Education Office Newsletter - July 2014

Contents

• IS-Academia
• Educational Dashboards
• Enrolment Forecast
• MINT: adopting a horizontal approach to promote science and technology
• Registrar’s Office
• EPFL to Host the Annual Conference of Academic Guidance Counsellors
• Welcoming New PhD Students – May 2014
• Thesis Completion Process in IS-Academia
• Associations
• Winner of the 2014 Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching
• EuroTech Universities
• Signing of a Cooperation Agreement with Beihang University, Beijing, China
• A new Double Degree Master’s Program between Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi) and EPFL
• Launch of the first Edition of the “Research Internship Program” at EPFL

IS-Academia
The final deployment of the grade entering project for lecturers and of the thesis completion process went ahead as planned (see news below). The pilot phases served to manage the risks inherent in any change in organisational processes, thus guaranteeing the success of both developments. As for the systematic submission of Master projects to a plagiarism detection tool, this will be gradually introduced during summer.
Other projects are underway, including visual improvement of the portal for companies offering internships. A completely redesigned interface, following a graphic charter in line with that of the EPFL website, will better enhance the features available to companies. The launch of this new portal is intended for the start of the 2014-15 academic year.
Finally, several improvements have been deployed, including:
• Developments in management screens for the doctoral programmes (batch capture, tool to notify candidates)
• Improved process for internship registration and evaluation
• User-friendly and functional developments in course descriptions (batch validation, copy/paste descriptions)
• Hiring assistants for tasks ancillary to teaching
• New web services for PocketCampus and FreeRoom to visualise your schedule and rooms available around you.
A wind of change is blowing on the IS-Academia team. Grégoire Clerc has decided to steer his career in a new direction and will leave at the end of July. Grégoire has been a pillar of the team, having been involved in the development of IS-Academia for close to 9 years. To compensate for this departure, Ms Somanoe Horth has been hired and will take up her position within OGIF on 4 August. Ms Horth currently works at IHEID and holds a degree in Information Systems from Université Pierre et Marie Curie.

For further information: [email protected]

Educational Dashboards
The spring dashboards were delivered as usual and submitted to the Direction on 26 May. Analyses have identified a number of major decisional trends in the operational and strategic management of studies at EPFL. For example, the development of new student enrolment in comparison with other similar institutions clearly demonstrates the attractiveness of our curricula, particularly in the areas of life sciences, mechanical engineering and microtechnology. Despite the increase in numbers, it is also gratifying to observe an upward trend in the evaluation of our courses by the students (average score of 4.8 in autumn 2013). For the first time this year, a detailed analysis of company internships demonstrated that a) the internship offer matches the needs of the Sections, and b) the assessments made by both interns and companies are generally good, or even very good. Finally, the reviews of cohorts of doctoral students indicate a success rate of around 85% and an average duration of 4.3 years.
In parallel, projected student numbers were reviewed so as to better anticipate the new 2014-15 academic year.

For further information: [email protected]

Enrolment Forecast
1st Year Bachelor
The number of BA1 enrolments remains difficult to predict because the terms for BA1 admissions have changed for Europeans (an average grade of 16 is now required). The following three scenarios are thus to be considered with caution as they are based on many uncertainties. Last year we had 2,335 BA1 students.
• Scenario 1: the change in requirements had no impact on the quality of applications – a higher number of applications will be rejected.
One may expect between 2,003 and 2,113 BA1 students.
• Scenario 2: the change in requirements had a low to moderate impact on the quality of applications
One may expect between 2,097 and 2,372 BA1 students.
• Scenario 3: the change in requirements had a moderate to strong impact on the quality of applications
One may expect between 2,356 and 2,685 BA1 students.

2nd and 3rd year Bachelor
Regarding 2nd year numbers, these can be estimated based on 2013-14 1st year numbers and the success rate in the foundation year over the past 5 years. Analysis by Section based on higher-end estimates would seem to suggest that:
• A slight decline is to be expected in SIE and GC
• A significant increase is to be expected in SV, GM, MT and in all Sections of Basic Sciences (MA, PH and CGC).

3rd year numbers are specific in that they are influenced not only by students repeating a year but also by outgoing exchange students taking their 3rd year in another university. Accordingly, the estimates based on students present indicate:
• A sharp increase in GC, AR, IN, SV, EL and MT
• An almost stable development in other Sections.

Master Enrolment Forecast
The number of 1st year Master students depends on new students admitted on a competitive basis, students from the Bachelor curriculum as well as students taking credits from MA1-MA3 (e.g. for a Minor). In summary, these forecasts would seem to suggest:
• A significant rise in numbers expected in AR, GC, IN, EL, and MX
• An almost stable development in other Sections.

For further information: [email protected]

MINT: adopting a horizontal approach to promote science and technology (www.mint.educa.ch)
The MINT initiative launched some time ago in high schools, and strongly supported by the Confederation, aims to encourage the learning of mathematics, informatics, natural sciences and technology (MINT) through the acquisition of a "scientific culture" and via interdisciplinary projects. A MINT day to be held in Bern in November 2014, organised by the MINT working party led by the WBZ CPS centre for continuing education (including EPFL representatives), will launch a Swiss-wide reflection on this exciting and promising topic.
Contact: M. Fruehauf/SPE

Registrar’s Office
Ms Sydne Schlumberger joined the Registrar’s Office team on 1 July. She will work alongside Ms Maureen Coleman to oversee the management of Master projects, exams, academic awards and diplomas. The Registrar’s Office is looking forward to this new cooperation and extends a warm welcome to Ms Schlumberger.
Antoine Bianchi, Deputy Head of the Registrar’s Office

EPFL to Host the Annual Conference of Academic Guidance Counsellors
On 24-25 November EPFL and the University of Lausanne will welcome the Swiss association for academic guidance (AGAB/ASOU) on the occasion of its annual conference on the theme of “Studying – from dream to reality”. This will provide guidance counsellors with the opportunity to initiate a reflection on the subject.
A substantial part of the event will also be devoted to specific studies in Lausanne, giving EPFL an interesting opportunity to promote its curricula, especially since the majority of participants will come from German-speaking Switzerland.
Monday’s sessions will be held at EPFL and Tuesday’s at UniL. The event will be coordinated by the Study Programs Promotion Service (SPE).
For further information: SPE - Maya Frühauf

Welcoming New PhD Students – May 2014
In May, two days were organised jointly by the Doctoral School, the Study Programs Promotion Service (SPE) and Student Affairs (SAE) to welcome the new PhD students. The event started with an information session introduced by a message from the Dean of the Doctoral School, followed by a presentation of the various services available to doctoral candidates throughout their curriculum in our School. After a question and answer session, the 80 participants were invited for drinks, which allowed informal exchange with the speakers and students.
The second day devoted to the new PhD students this semester was a trip to the Federal Palace in Bern. To begin with, the 50 participants had the opportunity to attend a parliamentary session, followed by a special meeting with National Councillor Isabelle Chevalley, and then a guided tour of the Federal Palace. After a typical meal in a restaurant in town, the PhD students took a guided tour of the capital before returning to campus. All were delighted with their day, which allowed them to learn about the Swiss political system and the country's history, as well as to get to know and establish relationships with their colleagues.
Participation in these events is on the rise and the feedback increasingly positive, which encourages us to pursue our efforts to improve the integration of new PhD students.
Any questions? [email protected]

Thesis Completion Process in IS-Academia
Managing completion of a thesis through a single portal in IS-Academia is now a reality at EPFL. Following a pilot phase, all doctoral programmes implemented the new process on 1 July 2014. Specifically, students can display all critical stages of thesis completion in their “ISA Portal”. Starting with the organisation of the oral exam, they enter the required information and download the necessary documents. Thesis supervisors then validate the document submitted in their own IS-Academia portal. Once the final version of the thesis has been drawn up, students can use the same portal to order copies to be printed by the Print Center and to define the criteria for distribution on the internet, intranet etc. The portal developed by OGIF not only simplifies interaction between students and their thesis supervisors, it also has the advantage of optimising workflows between all partners involved in thesis completion: the doctoral programme, Doctoral Students' Office, Doctoral School and Library, to name but a few. This major development will naturally be the subject of a detailed communication for supervisors and PhD students whose oral exams are soon taking place. Users of this new tool will also find support and further information on the portal as well as on the Doctoral School website.

For further information: [email protected]

Associations
This term saw the birth of 4 new student associations acknowledged by EPFL. First, the EPFL and UNIL Chamber Orchestra (OChE) which has already performed several concerts since December 2013. Then the Canardesque Ouvrage Universitaire Amicalement Cynique (COUAC), the first humour magazine on campus, was distributed to students free of charge, shortly after the start of the February term, to immediate acclaim. We are hoping to find a succession of talented humorists and cartoonists to keep this publication alive. Shortly after, the students of the "Managing Organizations" SHS course created the association STIL (Salon des Technologies et de l’Innovation de Lausanne), which aims to establish an annual event bringing together the various EPFL bodies to share their knowledge, passion and discoveries with all kinds of visitors. Finally, Educational Affairs granted EPFL acknowledgement to an association of EPFL students in financial engineering, the Financial Engineering Society (FES), whose purpose is to represent and promote this EPFL Section.
Magali Favre, in charge of student associations
Contact: [email protected]

Winner of the 2014 Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching
Each year the Credit Suisse Foundation awards a prize to an EPFL member or education team for their contribution to teaching excellence in our school.
For the 2014 edition of the Credit Suisse Award for best Teaching, the Jury selected Sylvain Bréchet of the Physics Section "in recognition of the fervour with which he endeavours to make physics exciting for everyone. His meticulous preparation has captivated his audience and his great skills have provided an exciting vision of science. The structure of his course has allowed students to explore teaching obtained jointly in the classroom and through a MOOC. His contributions to a forthcoming book on thermodynamics will affect many others”.
For further information: http://decanat-bama.epfl.ch/page-63312-fr.html
Contact: [email protected]

EuroTech Universities: Annual Meeting of Presidents in conjunction with ESOF and Launch of EuroTech Magazine Technologist
Cooperation is intensifying in the framework of the EuroTech Universities Alliance and the last week in June saw the implementation of several EuroTech activities:
- Presentation of a session on MOOCs, led by EuroTech, as part of the ESOF science forum in Copenhagen (http://esof2014.org/), with P. Aebischer as keynote speaker.
- Annual Meeting of the four presidents of the Alliance (EPFL, TU Munich, TU Eindhoven and DTU) on the sidelines of ESOF (organised by EuroTech and our International Relations).
- Launch of Technologist, a scientific magazine common to all four partners, and of the related website http://www.technologist.eu/ (project steered by Mediacom).
- Presentation of the Faceshift project in the House of Future Technologies, again on the sidelines of ESOF (coordinated by SPE).
- Launch of new EuroTech Universities website: http://www.eurotech-universities.org/.
- Meeting of representatives of the Alliance universities in order to promote student exchanges between the four universities (coordinated by International Relations).

Information on EuroTech Universities at EPFL: International Relations, [email protected] and http://ri.epfl.ch/Eurotech-universities

Signing of a Cooperation Agreement with Beihang University, Beijing, China
The President of BUAA, Prof. Jinpeng Huai and EPFL Vice President Prof. Philippe Gillet met in October 2013 and agreed to develop cooperation in the field of space science and technology. A cooperation agreement was recently signed and the Space Center is in charge of implementation. The task is to consolidate and further develop a collaborative initiative that includes the exchange of knowledge and expertise in space technology. An exchange of researchers and PhD students is also foreseen.
For further information: International Relations, [email protected]

A new Double Degree Master’s Program between Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi) and EPFL
The Master of Science in Computational Science & Engineering (CSE) at EPFL is by now an established program attracting a number of good students with BSc degrees in Science and Engineering. The newly established double degree arrangement set-up by the International Relations Unit and Dr. Simone Deparis, Senior Scientist at EPFL, aims to strengthen the program by increasing the number of applicants with more theory-centred interests and backgrounds from Italy and elsewhere in Europe.
Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi) is a traditional engineering school, which is ranked in position 83 in the Times Higher Education world rankings. PoliMi students having graduated from PoliMi's applied mathematics master and gone on to a PhD at EPFL have been brilliant.
To highly motivated and talented students with BSc training in engineering or physics from EPFL, the program offers the possibility of earning an applied mathematics MSc without the requirement of additional bachelor credits. This prepares our students for PhD-level research in applied mathematics and will expand their range of options for further studies and employment. Students following this Double Degree will see themselves granted one diploma from each University in 2.5 years. EPFL is looking forward to this newly set-up double degree Program.

Launch of the first Edition of the “Research Internship Program” at EPFL
As announced in the October 2013 edition of the Flash magazine, the International Relations Unit has created last summer a new program for research interns whilst calling for talented students from 22 most prestigious universities worldwide. 950 applications within 1.5 month were received mainly from MIT, UC Berkeley, Cambridge University, McGill University and NUS whilst 25 students have been selected by our Professors and International Relations Unit. The second edition of the Program will be kicked-off this autumn again whilst Professors could choose students in November/December for the year 2015. For reading the blog written by our students currently on campus: http://epflresearchinternships.org
For more information about the program: http://ri.epfl.ch/researchinternships
Interested Professors can contact [email protected]