake Geneva. The campus is served by the Lausanne Metro Line 1 (M1) and is equipped with an electric bicycle sharing system.[26] Since 2012, only electricity from certified hydroelectric generation is being bought by EPFL to power its campus. EPFL was the first campus to receive the International Sustainable Campus Excellence Award by the International Sustainable Campus Network.[27]

Of the 14,000 people that work and study at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne campus, roughly 9.300 are students in either Bachelor, Master or Doctoral programs, the remaining 4,700 being administrative staff, scientists, technical staff, professors and the entrepreneurs located in the Science Park EPFL7. More than 125 nationalities are present on campus with 48% of the student population being foreign nationals.[28]

Almost all of the structures of the EPFL are located on its main campus. However, it also has branches in Neuchâtel ("Microcity"), in Sion ("Pôle EPFL Valais"),[29] in Geneva (Campus Biotech, including the Wyss Center for Bio- and Neuro-engineering) and in Fribourg ("Smart Living Lab").

The EPFL also has a project of research centre in Ras al-Khaimah (United Arab Emirates), EPFL Middle East.[30]

Buildings

The campus consists of about 65 buildings on 136 acres (55 ha). Built according to the growth of the school, the campus includes different types of architectures:

The EPFL and the University of Lausanne also share an active sports centre five minutes away from EPFL, on the shores of Lake Geneva.[31]

Facilities

Facilities are available on the campus for the students and staff:

Satellite campuses

EPFL Lausanne

Language Centre

The Language Centre is a service provided by the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale to help international students and staff to learn and improve their international language skills covering French, German, Italian and English (levels A1 to C2; see the CEFR language levels).[35] The language-learning program it offers is reserved for EPFL students and personnel, for their spouse (paying French courses only) and for collaborators of the Confederation.

Tandems are also organized and set up within the framework of the Tandem Program of the Arts Faculty/EFLE. It includes two people of different mother tongues who meet regularly to teach each other their respective languages.[36]

Students and traditions

Student body

The number of students attending studying at EPFL has been rising heavily since EPFL was formed in 1969 under its current name. In 1969 EPFL had roughly 1400 students, that number had grown to 2367 by 1982, 4302 by 1997 and now 9921 students in 2014. Within the student body, 112 different nationalities are represented. In the period from 1982 to 2014 the female proportion of the student body has increased from 12% to 27%. The proportion of female students is lowest at the School of Computer Science and Communication, 15%, and highest at the School of Life Sciences, 49%.[1]

Associations

The Festival Balélec is a music festival organised annually at the EPFL campus.

The school encourages the formation of associations and sports activities on campus. As of 2012 more than 79 associations exist on campus for recreational and social purposes. In addition, the school has its own monthly newspaper, Flash. Included in the 79 associations are

Music festivals

Several music festivals are held yearly at EPFL. The largest one is the Balélec Festival, organised in May each year since 1981.[40] The festival welcomes 15,000 visitors to around 30 concerts.[41] The performances take place on two outdoor stages[42] and four indoor halls.[43]

Other smaller festivals include Sysmic organised in November by the students of the Department of Microengineering, hosting two stages for local and national bands, and Artiphys, organised by the students of the Physics Department.

Archimedean Oath

The EPFL was the birthplace of the Archimedean Oath, proposed by students in 1990.[44] The Archimedean Oath has since spread to a number of European engineering schools.

The Archimedean Oath is an ethical code of practice for engineers and technicians, similar to the Hippocratic Oath used in the medical world:

"I commit to keeping completely, to the full extent of my capacities and judgment, the following promises:

I shall use my knowledge for the benefit of mankind. I shall not put my skill to the service of people who do not respect Human Rights I shall not permit consideration regarding religion, nationality, race, sex, wealth and politics to harm people affected by my actions. I shall bear the entire responsibility for my actions and shall in no way discharge them on another. I shall practice in respect for the environment. I shall not use my knowledge for destructive purposes. I shall practice my profession in complete intellectual honesty, with conscience and dignity. I solemnly take this oath, freely and on my honour."

EPFL Alumni network

The mission of EPFL Alumni is to provide graduates of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne an exclusive, international network and a strong and lasting relationship upon graduation. To do this, EPFL Alumni offers graduates a directory full of over 30,000 contacts of EPFL graduates across the globe with access reserved to alumni. It furthermore provides them with opportunities for meeting, training and consulting. EPFL Alumni creates a platform for exchange and services on topics as diverse as career, expatriation, research, entrepreneurship and volunteerism. EPFL Alumni ensures that graduates can benefit from the support of older peers by fostering opportunities to meet in Switzerland or abroad. EPFL Alumni is aided in this task by local and international chapters, whose committed volunteers invigorate the local alumni network. EPFL Alumni has built a strong international network of chapters in different parts of Switzerland and throughout the world. These antennas enrich the communities of nearby graduates. They are able to independently offer activities, conferences and outings, with financial and logistical support from EPFL Alumni. By joining EPFL Alumni, every EPFL alumnus would have the opportunity to have a unique alumni EPFL e-mail address, Alumnist magazine, EPFL's scientific magazine, career services, EPFL services (WiFi, library, gym, etc.), temporary office space at EPFL and internationally at Swissnex hubs and major formal events at EPFL.

Scientific partners

Solar Impulse 2 in 2014.

Organization

The Tokamak (TCV): inner view, with the graphite-clad torus. Courtesy of SPC-EPFL
Outside view of the Tokamak at the EPFL.
Henry Markram,the coordinator of the Human Brain Project.
CROCUS, the only nuclear reactor of the French-speaking part of Switzerland

EPFL is organised into seven schools, themselves formed of institutes that group research units (laboratories or chairs) around common themes. The seven schools at EPFL:

In addition to the seven schools there are seven closely related institutions

Notable affiliates

Presidents

The school had directors from 1853 to 1969. In 1969, the school was separated from the rest of the University of Lausanne and became a federal institute. The presidents are:[54]

Professors

Alumni

Astronaut Claude Nicollier, mission specialist representing the European Space Agency.

Doctorates honoris causa

The EPFL has awarded a doctorate honoris causa to several people:

Buildings and campus

Projects and partnerships

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 "EPFL at a glance - EPFL". 28 May 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "EPFL Annual Report 2015". EPFL.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "EPFL en ciffres". EPFL. Retrieved Feb 2017. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  4. ↑ "Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)". http://www.studyinginswitzerland.ch. External link in |journal= (help)
  5. ↑ https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2017/subject-ranking/engineering-and-IT#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats. Retrieved 22 June 2017. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ "QS World University Rankings 2018". Top Universities. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne EPFL". http://academicpositions.eu. External link in |journal= (help)
  8. ↑ "Crocus – Forschungsreaktor der Eidgenössischen Technischen Hochschule Lausanne (EPFL)". http://www.energienucleaire.ch. External link in |journal= (help)
  9. ↑ "Shaping the Future of Fusion". https://www.efda.org. 27 May 2013. External link in |journal= (help)
  10. ↑ "IBM BlueGene supercomputer". http://www.neuronano.net. External link in |journal= (help)
  11. ↑ "About École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne". http://www.flammaedu.com. External link in |journal= (help)
  12. 1 2 "Failure statistics - SAE". 26 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  13. ↑ http://information.epfl.ch/files/content/sites/accueil/files/chiffres/2012/EPFL%20in%20figures13-en.pdf
  14. ↑ "QS University World University Rankings 2017". Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  15. ↑ http://www.shanghairanking.com/FieldENG2016.html. Retrieved 22 June 2017. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ "Times Higher Education Ranking". Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  17. ↑ "Leiden ranking". Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  18. ↑ "World Reputation Rankings 2017". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  19. ↑ "Young Global Leaders: the class of 2015". Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  20. ↑ "100 Under 50 Rankings". Times Higher Education (THE). Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  21. ↑ "EPFL keeps the lead of "THE Young Universities Ranking"". actu.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  22. ↑ "150 Under 50 Rankings". Times Higher Education (THE). Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  23. ↑ Times Higher Education (THE) https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2017/young-university-rankings#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats. Retrieved 2017-06-22. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. ↑ "The 100 most international universities in the world 2014". Times Higher Education (THE). Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  25. ↑ "The 100 most international universities in the world 2015". Times Higher Education (THE). Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  26. ↑ Campus roule, www.publibike.ch (page visited on 15 May 2013).
  27. ↑ "Quarante ans de campus durable". http://actualites.epfl.ch. External link in |work= (help)
  28. ↑ "présentation epfl". www.epfl.ch.
  29. ↑ EPFL Valais (page visited on 23 August 2013).
  30. ↑ About EPFL Middle East , www.epfl.ae (page visited on 9 May 2013).
  31. ↑ Service des sports UNIL-EPFL, sport.unil.ch (page visited on 10 May 2013).
  32. ↑ "Microcity". 30 June 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  33. ↑ "Fribourg - EPFL". 8 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  34. ↑ "Maps & directions - EPFL". 29 April 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  35. ↑ "Cdl | EPFL". langues.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  36. ↑ "Programme Tandem". www.unil.ch (in French). Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  37. ↑ "AGEPoly at EPFL".
  38. ↑ "Forum at EPFL".
  39. ↑ "UNIPoly at EPFL".
  40. ↑ "Festival Balelec". People Magazine. Sacha Voeffray
  41. ↑ "Balélec repart pour un tour". 24 heures, 27 October 2015
  42. ↑ "Festival Balélec, EPFL Campus, Lausanne, 08.05.2015". Indie Nation, May 13, 2015
  43. ↑ "Festival Balélec, EPFL Campus, Lausanne, 08.05.2015". Indie Nation, May 13, 2015.
  44. ↑ Serment d'Archimèdes
  45. ↑ "EPFL-Hydroptère".
  46. ↑ "SwissCube Website".
  47. ↑ "Human brain project". Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  48. ↑ "DAY 2 - Thursday 5 June | CODEV". cooperation.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  49. ↑ "Welcome from the Director | STI". sti.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  50. ↑ "Section SGM | STI". sti.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  51. ↑ http://sti.epfl.ch/cms/page-1620.html
  52. ↑ "La Structure de la Section | STI". sti.epfl.ch (in French). Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  53. ↑ "Contact | IBI". bioengineering.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  54. ↑ President since 1853, official website of the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (page visited on 24 February 2016).
  55. ↑ http://monodor.com/pages/societe_familiale_profile.asp?id=3
  56. ↑ "Paul R. Gray". UC Berkeley. Retrieved Jun 28, 2016.
  57. ↑ "The Human Brain Project - Human Brain Project". www.humanbrainproject.eu. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  58. ↑ "Home - Partners - Human Brain Project". www.humanbrainproject.eu. Retrieved 2016-03-01.

Bibliography

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