The World Food System Center at ETH Zurich invites students to apply for its World Food System Summer School 2026, a two-week, immersive, interdisciplinary program focused on designing solutions for sustainable food systems in a rapidly changing world.
Held in Zurich, Switzerland, this intensive summer school brings together 40–50 motivated students from diverse academic backgrounds to explore global and local food system challenges through systems thinking, project-based learning, and real-world collaboration.
Program Overview
The Summer School takes place at PBLabs, a creative learning space designed for experimentation and project-based education. Participants will engage with food system challenges across ecological, economic, social, political, and cultural dimensions, working closely with external stakeholders such as researchers, producers, policymakers, industry partners, and civil society actors.
Through a mix of lectures, workshops, case studies, excursions, group projects, and social activities, students will co-create innovative ideas to support food system transformation. A dedicated Media and Methods Lab supports participants in communicating their ideas using visual and auditory storytelling tools, enabling them to pitch solutions effectively.
The program is supported by the Innovedum Fund and guided by an interdisciplinary faculty team and experienced facilitators, ensuring a rich and supportive learning journey.
What You Will Learn
During the Summer School, participants will:
- Explore key challenges, opportunities, and innovations in global and local food systems
- Apply food systems thinking across environmental, social, political, and economic dimensions
- Collaborate in interdisciplinary and cross-sector teams on real-world case studies
- Use creativity, design thinking, and systems mapping to co-create solutions
- Develop skills in visual and auditory storytelling to communicate and pitch ideas for change
Key Details
- Course Dates: 29 June – 10 July 2026
- Location: ETH Zurich, Switzerland (including excursions)
- Format: In-person, full-time, immersive program
- Language: English
- Credits: 4 ECTS + Certificate of Completion (awarded by ETH Zurich)
Participants must be available for the entire duration of the course; parallel work or studies are not possible.
Eligibility
Applicants must:
- Be currently enrolled in a Swiss higher education institution (minimum 3rd-year Bachelor, Master’s, or PhD), or
- Have recently graduated from one of these institutions
- Students from ENHANCE Alliance partner universities are also eligible
As the program is designed primarily for ETH Zurich, priority is given to ETH Zurich students, with a limited number of places available to students from other Swiss institutions and ENHANCE partners.
Diversity is a core value of the program. Selection aims to create a cohort diverse in discipline, gender, nationality, culture, and life experience.
Successful applicants will demonstrate:
- Strong interest in sustainable food systems
- Motivation for interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration
- Openness to diverse perspectives
- Relevant academic or practical experience
Application Process
Application Deadline: 25 January 2026
A complete application must include:
- CV (PDF)
- Short video (max. 2 minutes) introducing yourself, your studies, and your motivation
- Completed application form
The application process is competitive, and all applicants (including ETH Zurich students) must submit a full application.
Costs
- Tuition: Free of charge
- Covered: Local travel and all program-related activities
- Not covered: Accommodation, travel to/from Zurich, and meals
Please note that no scholarships are available to cover these personal expenses.
About the Organizers
The World Food System Center at ETH Zurich works toward a vision of a healthy world supported by sustainable food systems. It brings together professors from multiple departments to advance interdisciplinary research, education, and outreach in collaboration with partners across sectors.
ETH Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, is one of the world’s leading universities in science and technology, hosting over 25,000 students from more than 120 countries.
Join a global community of changemakers and help design the future of sustainable food systems.
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