Momentum for trailblazers

The support for young talent at ETH made possible by philanthropy is not only an expression of trust in the accomplishments of students and young entrepreneurs, but also signals a strong economy and is a step towards combating the skills shortage. In 2025, 117 students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds were supported with needs-based scholarships, 52 outstanding Master’s students benefited from an Excellence scholarship and 11 innovative young entrepreneurs were able to develop their research to a market-ready product thanks to the Pioneer Fellowship programme.

Algorithms for stable power grids

Integrating energy into the power grid as smoothly as possible and keeping it stable demands a complex interplay of power electronics, control systems and AI-supported automation – ETH Professor Florian Dörfler’s areas of expertise. Many of his solutions are already in use, helping energy suppliers improve electricity distribution, stabilise energy flows and develop innovative, forwardlooking applications. He has been awarded the Rössler Prize for his pioneering research. The award, worth CHF 200,000, is the most generous ETH research prize and is made possible by a gift from ETH alumnus Dr Max Rössler.

Aurel Neff and Patrick Barton want to tackle one of agriculture’s biggest challenges with their ETH spin-off: With a robot that autonomously removes weeds using a laser, they are offering an alternative to herbicides and manual weeding. Thanks to funding from a Pioneer Fellowship financed by donors, the co-founders were able to build prototypes, conduct market research and focus fully on the project. Ten of their robots are already weeding vegetable fields in Switzerland and others will follow soon – including in neighbouring countries.

Samuel Arm didn’t just want to work on construction sites — he wanted to actively shape them, too, hence his decision to study architecture at ETH. An ETH scholarship helped him to clear financial obstacles and made it possible for the trained painter and decorator to tap his potential. He learned to combine his practical experience with conceptual thinking and is now benefiting from a solid basis for careful implementation of architectural projects centred around people.

Arianna Arpagaus is researching targeted therapies for children with leukaemia at the research centre of the University Children’s Hospital Zurich. Her aim is to help ensure that one day, every child with leukaemia beats the disease. She finds her work at the intersection of research and applied medicine inspiring: Developing new treatment strategies and direct proximity to daily clinical practice motivate her every day.