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The IfI’s Strategy can be downloaded here (PDF, 470 KB) in full as a PDF document.
The introduction and widespread use of computers have drastically changed our daily lives. The fusion of the physical and digital realms is reshaping human experiences, impacting fields such as science, engineering, economics, and society. This ongoing evolution offers fresh opportunities for interaction, data analysis, visualization, and decision-making. To safeguard human well-being, it is crucial to approach current and future technology challenges with rigorous scientific methods.
Data and information play a vital role in today’s society but also bring complex challenges. These challenges span legal, ethical, and performance aspects, making it imperative to navigate them wisely. As globalization continues to shape societal interactions, fostering shared understanding and intelligent decision-making is essential for crafting technologically advanced, secure, cost-effective, and people-centric digital systems. Key components include intelligent systems, secure development practices, automation, and effective communication, all built on the foundation of comprehensive data utilization. By embracing technology as a means to improve society and business, the department recognizes the importance of approaching these innovations from diverse perspectives in our multifaceted modern society.
The Department of Informatics (Institut für Informatik, IfI) plays a leading role in shaping the digital era, extending beyond informatics and computer science, and the IfI contributes actively to addressing significant challenges in today's digital world. The IfI prioritizes human-centered and societal concerns, practical applications, financial systems, and the digitization of society within various methods, while crafting solutions that emphasize human needs, economic efficiency, technical robustness and security, and social and environmental responsibility.
The IfI addresses topics such as the aging society, privacy, data science, value creation in the digital age, corporate and societal innovation, and sustainable development. Alongside these priorities, the IfI also takes on the fundamental technical challenges of building and understanding large-scale, software-based and data-driven systems. By doing so, the IfI contributes to the development of a modern and advanced society, which is sustainable, prosperous, and respectful of human values.
The IfI conducts extensive and excellent research across various domains, encompassing Information Systems (Wirtschaftsinformatik), Software Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, and People-oriented Computing. IfI’s research leads to innovations that address real-world challenges, benefiting both individuals and society.
Additionally, this work contributes to top-tier publications, advancing scientific knowledge and guiding the research community's direction. A significant portion of this research is interdisciplinary, generating multifaceted impacts and fostering collaborations with other organizations, institutions, and research fields.
The academic programs at IfI are designed with a forward-thinking approach that aligns well with IfI’s research priorities. These programs offer a comprehensive education in informatics and computer science, encompassing areas such as business systems, decentralized systems, big data analysis, artificial intelligence, and human-centered computing. By covering interdisciplinary topics that apply to real-world challenges, the IfI ensures that its students are well-prepared for their future.
IfI’s teaching methodology emphasizes interactive instruction and critical learning techniques. The IfI provides a rich curriculum with a strong theoretical foundation, focusing on practical applications at the BSc, MSc, and PhD levels. IfI’s graduates meet the highest international standards and are excellently prepared for careers in software services, diverse development sectors, and various research fields. They are in high demand due to their exceptional education, creativity, and critical thinking skills.
For professionals seeking continuous growth, the IfI offers Certificates of Advanced Studies (CAS), providing opportunities for ongoing education and skills development. These programs support lifelong learning, catering to individuals interested in expanding their knowledge in their current field or branching into new informatics domains.
The IfI offers valuable resources and opportunities for junior scholars, doctoral students, senior researchers, and postdoctoral researchers to excel in their academic and professional pursuits. And IfI’s PhD students and postdocs emerge as thought leaders, achieving success at leading international corporations, research institutions, and universities. Even after leaving the IfI, they continue to make significant contributions within their specialized fields and research communities, both in Switzerland and on a global scale.
The IfI maintains extensive collaborations with industrial, governmental, non-governmental, and societal partners. Through collaborative research and knowledge transfer projects, the IfI ensures that its research holds real-world significance. These partnerships facilitate the practical application of scientific expertise and provide valuable external feedback.
Additionally, the IfI operates under the guidance of an advisory board comprising local and international experts from academia, industry, and government. This advisory board offers external perspectives on academics, research, and strategy, enhancing our institute's open and agile engagement with society and the global community.
IfI’s alumni network also plays a pivotal role in fostering connections. Sustaining ongoing interactions between the department and its former graduates is a top priority for the IfI, mutually benefiting both parties. Thus, the IfI maintains various channels for alumni input, feedback, and continued engagement.
The IfI is dedicated to cultivating a work environment characterized by supportive and transparent leadership and a collaborative culture. The key goal is to nurture an inspiring, excellence-driven atmosphere in which every member of the department, including professors, postdocs, researchers, doctoral students, technical and administrative staff, and students, actively contribute their unique skills and a shared commitment to making a positive impact on the world.
