University of Geneva

The University of Geneva (UNIGE) offers more than 280 types of degrees and more than 250 continuing education programmes covering an extremely wide variety of fields across exact sciences, medicine, and humanities.

Digital activities 

The university has incorporated digital technology into its strategy and appointed a vice-rector in charge of defining and piloting digital initiatives in the fields of education, research, and services to society. Its digital strategy focuses on three dimensions of digital technology: digital technology for teaching and research, digital solutions for open and connected science and digital expertise in the service fo society.  

It also provides courses focusing on digital law, and it has been very active in research related to applied physics and quantum cryptography.

More information on the university’s digital strategy can be found at the dedicated page. 

Digital policy issues

Capacity development 

 In an attempt to develop digital skills of its community, the University of Geneva has put in place a series of measures to meet the needs of its students, researchers, administrative staff, and other community members. To this end, the university offers a series of courses on digital technologies and related issues, participates in a number of projects, and provides training and workshops on particular digital skills and tools. It is also developing and deploying its Open Science roadmap. 

Moreover, the university created a Digital Law Center (DLC) at the Faculty of Law over the course of implementing its digital strategy. The DLC provides courses focused on the Internet and law. It also organises its annual Digital Law Summer School, where participants can discuss digital law and policy issues such as cybersecurity, privacy, freedom of expression, and intellectual property with leading experts from academia and international organisations. Every year since 2016, the university has organised the Geneva Digital Law Research Colloquium (which is run by the DLC in co-operation with other leading academic centers, including the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University). This event is a scientific workshop that gives an opportunity to selected next generation digital law and policy researchers to present and discuss various digital policy issues such as freedom of expression online, copyright, and the Internet of Things with senior high level experts.

Leveraging its multidisciplinary culture, the university has recently created a transversal Data Science Competence Center aiming at federating competencies from all faculties and enabling cross-fertilisation between various disciplines to develop advanced research and services.

The university has also developed a Digital Innovation Incubation Programme that supports residency periods for its members at swissnex San Francisco to enhance the links with the Bay Area.

The university has created a portal for online and blended learning with a set of resources to help tutors prepare their courses and classes. Some of the resources are intended for self-training, while others provide users with training/coaching opportunities with University of Geneva e-learning and blended learning experts.

Digital tools

The university maintains an IT Service Catalogue where students can access all digital tools the university provides, such as the UNIGE Mobile App, UNIGE Portal, UNIGE’s data storage system, and many others.

The University of Geneva also offers a number of online courses.

 Future of Meetings

Any reference to online or remote meetings? 

• The university plans to extend its Zoom license, which was initially acquired for one semester, until the end of the 2020/2021 academic year. Some exams have taken place online.

Any reference to holding meetings outside HQ?

• The university is using online platforms for e-conferences and plans to deploy them in order to provide alternatives to in-person meetings.