MTEC Day 2020

On 23 October 2020, the MTEC Department honoured its MSc, MAS and doctoral graduates at this year’s MTEC Day. MTEC Day is an annual event that brings together graduates, alumni, faculty and key stakeholders from business and academia, with the aim of strengthening the personal and professional relationships between them.

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Image: ETH Zurich / Monika Estermann.

A total of around 90 graduates, alumni and faculty members participated in the celebrations, which took place in the ETH Main Building. Due to the current pandemic, attendance at MTEC Day was restricted to graduates, with separate events held for MSc/doctoral and MAS graduates. Though not able to be there in person, family and friends were able to watch the graduation ceremony via live stream.

D-MTEC Professors Florian von Wangenheim and Stefano Brusoni gave speeches congratulating the graduates on their achievements. The keynote speaker, Dr Anne Bouverot, Chairperson of the Board at Technicolor, delivered an excellent address via Zoom entitled “Listen, be yourself and adapt!” In two other inspiring speeches, D-MTEC graduates Dianne Hondeborg and Anastasiia Bondareva shared experiences and impressions from their D-MTEC studies.

Awards and Prizes

MTEC Day is also an occasion to honour outstanding academic work, including Master’s and doctoral theses.

The Willi Studer Prize and the MAS Excellence Award are awarded to the students with the best overall academic performance, based on their Grade Point Average (GPA). This year’s recipients were:

  • MSc graduate Anna Maria Saur (Willi Studer Prize), whose Master’s thesis, “Integrative supply planning under uncertainty in the athletic footwear industry”, was supervised by Professor Torbjørn Netland, Chair of Production and Operations Management
  • MAS graduate Dr Paolo Navaretti (MAS Excellence Award), whose Master's thesis, “Organisational ambidexterity in a high-technology small-medium enterprise”, was supervised by Professor Georg von Krogh, Chair of Strategic Management and Innovation
  • MAS graduate Luba Rogoleva (MAS Excellence Award), whose Master’s thesis, “Factors influencing the willingness to grant location access to mobile apps”, was supervised by Professor Florian von Wangenheim, Chair of Technology Marketing

ETH Medals are awarded to the authors of the best MSc Master’s theses and outstanding doctoral theses. This year’s recipients were:

  • MSc graduate Giacomo Melegati for his Master’s thesis, “Cyber-physical platforms: Conceptual foundations and empirical case study”, supervised by Professor Volker Hoffmann, Chair of Sustainability and Technology
  • Dr Tobias Dalhaus for his doctoral thesis, “Agricultural weather insurance: basis risk reduction, behavioural insurance and uncovering quality risks”, supervised by Professor Robert Finger, Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy
  • Dr Thomas Gersdorf for his doctoral thesis, “Leading knowledge creation across boundaries”, supervised by Professor Georg von Krogh, Chair of Strategic Management and Innovation
  • Dr Tobias Langenegger for his doctoral thesis, “A simulation model of sanctions and negotiations: The example of the Iran nuclear dispute”, supervised by Professor Michael Ambühl, Chair of Negotiation and Conflict Management. Tobias Langenegger passed away in August 2019. D-MTEC mourns the loss of an outstanding and dedicated scholar.

We congratulate all award winners and graduates and wish them all the best in their professional careers and in their private lives.

Welcome to ETH Alumni

Towards the end of both ceremonies, Dr Isabel Spicker, D-MTEC Coordinator of Further Education and Alumni Relations, officially bid farewell to the graduates and invited them to stay in touch with the department. Dr Nicolas Rohner, ETH Alumnus and President of the ETH Faculty Alumni Group Engineering and Management (EAEM) welcomed all the graduates as ETH Alumni. The MAS MTEC Alumni introduced themselves and welcomed the graduates in an inspiring video message.  

Farewell

In previous years, the Head of Department invited all guests to the traditional reception in the Main Hall following the ceremony. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MTEC Day 2020 came to a close without this festive ending. Nevertheless, the MTEC Department was extremely proud to have been able to hold this graduation ceremony despite the difficult circumstances. The department encouraged all graduates to stay in touch, and to explore the various offerings of the D-MTEC and ETH Alumni organisations.

Further Information D-MTEC Alumni

D-MTEC Alumni Network

ETH Alumni

Impressions MTEC Day 2020

Images: ETH Zurich / Monika Estermann.

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