Student life at the IBC

For more information about application procedures or student life at the IBC, please contact Alicia Smith. 

Students are a vital respected part of the Institute of Biochemistry (IBC) community. We are committed to providing an outstanding educational environment for our Bachelor students, with dedicated lecturers and resources for teaching. For our Master and PhD candidates, our commitment begins with guidance through the application procedure. Guidance through procedures for securing funding is offered to our exceptional international student candidates (please contact Alicia Smith). All students -- from undergraduates in their first year of studies to Masters and PhD students -- can be sure that within the IBC, in learning and in life, they will have a voice.

Student voice in learning at the IBC

The IBC undergraduate, master and Ph.D. student voices are clearly heard when discussing their studies and research. Undergraduates are welcomed to IBC laboratories during their block courses. Undergraduates work in the lab directly with IBC group leaders, post-docs and Ph.D. students. Masters students have the opportunity to present their two research projects to the IBC community through a poster session. And the masters research project is generally presented to their research group in a seminar. Indeed, the IBC faculty recognize the need for masters students to communicate scientific work through presentations and in writing. For this reason, the IBC masters classes were designed with a student learning goal of effective communication. Ph.D. students at the IBC can expect an opportunity to present their research within the IBC at an in-house progress report seminar and at a national or international scientific conference.

Student voice in life at the IBC

Student voices are also a vital part of practical daily matters in life at the IBC. The IBC prides itself on a working environment with a spirit of a flat hierarchy. Graduate students working in the IBC research laboratories have a student representative at the monthly IBC Board meeting, a formal acknowledgment of student voice. It is with the informal customs of the faculty and staff, though, that the IBC particularly strives to promote student voices. For instance, students are generally given the opportunity upon request to speak privately with some of the high-profile international scientists who visit the institute to give seminars. For research matters, the IBC has a track-record for no artificial boundaries. Multiple publications including more than one IBC group can attest to this fact. This open-door atmosphere in research means students feel free to ask between labs and even across campus for the best possible solution to their scientific question.

Students have the most "say" in the various activities that make up the IBC social calendar. Our faculty and students participate in the annual Zurich relay-race, the "Solastafette". Students have organized various soccer matches within the institute, and, most recently, matches between the IBC-E floor and the LMC. A vitality of student life, both academic and extracurricular, is a proud part of the IBC community.