Archive for February 2012
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – Zurich Ranked 24th in the World
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – Zurich is the best university in Switzerland according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). The ARWU is published by the Institute of Higher Education at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University and several indicators of academic or research performance are used to establish the ranking, these include highly cited researchers, articles indexed in major citation indices and staff winning Nobel Prizes.
There are eight Swiss universities in the Word’s Top-500 universities (2008). The Top-5 universities in Switzerland are: 1.Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – Zurich (ranked 24th in the world); 2. University of Zurich (ranked 53rd); 3. University of Basel (87th); 4. University of Geneva (101-151th) and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – Lausanne (101-151th). Switzerland has a very high density of the world’s top universities, with 1.1 ARWU universities per 1 million inhabitants .
The S F I T – Zurich (ETHZ) is a specialised university. It mainly covers science and technology, with 16 departments that teach mainly in the engineering sciences and architecture, system-oriented sciences, mathematics and natural sciences fields.
The S F Institute of Technology – Zurich was established in 1855 and is a federally funded university. The only other university that is federally funded in Switzerland is the Swiss Institute of Technology – Lausanne (a ‘sister’ university). All other universities are funded at a cantonal level (regional level). Federal funding means the university is a national institution and this gives it a broader and more open educational mandate.
The total number of students at the S F I T – Zurich is 15,093 (roughly 50% undergraduates and 50% graduates). The university has two main campuses: one in the city centre and the other at Honggerberg. The city centre campus is on the top of a hill overlooking the city of Zurich. It sits alongside the Main Building of the University of Zurich, a university that has many links to Institute of Technology Swiss Federal – Zurich.
University Technology Transfer – Opportunities and Benefits
The practice of technology transfer can greatly benefit an organization. What is technology transfer? It is the sharing of technology between two or more organizations. Usually, one organisation has developed a new technology and licenses it to the other organization, whose goal is to commercialize that technology. For instance, a university who has developed a new technology may license that technology to businesses so that the businesses can develop the new technology into a product, process, application, or service.
Who are the organizations who are involved in technology transfer? Universities and other primary research organisations regularly license their technologies to businesses. Also, businesses involved in different fields may benefit from this sharing.
Parties on both sides of an agreement benefit. The researchers who developed the technology earn licensing fees, and the organisation who has licensed it can develop and manufacture it into a patented product or service to be sold, while avoiding rising research and development costs.
Many opportunities have emerged because of tech transfer. Fields like biotechnology and diagnostics, pharmaceutical drug discovery, energy and engineering, and microelectronics and optoelectronics are all making use of technology transfer. Researchers can now develop a technology, and then license it out so that organisations with other specialized skill sets can take it further. Researchers may be looking for organisations who can further develop the technology. These organisations may have superior manufacturing, marketing, and distribution capabilities.
Tech transfer also occurs so that the technology can be applied in different fields than what is was designed as well. The researchers may have developed and been able to use the technology in one field, but license it out for use in other fields. For instance, the developer of the technology might be capable of exploiting the technology in diagnostic applications, but might not have the capability to exploit it in therapeutic applications, so they could license it out to a therapeutic application focused organisation. Finding available tech transfer opportunities and capitalising on them may be just what your organisation needs to develop that new product or service that you’ve been searching for.
You Can Save or Earn Points by Cashback
Some companies have given you a shopping card worth pounds every time you buy something from them. Now, instead of a good deal, so avoid this offer and did not even torture your mind with them. This offer is only advertised to attract more clients, but the truth to someone who can afford to spend several thousand pounds, did not really need from the company. So this is another way to save money.
If you shop more on weekends, then watch for cards that offer good deals for the weekend. There are companies that even offer double points on weekends, so it will be more convenient for you, plus there are some that offer bonus credits early, to become new clients. It is true this cashback only once, but you can still take advantage of this as well. Moreover, if you become a member, and you use their cards for more than one year, then you will get bonus points on the previous year.