Mission Statement

We are committed to excellence in research. In our hiring, we search for excellent researchers in their fields who have the potential for impactful research output for society. We see intellectual exchange and diversity as important aspects for excellent research. Our research contributions are relevant, original and of highest quality. Therefore, we strive for an international faculty bringing together different backgrounds to foster an innovative environment.

We offer modern and academically demanding study programmes. These programmes attract ambitious students from all over the world who are willing to engage and perform. On the Bachelor’s level, we focus on a broad, method-based education. We make use of being part of a comprehensive university with the possibility for students to take a minor in another discipline or other faculty of the University. On the Master’s level, our students are able to specialize in relevant topics of business and economics and informatics. Our PhD programs offer the possibility to deepen the individual interests while also refine students’ theoretical and methodical skills. The programs of the continuing and executive education are closely connected to research and are oriented towards the challenges of modern management. On all levels, we integrate modern technologies in our teaching and use the technological progress to facilitate teaching.

We support our students as well as our young researchers in their personal and professional development. Our students can benefit from a wide range of information events, mentoring programs, and networking opportunities. Thereby, they navigate through their studies independently and with ample freedom to choose from the Faculty and UZH offerings according to their needs and likings. For young researchers, we give room to establish themselves in their field and support them in their career path. Regular feedback, mentoring, and opportunities for academic exchange are important cornerstones for the development of our young researchers.

We strive for a high degree of diversity in all areas. An appropriate representation of gender and minorities is a key goal at our Faculty. We conduct research in different areas while connecting researchers across disciplines. We foster our strength in the combination of business and economics with informatics and support this combination in research as well as in our study programs. Our portfolio of Excellence Clusters and Excellence Topics support the interdisciplinary base and enable fruitful research collaborations between different fields and departments.

Our Faculty has a good international mix of both professors and students. We are able to recruit and compete internationally for the best talents. In research, we focus on partnerships with equitable universities and research institutions worldwide, promoting research in the setting of our Excellence Clusters and Topics. Besides the international exposure on the spot, we provide our students with an international experience by offering and supporting semester exchanges, international summer schools, and joint offerings of modules with renowned partner universities. Our choice of partner universities is quality-oriented to ensure an academically challenging experience for our students.

We rely on two funding pillars: cantonal and third-party funding. The Cantonal funding provides us with financial stability to focus on efficient and effective use of the resources. For third-party funding, we focus on competitive grants (ERC, SNFS, etc.) and sponsored research. Sponsored research-oriented professorships are highly esteemed within the borders of the University’s autonomy and the academic freedom of teaching and research. We support initiatives and cooperation with firms and facilitate this process.

Visibility in business and society is integral for our Faculty. We are well known for our excellent research in the media. Our graduate and postgraduate study programs have a high international reputation. Connections to the corporate world and our alumni are highly valued and of great importance for us. Our alumni are essential to build an identity and students are part of the community from the beginning. We build sustainable relationships with our alumni and promote a mutually fruitful relationship.

The Faculty supports research and teaching with modern, efficient and purposeful administrative support. Central services at the Dean’s Office are offered when they can be pooled and therefore done more efficiently. We are always trying to simplify the processes while ensuring quality and involving all the relevant stakeholders. We are eager to learn from others and feel responsible for providing a platform for exchanging ideas and best practices within the Faculty but also within the University.

Individuals often struggle with making optimal decisions, even when ample information is available. For example, paying attention to all relevant information is costly, and short-term benefits often influence individuals’ decisions despite all good intentions. Our research aims to help policy makers understand irrational behaviors of individuals, which in turn enables them to design better policies and markets.

In their daily lives, individuals leave digital footprints that can provide invaluable insights into societal patterns. Although digital technologies are ubiquitous in our lives, governments, companies, and NGOs are often not equipped to harness the available data’s potential. Through our research, we help overcome these hurdles and achieve effective and sustainable digital transformation.

Sustainable development and judicious resource use are pressing concerns for humanity today. Individuals tend to make myopic decisions, leading to waste and overuse of re-sources available today, with detrimental consequences for future generations. In our research, we take a multidisciplinary perspective combining economics, finance, and informatics to study incentives for the use of human and financial resources in the face of increasing inequality and social tensions.