A Word from the Dean
Ali H. Sayed
Dean of the School of Engineering
It is with great pride that I present to you the 2024 Annual Report of the School of Engineering (STI) at EPFL.
This past year has marked a significant milestone in our continued ascent. According to the QS World Rankings, the School of Engineering is now ranked among the top ten engineering programs globally—standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the most established institutions in the world.
Our faculty continue to earn prestigious international awards, and we have welcomed several outstanding new faculty members whose expertise strengthens our ability to tackle today’s most pressing scientific and societal challenges.
Collaboration remains at the heart of our success. In 2024, we launched two new initiatives: our inaugural Research Day on Engineering in the AI Age and a new Seminar Series on Engineering and Society.
We remain committed to five key thematic pillars: life and health sciences, AI and intelligent systems, sustainability and energy science, digital transformation, and fundamental research.
Key Highlights 2024
Nominations & Retirements
Tenure‑track assistant professor are hired and faculty members are promoted. Additionally some senior staff memberd retired in 2024 …
Awards, Recognitions & Grants
EPFL researchers and students received major grants (ERC Synergy, Sandoz, Melexis) and prestigious awards across robotics, engineering, and biomedical fields…
Education
Our commitment goes beyond academic excellence; it aims at nurturing individuals’ learning skills, necessary for engineers to cope with the need for continual learning throughout their career. Finally and most importantly, we encourage our engineers to embrace their professional and societal future responsibilities, through a curriculum encompassing courses on data security and privacy, industry standards, environmental awareness and ethics »
Articles
Materials Science Section Celebrates 50 Years
The Materials Science Section marked its 50th anniversary with an event highlighting the history and future of materials research and education at EPFL.
“There is a bit of Materials Science in Everything”
EPFL PhD student Stella Laperrousaz won the audience prize at the My Thesis in 180 Seconds Competition 2024.
“I’m More Attracted to Solving Interdisciplinary Problems”
Sangwoo Kim, head of the new Mechanics of Soft and Biological Matter Laboratory, applies mechanics and physics to biological questions.
Key Figures
Research
Articles
e-Flower Records Neuronal Activity with Electronic Petals
EPFL researchers developed a novel neural recording device that gently wraps organoids in soft petals for advanced biological monitoring.
Immune Response May Hold Key to Cancer Remission
Collaborative research shows that the type 2 immune response is positively correlated with long‑term cancer remission.
Ink for 3D-Printing Flexible Devices Without Mechanical Joints
EPFL researchers developed elastomer‑based ink targeting next‑generation soft actuators and robots with locally changing mechanical properties.
Key Figures
Innovation
We are striving to create a culture that helps students and researchers to discover the innovative potential of their ideas and research projects, guide them on their way towards establishing startups, or find industrial collaboration partners.
Looking ahead, we will particularly focus on innovations that address some of the major societal challenges, such as climate change, sustainability, the energy transformation, food system resilience, public health, as well as the transformative potential and risks of intelligent technologies and ubiquitous data. ethics »
Articles
“Innovation Should Be Useful and Accessible”
François Gabella shares insights from his 40‑year career and experience leading various companies in the innovation space.
MIROS Unveils Smart Workspaces
EPFL robotics spin‑off MIROS announces the first commercial implementation of their transformable workspace system.
Engineering a More Sustainable Skyscraper
The 85‑meter Tilia Tower near Lausanne uses low‑carbon cement developed at EPFL’s Lab of Construction Materials.
Key Figures
Outreach Programs
Industry Day
The EPFL’s School of Engineering and Vice Presidency for Innovation held the 6th edition of the Engineering Industry Day on Thursday March 14th, 2024.
This event offers a focused platform for PhD students, researchers, professors, and companies to engage in substantive discussions and explore synergies.
EPFL Excellence in Engineering Program
The E3 EPFL Excellence in Engineering Program has been initiated in 2019 by the School of Engineering and offers an intensive research training opportunity to students from foreign universities interested in research careers in any field of engineering, science and technology.
Mandatory industry Internships for master students
Internships in a company are an integral part of the Master curriculum in every master program at EPFL. This represents an excellent opportunity for students to get a crucial insight into the day‑to‑day work‑flow in industry and also provide the company a broad expertise and skills in engineering sciences.
