School of Engineering: anchored internationally

Founded in 1874 as the Technikum Winterthur, the ZHAW School of Engineering has a long standing tradition of educating engineers. Today it still educates almost a quarter of all engineers in Switzerland. The ZHAW School of Engineering maintains close collaborations with companies from the private sector and other universities and research institutes in Switzerland and abroad.

With over 100 partner universities worldwide, the ZHAW School of Engineering has an extensive international network. The regional foci are the USA, Europe and Asia (with Australia and New Zealand). Agreements with our partner universities enable students at the ZHAW School of Engineering to spend a semester abroad without extending the duration of their studies.

Since 2023, the ZHAW has been a member of EELISA - short for ‘European Engineering Learning Innovation and Science Alliance’ - an association of ten universities from eight European countries. Its aim is to transform European higher education and strengthen interdisciplinarity in engineering education. Membership of the Alliance offers students access to exchange programmes, internships and study visits at the Alliance's partner universities.

Our partner universities are shown on the world map below. The filter is set in a way that only partner universities of the ZHAW School of Engineering are displayed.

For some degree programmes there are double degree agreements with foreign universities. For the bachelor's programme in Engineering and Management, there is a double-degree programme with the University of Applied Sciences Windesheim in the Netherlands. In addition to the Bachelor's degree from the ZHAW School of Engineering, graduates of this programme also receive a diploma from Windesheim University, which entitles them to study for a Master's degree at any university in the Netherlands. For the Master of Science in Engineering, we offer a double-degree programme with the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.

With the International Profile (IP), graduates receive a "Certificate International Profile" in addition to their Bachelor's degree. This certificate increases the chances of finding a job in a company with a global presence and offers better career development opportunities. Thanks to the IP, graduates have already a good command of professional terminology in English and can be directly involved in international projects.

Students at the ZHAW School of Engineering can additionally benefit from other options to get their international exposure: conduct an internship abroad in a company and earn a salary. Internship placements are organized through our partner IAESTE. They can conduct their BSc or MSE thesis at one of our partner university, or participate in one of our joint summer schools with international partners.