ETH Zurich forced to "consider drastic measures in research and teaching" due to budget limits

ETH Zurich (Switzerland) is faced with "significant financial challenges" due to a budget not following rising student numbers, the university says on 18/04/2024, following the publication of its annual report the same day.

The Swiss university "still managed to generate a consolidated surplus of 50 million Swiss francs (51.5 million euros) in 2023 (previous year: 73 million Swiss franc loss) through a combination of internal cost discipline, increased donations and net finance income".

"ETH Zurich’s liquidity has been steadily declining since 2020 due to consistently negative free cash flow. This leaves the university unable to fully cover the liquidity needed for investment and operations from the federal financial contribution and third-party funding."

Stefan Spiegel, Vice President for Finance and Controlling, explains that ETH Zurich is "currently living on its freely available reserves, but they will be completely exhausted by the end of 2025".

"ETH Zurich urgently needs reserves in order to fund major future investments and smooth out any fluctuation in expenditure”, he says.

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