Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) is one of the most prestigious universities in the world, dedicated to nurturing future top engineers and scientists. However, the school has recently unprecedentedly restricted the enrollment of students from countries such as China in order to “maximize” the reduction of technology and knowledge for use in military purposes by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
According to the South China Morning Post, on October 31, ETH Zurich announced its latest security screening policy, affecting applications of doctoral and master’s students, visiting scholars, and new staff members.
For student applicants, if they meet one or more of the evaluation criteria, it is recommended that they be rejected, including their country of origin (including nationality and residence), previous education received from institutions considered to have security risks, and any scholarships obtained from sanctioned countries.
Considering Switzerland’s political neutrality principle for over five hundred years, this move comes as a surprise.
ETH Zurich stated that the implementation of these regulations aims to “maximize the reduction of misuse” of the school’s developed technology and knowledge risks. These technologies and knowledge can be used for military purposes, known as “dual-use.”
If an applicant comes from one of the 23 listed countries – including China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran, the screening process will be automatically triggered.
ETH Zurich is one of the world’s most renowned technical universities, acclaimed as the “top school in continental Europe,” along with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, and Imperial College London, known as the four world’s leading technical institutions.
As of October 2018, ETH Zurich has produced 32 Nobel Prize winners (including Einstein), 4 Fields Medalists, and 1 Turing Award recipient among its alumni, professors, and researchers.
Geng Tao, founder of the startup company Qibo Robot Company and a robotic scientist, expressed to the South China Morning Post that to his knowledge, this is the first time a Swiss university openly announced such extensive scrutiny of Chinese students. He now worries that other universities may follow suit.
“ETH represents the pinnacle of higher education in European technical fields,” Geng Tao, who has worked at universities in the UK, stated. “Many researches are not just published in academic papers, but are closely related to industrial development.”
Professor Qu Yunpeng, a senior material scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), mentioned that to his knowledge, such strict screening of international students was “unprecedented” before.
“European universities like ETH Zurich were previously very open to international students and emphasized diversity, but now, influenced by international tensions and technological sensitivity, candidates are screened not only based on academic performance but also factors such as their origins,” he told the South China Morning Post.
According to Swiss German-language broadcaster SRF’s report on October 28, the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) announced the formal termination of its joint educational program with Harbin Institute of Technology in China.
ZHdK President Karin Mairitsch stated that the main reasons for ending the collaboration included obstacles due to differences in education systems and operational risks, with political factors also impacting the decision but not being the primary reason.
The joint project had sparked controversy at the time of signing because Harbin Institute of Technology was listed as one of China’s “Defense Seven Sons.”
As early as 2020, the US government, citing national security concerns, included over a dozen universities, including the “Defense Seven Sons” of the CCP, on the Department of Commerce’s sanctions list.
Last year, a German university decided to stop accepting research personnel funded by Chinese government institutions to “reduce the risk of industrial espionage.”
And this year, restrictions on Chinese students have expanded to more European universities. Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands announced in July that they will no longer admit candidates who have received scholarships from the Chinese government’s China Scholarship Council.