HSG and ETH students combine their knowledge

‘At the HSG, many students have business ideas and are looking for partners who can use their knowledge to cover the technical side. ETH students often fit this profile,’ says Marius Schülin, a business student at the HSG and co-president of ETHSG. The student association, founded in 2020, brings together students from ETH Zurich and the HSG – for example, through company visits, case studies and social events.

The aim is to create a network among students at the two universities – and to put them in touch with companies in an uncomplicated way. In 2024, the programme included a workshop on improving presentation skills at the fintech company Leonteq, participation in an international NASA hackathon and a tour of the financial services provider Six.

Startups combine ETH and HSG

‘With our association, we also want to reduce the reservations that sometimes exist between students of the two universities,’ says Alessandra Iacopino, co-president and mathematics student at ETH. That's why there's a social event every semester that focuses on getting to know each other.

The association is picking up on a current development: many start-ups that have been founded in recent years have ETH and HSG students or researchers in their founding team. These include, for example, ALPINA+SANA, Optiverse, GAUDIO and Decentriq.

The link between natural and economic sciences is also reflected in the courses offered by the two universities: ETH's Master's in Management, Technology and Ecology is aimed at bachelor's graduates in engineering or natural sciences who want to deepen their economic expertise.

Since 2020, the HSG has been offering bachelor's and master's degree programmes in computer science. There is also the Centre for Digital Health Interventions, which is a joint initiative of the ETH, the University of Zurich and the HSG.

Co-President Schülin says: ‘Among students, there is a growing realisation that, ideally, business graduates should also have a basic knowledge of digital technologies – and vice versa.’

The association also connects HSG and ETH students who have business ideas and are looking for collaborators. It currently reaches around 500 people through its newsletter. ‘In the future, we would like to create a platform where HSG and ETH students can easily “match” to develop joint projects and found start-ups,’ says co-president Iacopino.