High-level education

How has digitalisation changed the tasks and behaviour of students in recent years?

In the teaching environment, new tools have been added that make processes more efficient, perhaps even a little more anonymous. This already starts upon registration, which today is accomplished independently, online and regardless of the time of day. In terms of the learning experience, the study routine has become more digitalised thanks to podcasts, visual aids and simulations. This makes the classical lecture more attractive. These days, many students come to the auditorium with their laptops instead of a pen and paper. However, a bricks-and-mortar university is not just a place for acquiring knowledge; it’s also a venue for intellectual exchange, discourse and learning to focus. Contextual know-how is becoming more important. The manageable size of our university, with its almost family-like atmosphere, offers optimal conditions for this.

When it comes to studying, is there still the necessary leeway?

The Bologna system has made studies more rigorous and demanding. The number of examinations has increased. Students need more time to accumulate the necessary credits and, at least during the semester, they have a tight schedule and less free time than before. Many also have to work part-time to make ends meet. But we’ve also seen growth in extracurricular activities, such as sports.

“We concentrate on our strengths.”

How do you come in contact with the students?

With today’s digital possibilities, you can reach out to many of them very quickly and very easily, for example by means of an e-mail newsletter – but whether we actually get through to the addressees is another question. Mailboxes nowadays are often cram-full. I can’t find the time for some other route such as social media, since that presence needs to be continuously administered in order to have an impact. Of much greater importance to me is the personal contact and exchange with our students, during which I can win their confidence and spark their enthusiasm.

Educational offerings at the university level are increasingly competing with each other. What does this mean for your curriculum and services?

Especially with the young students, we need to spur their enthusiasm not just for studying, but also for the field they’re majoring in – otherwise they’ll go somewhere else after earning their bachelor’s degree. Other, larger universities offer a broader range of subjects than we do, and we charge comparatively high tuition fees. This forces us to excel in what we do and focus on our strengths in order to keep up with the competition.

Swiss universities are also highly regarded by foreigners. How do you reach those potential students, and what can you offer them?

Compared to other Swiss universities, the proportion of foreign students at Uni Basel is below average. The cost of living and relatively high fees here may be a reason for this. But the non-Swiss proportion of doctoral students and postdocs is significantly higher at over 50 per cent. These up-and-coming scientists are attracted by our top-notch professors and quality of research.

Rankings attempt to make the quality of universities comparable. Where does Uni Basel stand, and what is the point of such comparisons?

Some of these rankings are justifiably criticised. But they do exist, whether you like it or not, and they serve as orientation. In 
the “Times Higher Education” ranking, the University of Basel is most often amongst the top 100; sometimes just above the threshold, sometimes below. I see a clear causality between budget and student enrolments. More money at a university leads to more and better offerings and thus to a higher place in the rankings. This puts smaller universities at a disadvantage. Moreover, competition from Asia is growing. We are currently seeing how China is progressively becoming a knowledge nation.