07

For almost 30 years, from 1964 to 1993, Hans Würgler served as Director of KOF Swiss Economic Institute. He played a leading role in the implementation of an econometric model for the Swiss economy as a whole, thereby advancing the modelling and forecasting of economic trends. He thus helped lay the foundation for modern-day economic structure analysis in Switzerland. He passed away on 21 July at the age of 94. Read his full obituary in German.

From 11 to 13 July, 21 incoming doctoral candidates took part in the eighth annual D-MTEC Doctoral Retreat, a three-day onboarding seminar at which they discussed teaching and research practices with members of the department. There was also a hike and plenty of coffee.

D-MTEC experts engage with issues that affect society, the economy and business. The D-MTEC Media Update provides links to recent articles, interviews and commentary. Switzerland still lacks international guests. Starting from zero, every additional person has a high impact on growth, says Jan-Egbert Sturm, Director of the KOF Swiss Economic Institute. However, a sudden return of visitors from Asia and America is not expected – also in 2022.

Thirty D-MTEC students and alumni attended an MAS+ workshop on “Building a Business with Impact” on 2 and 3 July. The workshop, held on the ETH campus and at the Trust Square co-working space, was organised by MAS student Christine Szczepanski and Morgan Altman of Programme Operations. The workshop provided practical insight into “Driving Transformation Through Technology and Finance”.

In a recent article, Professor Stefano Brusoni of the Chair of Technology and Innovation Management and his co-authors compare the AI ecosystems in China, the US and Europe, concluding that the ecosystems that have helped China catch up to its competitors over the last decade will ensure that it races ahead of them in the next one.

D-MTEC experts engage with issues that affect society, the economy and business. The D-MTEC Media Update provides links to recent articles, interviews and commentary. The unemployment rate in the hospitality industry is 7%. At the same time, many restaurants complain that they can hardly find enough staff. Daniel Kopp, labour specialist at the KOF Swiss Economic Institute, says this is because the labour market needs time to adjust to the rise in demand after the sudden easing of lockdown measures.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how crucial the availability of accurate information is for large-scale, real-time disease monitoring and management. In a recent post at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Professor Stefan Feuerriegel and doctoral candidate Joel Persson of the Chair of Information Management Systems at D-MTEC argue for increased investment in digital technology in order to better manage the current and future pandemics.

D-MTEC experts engage with issues that affect society, the economy and business. The D-MTEC Media Update provides links to recent articles, interviews and commentary. 65 percent of respondents in the transport, logistics and security sectors think it will be very difficult for apprenticeship graduates to find jobs, says Ursula Renold, Professor of Education Systems. Apprenticeship graduates from the hotel and catering industries, which are currently looking for skilled workers, have better chances.