Last September, after finishing my Bachelor at EPFL, I started my master degree at ETH Zurich in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology. Now that the first semester is over, I want to make a quick review about my experience here.
Admission process
There are two application periods, one in November, and another in March (only for students who do not require a visa). The application is partially done online, as one has to fill in a detailed application form, then print it and send it by post, along with a motivation letter, transcripts, recommendation letters and a CV.
I applied during the first period and got notified of my admission in February, which left me with quite some time to decide whether to accept the place in the program and if so to prepare. Regarding language requirements, master programs at ETH do not require knowledge of German, but an English C1 certificate is demanded (may be waived under certain conditions).
Decision factors
I was then facing the decision of whether stay at EPFL or go to ETH to pursue my master. I didn’t consider other universities as either tuition fees were too high or the education was not as good as in Switzerland. So I listed the main advantages and drawbacks of going to ETH in order to make an informed decision:
(+)
- High academic quality - bigger, more rigorous and in-depth courses compared to EPFL
- School reputation - although EPFL is doing very well on this aspect too, ETH is older and more renowned worldwide. As I intend to work abroad in the future, it is an important factor to consider.
- German language and (Swiss)-German culture - it is an opportunity to discover another part of Switzerland and get a decent level in German.
- Increasing my adaptation capabilities by going out of my comfort zone, making the extra effort.
(-)
- Leaving behind me a familiar environment, with established social circles and habits.
- Master programs at ETH are more research oriented than those at EPFL, with less opportunities for writing a thesis in the industry.
- There are almost no summer vacations at ETH.
In light of those factors I decided to seize this opportunity and challenge myself by heading towards Zurich for my master.
From Microengineering to EEIT
My Bachelor degree program at EPFL was Microengineering. If you are not familiar with this term, it is basically in-between Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, with some aspects of Computer Science and Material Science. The BSc in Microengineering provides students with a solid multidisciplinary background, so that they can later on specialize in various fields such as robotics, photonics, bio-medical, micro/nano-systems, product design, etc.
Although I really enjoyed the education provided by this program and think it is pertinent, the problem for me is that Microengineering doesn’t mean anything. One may say that labels such as Mechanical or Electrical Engineering don’t have a clear definition either, as they encompass a vast number of fields and sometimes overlap. However, the latter are commonly known among people in the industry and recruiters. Whereas outside of EPFL and its surroundings, nobody knows what Microengineering refers to. I’m not saying that you can’t find a job with a degree in Microengineering, nor that the education is not relevant, on the contrary. But since I intend to work abroad in the future, I prefer having a degree entitled with something that is globally intelligible.
Since ETH doesn’t offer any Microengineering degree, I was forced to change tracks (or rather labels) anyway. I was left to choose between more conventional study tracks, either general (mechanical engineering, electrical engineering) or specialized (robotics, micro/nano-systems, etc) which are subfields of the former. My topics of interest were mostly related to physics and computer science, although I didn’t have a very precise idea of what I wanted to pursue. Thus I chose the general master program in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (EEIT), which leaves ample options for course selection and specialization.
Settling in Zurich
Housing. Even though Zurich is known for its expensive housing market, it is possible to find affordable accommodation, especially in shared flats. Websites like student.ch and wgzimmer.ch are listing offers for rooms and flats. Also there is Woko, a student housing cooperative managing many properties across the city. They may offer rooms directly to foreign students, or one can find their rooms listed on websites like the ones mentioned above. This is how I found a place in a shared flat of nine people 😊
Transportation. The city of Zurich has a good and reliable network of public transportation, which consists mostly of buses and tramways. Prices are high, but one can buy a monthly or yearly subscription to reduce expenses (~500chf per year). The city is also very bicycle friendly, so it is definitely an option to consider.
Administrative. Upon arrival in Switzerland one has to register at the Residents’ Registration Office of the city in order to get a residence permit (type B for students). Everyone in Switzerland, whether a national or a foreigner, is required to get swiss health insurance, although foreign students may manage to keep their health insurance from home.
Zurich
Location: Northern Switzerland
Population: ~400,000 (largest city in Switzerland)
Language: Swiss German, German
My overall impression is that Zurich is a beautiful city. The architecture is aesthetically really pleasing, with a lot of classic buildings made of carved stone in the city centre. It benefits a great natural environment: the lake of Zurich, the Alps in the distance, and plenty of hills, forest and fields around to escape city life. Like many Swiss cities, it is exceptionally clean, one can even drink from fountains!
Compared to Lausanne, Zurich feels more international with a lot of foreigners working here for big companies. There are also practical advantages such as shops closing at 8pm instead of 6pm. Somehow one can also feel a difference in atmosphere between the French and German speaking part of Switzerland. Zurich is obviously very dynamic, although quieter, more ordered and disciplined in some sense.
ETHZ
People: 22,000 students - 10,000 staff
Budget: 1.9 billion CHF
Ranking: 6 QS World 2020 (#flex)
Infrastructure. The school has two campuses. The first and older one is in the centre of the city, and is not properly speaking a physically delimited campus, but rather a gathering of buildings with public roads in-between them. The second one is located on the edge of the city atop the Hönggerberg hill, amidst nature. A free direct bus line runs between the two locations in about 16 minutes. All infrastructures are well thought and of great quality, from teaching facilities to research ones. For sports, the ASVZ association offers a wide variety of activities, free of charge for all students.
Atmosphere. Due to the spatial organization mentioned above, I would say that ETH lacks the “student city” vibe that you may find on the EPFL/Unil campus. Furthermore, the general atmosphere feels much more serious with way less parties and festivals being advertised in comparison to EPFL. Finally, I must mention that the student bar at ETH is nowhere close to be as cool as Satellite. 🛰️
Challenges. Difficulties may of course arise in different forms and intensities for different individuals, and for different reasons. For my part, the main ones were:
- New environment - as expected, it took a bit of time until I could be familiar in this new environment, and also be efficient in my daily life and work. But overall no big deal.
- German language - from the beginning I forced myself to speak German with my flatmates and chose to follow part of my lectures in German. Although learning a new language is an amazing experience, it can be very exhausting (physically and mentally) on top of all the school work.
- Post exchange - my academic exchange at HKUST was a rather relaxed parenthesis in my curriculum. Back in Switzerland, ETH was way more demanding, and I suddenly had to work much more and to face much harder problems. It felt like my brain was “out of shape”. Fortunately, after a few weeks it got better and I could feel sharp again. Many friends who returned from academic exchanges in various universities also shared that impression. There was also the milder but nonetheless interesting issue of social re-adaptation, about which I may write a dedicated article in the future.
Education. Judging from this first semester, I can say that ETH has definitely lived up to the expectations I had from it. The courses are excellent thanks to teachers that are both stars in their fields and good lecturers, involved teaching staff around them and quality teaching material.
In comparison with EPFL, the courses at ETH tend to cover more material, focus more on theory and are generally more rigorous with better material. For example, most courses have a dedicated textbook explaining the theory. Also, you can have 6-10 ECTS courses soberly entitled “introduction to …”, then followed by others “advanced …” courses bearing as much ECTS. This was not really possible at EPFL were the courses were around 4-5 ECTS on average. The counterpart of it is that you can’t explore as “various” (but superficial) topics during your studies. I should also mention that there are fewer practical projects compared to EPFL, which saves quite some time during the semester. So in the end it is really just a different kind of suffering. To be chosen wisely.
My courses
Introduction to solid state physics (10 ECTS). A course from the physics bachelor covering fundamentals topics in solid state physics (crystal structures, material properties, theory of bands, magnetism, etc). It was especially interesting from an engineer prospective to see how certain common formulas or physical constants that we take for granted are derived through mathematical models. Very dense and difficult, partly taught in German.
VLSI 1 (6 ECTS). Covers topics of digital circuit design (architectures, synthesis, verification, etc). In the exercise sessions we learned how to code circuits using Verilog language, and implemented image processing functions on an FPGA board.
Control systems 1 (6 ECTS). This course gives a thorough introduction to the field of control. It is very dense and has the reputation of being a difficult course in EEIT. To pass it one must rely on a solid background in linear algebra, Laplace domain analysis and general knowledge in “signals and systems”. In sharp contrast with the control course I took at HKUST, all material from HKUST was covered in about three weeks.
Electromagnetic Precision Measurements and Opto-Mechanics (4 ECTS). This course covers topics in far field optics (lenses and microscopes, sub-diffraction imaging techniques, interferometers, optical cavities, phenomenon arising from quantization of light fields)
Principles of Microeconomics (3 ECTS). Course from the department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Very interesting from the perspective of an engineer in order to understand factors that motivate political and/or business decisions.
Conclusion
This semester has been hard but at the end of the day it was definitely a thriving experience. I feel satisfied and in peace with my decision to come here in Zurich. Passing the examinations was a relief which bolstered my self-confidence. Furthermore, I now begin to have a clearer idea about what I want to pursue for the rest of my master. Thus I am more than motivated to tackle the second semester.