OpenFieldZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences (Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften) is one of Switzerland's largest and most technologically advanced public universities of applied sciences, with main campuses in Winterthur, Zurich, and Wädenswil. Renowned for its School of Engineering, Institute of Applied Information Technology (InIT), and Life Sciences and Facility Management, ZHAW conducts extensive applied research directly with Swiss industry giants and Innosuisse.
Review checked academic pathways and funding options below:
Funded four-year doctoral research post conducted jointly between ZHAW Institute of Applied Information Technology (InIT) and the University of Zurich, building scalable neural question-answering engines over enterprise data lakes.
Prestigious Swiss Master of Science in Engineering taught in English, combining high-level applied theory with hands-on industrial research in deep learning, cloud architectures, and computer vision.
Doctoral research at the Institute of Energy Systems and Fluid Engineering (IEFE), developing high-efficiency wide-bandgap (SiC/GaN) inverters for solar microgrids in collaboration with ETH Zurich.
Two-year English-taught Master of Science training cyber defense specialists in cloud infrastructure security, penetration testing, malware analysis, and industrial automation protocols.
Doctoral studentship at the Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology (ICBT) overlooking Lake Zurich in Wädenswil, developing continuous bioprocessing systems for therapeutic recombinant proteins.
Two-year postdoctoral research appointment at the Institute of Data Analysis and Process Design (IDP), advancing algorithmic fairness, explainable machine learning, and ethical scoring models.
Six-month research internship at the ICT-Accessibility Lab in Winterthur, creating multimodal speech and tactile digital interfaces for visually and motor-impaired individuals.
Tuition at ZHAW is CHF 720 per semester for Swiss and EU/EFTA citizens, and CHF 1,220 per semester (approx. USD $1,400) for international students. Full-time graduate research assistants and practice-based doctoral researchers (enrolled in joint PhD programs with ETH Zurich or the University of Zurich) receive salaried Swiss employment contracts earning CHF 50,000 to CHF 65,000 per year.
Distinguished researchers and laboratory heads at ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences:
Professor of Computer Science & Head of Intelligent Information Systems · Data Science, Large Language Models, Natural Language Interfaces to Databases, Big Data Analytics
Head of the ICT-Accessibility Lab, School of Engineering · Digital Accessibility, Assistive Technologies, Human-Computer Interaction, Inclusive Design
Professor of Operations Management, Institute of Data Analysis and Process Design · Fair Machine Learning, Predictive Analytics, Algorithmic Fairness, Decision Analysis
Facts reflect official ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences documentation reviewed 2026-10-15. Degree admissions, scholarship awards, and employment positions are subject to formal university review. OpenField does not charge students application fees.
Reviewed 2026-10-15 · Editorial standards · Report an issue