Professor Zehnder, you have worked in research for more than thirty years. You were adviser to the WHO, you were instrumental in building the worldwide reputation of microbiology at the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands, and you have been director at Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology) for the past ten years. Now you are to be President of the ETH-Board. What were your reasons for accepting this appointment?

Alexander Zehnder: Even as Eawag director it is no longer possible to be a "pure" researcher. Although I was strongly involved in the academic education of undergraduate and graduate students and in research and the publication of results, I was naturally responsible for science management and science policy. The field is therefore not an entirely new one for me. My positive response to the question of whether I would take over the presidency of the ETH Board was based on following reflections and facts.

- I've been carrying out my present function for nearly twelve years. Of the ETH-Board members, presidents of both ETH and directors of research institutions, I have the longest record of service and thorough knowledge of the ETH domain, of its strengths and weaknesses.

- I have a good working knowledge of university systems in other countries, in all their many facets. I worked in the USA at a public university in Madison and at a private university in Stanford. I am fully conversant with the Dutch university system. Owing to my work as an evaluator and to memberships on many strategic boards over many years, I am also very familiar with the German and French educational and research systems.

The presidency of the ETH Board is an administrative office. Won't you miss being near to research and scientific practise?

Zehnder: Education and research in Switzerland are facing radical changes. I see it as a personal challenge to contribute something towards this new orientation and I believe that my personal experience here and abroad, spanning fifteen years, will be very helpful. In essence, my work always dealt with the aspect of sustainability. This is not a meaningless phrase as far as I am concerned. I attribute the highest value to education and research that help to shape the future of our planet in a sustainable way. In my capacity as president of the ETH-Board I would like to give more weight to the issue of sustainability and the way we use our resources – not only material elements but also knowledge and education.

You sit on the advisory boards of a number of journals and you are also active in various other advisory capacities. Will you relinquish these duties following your appointment?

Zehnder: I have already greatly reduced my activities on journals and advisory boards and will reduce them even further over the coming two to three years.

“The ETH domain consolidates its position at the head of international science [...]. The ETH domain initiates new trends in global research." These statements are taken from the ETH-Board's strategic plans for the period 2004-07. How do you propose to meet these high aims?

Zehnder: Strategic planning is one of the instrument to create surroundings that foster excellence and reward quality. My aim will therefore be to create a field of action for the universities and institutions belonging to the ETH domain that enables them to compete internationally with the very best.

In this field I see my main concern. Components of this prioritisation are to improve the position of Swiss science internationally, increase scientific productivity and strengthen recognition of quality and transfer into application. Not a levelling off, therefore, but a striving for excellence.

The environmental biotechnologist and present director of Eawag, Alexander Zehnder, to be the new President of the Board of the Federal Institutes of Technology. Picture: Tom Kawara/Eawag large

The so-called austerity and relief drive has not yet been thoroughly debated by parliament. It's possible that there will be further cuts in funding for research. How big a cut is acceptable?

Zehnder: Further reductions cannot be tolerated! We have been working on a nominally constant budget since 1997, which, in reality, means with ever less money. A growth in the budget is therefore absolutely essential, if the ETH domain is to catch the boat and not sink into mediocrity. After all is said and done, we can only achieve the aims set out in the BFT plans if we have the funds to compete with leading nations.

Teaching is to become more flexible, course contents and competence profiles are to be revised and studies opened up to the international student community. What will these changes mean? And how do you intend to approach these strategic planning demands?

Zehnder: Above all both ETHs are called on here – with supporting measures from the ETH-Board. One of the most important tasks is to intensify our efforts to attract students from the anglo-saxon countries.

A discussion series was initiated by Collegium Helveticum this year on the theme of "Debating Science Culture". One of the subjects being addressed is that of the ethical responsibility of scientists. The ETH-Board also intends to develop a central tenet dealing with this issue. What should it include in your opinion?

Zehnder: Above all I'm counting here on the interaction between graduate students and their supervisors. This is why we will not be formulating an abstract guiding idea but will transmit our ethical principles to scientists in their daily work.

What will your first act be as president of the ETH Board?

Zehnder: As I won't be taking up office until 1st July next year, I have time to think about that carefully. At all events, I see my job as a "political mandate" to help Switzerland's educational and research systems take their place among the most innovative, effective, competitive and efficient systems in the world. The ETH domain should be a strong partner in this great endeavour, a partner that takes the leading role in the engineering and in parts of natural sciences and opens the way to increased co-operation with the humanities and social sciences.