EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH

Their core work

ETH Zürich is Switzerland's premier technical university and one of Europe's top research institutions, operating across virtually every domain of science and engineering. Their H2020 portfolio spans machine learning, climate science, advanced materials, quantum technologies, high-performance computing, and life sciences — reflecting a university where fundamental research meets applied problem-solving. They generate both foundational knowledge (through a massive ERC and MSCA portfolio) and contribute domain expertise to large collaborative projects in energy, environment, health, and digital technologies. With over EUR 433 million in H2020 funding across 596 projects, they function as a research powerhouse that other institutions build consortia around.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), ETH Zürich focused on big data analytics, quantum simulation, synthetic biology, and career development through MSCA training networks. By the later period (2019–2022), a clear shift emerged toward applied and physical sciences — microfluidics surged as a new strength, earth system models and climate mitigation gained prominence, and 3D printing and metamaterials signaled growing materials science ambitions. Machine learning remained a constant thread but deepened, moving from a research topic to an enabling capability applied across domains.

ETH Zürich is shifting from purely computational and theoretical work toward physically grounded research — materials, microfluidics, and climate systems — while using ML as a cross-cutting accelerator.

How they like to work

ETH Zürich is both a consortium leader and a sought-after specialist partner — coordinating 256 projects (43%) while participating in 318 others, indicating they are equally comfortable driving research agendas and contributing deep expertise to others' visions. With 2,788 unique consortium partners across 80 countries, they operate as a major European research hub rather than sticking to a small circle of repeat collaborators. Their heavy ERC and MSCA portfolio (157 individual grants) also shows strong capacity for independent, PI-driven research alongside large collaborative efforts.

ETH Zürich has collaborated with 2,788 distinct partner organizations across 80 countries, making it one of the most connected institutions in H2020. Their network spans all of Europe and extends globally, with strong ties across Western European research universities and industrial partners.

What sets them apart

ETH Zürich combines the breadth of a top-5 European research university with Switzerland's unique position as an associated (non-EU) H2020 country, bringing world-class talent and infrastructure without EU membership constraints. Their rare combination of strength in both computational sciences (ML, HPC, exascale) and experimental physical sciences (microfluidics, metamaterials, catalysis) means they can bridge the gap between simulation and real-world validation within a single institution. For consortium builders, ETH brings not just expertise but credibility — their name on a proposal signals scientific rigor to evaluators.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Flourish
  ETH coordinated this robotics-meets-agriculture project on aerial data collection for precision farming, showcasing their ability to bridge digital technologies with real-world food sector applications.
• PRACE-4IP
  Participation in the PRACE HPC infrastructure project positions ETH as a key node in Europe's supercomputing ecosystem, underpinning their computational strengths across all domains.
• ESMERALDA
  This ecosystem services mapping project demonstrates ETH's environmental policy engagement, connecting ecological modeling directly to European biodiversity strategy and decision-making.