Open to doctoral candidates from all ETH departments, EMPOWER supports self-orientation in diverse professional contexts by expanding horizons through new knowledge, practical skills, and networking opportunities.
Enriching growth program for PhD students, exclusive edition 2026/2027
ABOUT US
By offering outstanding learning experiences, we address competencies that are unique assets for professional portfolios across a wide range of environments, both within and beyond academia.
The program features a series of monthly transdisciplinary events, varying in duration and format—from short “spark” workshops to larger 1–2 ECTS VVZ courses (available starting HS26). These events cover a wide range of topics (stay tuned for the detailed schedule).
Many thanks to everyone who completed the preparatory surveys and helped shape the program, please continue to provide your feedback and share ideas!<3
We look forward to welcoming you at our events of this exciting initiative!
Sincerely, Your EMPOWER Team
We deeply aknowledge great support of Rector's Team and ETH Doctorate
EPT-hub DPHYS ETH Zurich Doctorate
“EMPOWER is an outstanding example of a bottom-up initiative that brings doctoral students from the different fields together and actively fosters the development of their transferable skills in curricular courses and extracurricular activities.”
Prof. Dr. Günther Dissertori, Rector
“By creating a vibrant, cross-disciplinary platform for exchange, learning, and self-orientation, EMPOWER expands participants’ perspectives and prepares them for diverse professional paths both within and beyond academia.”
Prof. Dr. Ulrike Lohmann, Vice Rector for Doctoral Studies
TOPICS
Reflections, self-assessment and orientation
Work in (interdisciplinary) collaborative research environments
Empathy and Interpersonal Relationships
AI in teaching and learning
Science communication in different contexts
Mental Health and Well-Being
Meditation for Scientists
Music, Art and Literature (in collaboration with UZH and ZHdK)
TIMES OF SEASONS
COURSES
GALLERY
PARTNERS
TEAM
Vira Bondar
Luisa Vortisch
oksana borovets
Sophia Kugler
CFO
TESTIMONIALS
""The event was full of encounters with amazing and interesting people. Besides learning many new skills and extending my knowledge".
Valentin Schmidt
"The choice of lecturers is fantastic."
Andreas Eggenberger
"The event is a brilliant opportunity to reconnect with what we love about science, and then to develop our teaching strategies to enable students to acquire diverse skills to make significant contributions to society and research."
Siara Isaac
"What I particularly liked was the variety of valuable social and teaching skills I acquired through creative activities, which I can apply directly to my work."
Madalina Enciu
"I like the atmosphere and sense of group already from the beginning, the variety in presentations and activities."
Francesca Meuli
"I feel content and some things I thought I don’t have the ability to do, I was proven wrong in such a positive way."
Anamika Aggarwal
"The organisation was great, days were completely filled and the speakers were very interesting and brought many different knowledge."
Esther Chauvel
"It was perfect!"
Andreas Vaterlaus
"Very hands-on and interesting lectures with practical advice."
Lukas Heckendorn
"I really much appreciated the incredible presentation skills of all the lecturers. It was also very cool to have topics that go beyond teaching and are relevant for one‘s own career."
Giulia Mazzola
"The evenings were very well planned. Many topics were covered that are not directly about didactics but very important aspects of teaching (diversity, safety, inclusion)".
Anastasiia Kireeva
"I particularly liked the focus on diversifying the ways of teaching. There isn't one way, but many ways that take into consideration the diversity of students, while being mindful of our unconscious biases and going beyond our assumptions."
Nassim Rousset
bondarv@ethz.ch
CONTACTS
Vira Bondar Inst. f. Teilchen- und Astrophysik HPK G 29 Otto-Stern-Weg 5 8093 Zürich Switzerland