On March 14, 1862, seven years after the foundation of ETH in 1855, the students first joined together.
Today, after a long and rich history, VSETH is the ETH recognised umbrella organization of the students of ETH. ETH commits itself to regular dialogue and provides infrastructure and VSETH represents the interests of the students. This institutional integration reduces friction and allows the development and implementation of ideas into official ETH policy in a fruitful and constructive dialogue. The views of the students are explicitly requested by the organs of the ETH and participation in many departmental or school-wide committees is laid down in the statutes.
The possibilities for VSETH to influence ETH policy are far greater than those of student representatives at most other European universities. The advantages resulting from this exchange of views – in a time of intensifying and globalizing competition between the universities – benefit students and school management alike. VSETH and its professional associations are ideal contacts for students with suggestions for improvement or problems of a structural and organisational nature in the university sector.
In addition to its university policy, VSETH increasingly expanded its leisure activities. Commissions such as the Challenge (a series of events culminating in a snow sports weekend) organise a large number of events during the semester, supported by the infrastructure, relations and other services that VSETH as an association can provide. Other associations with student and volunteer purposes are also subsidised or given free access to the services of VSETH through recognition and associations.
To learn more about how VSETH came to be what it represents today, read our rich article in the German version of this article.