#2 event: questions from the teaching and student body
© 2026 EPFL
The second meeting dedicated to the “s’EPanouir-FLourish” initiative, which aims to rethink EPFL’s Bachelor programs, was held on Thursday, February 26, with 75 participants of the teaching and student bodies.
The second s’EPanouir–FLourish community event was organised in collaboration with representatives of both the teaching and student bodies, with the aim of directly addressing the community questions and topics of interest.
The programme was built from the themes submitted by participants in advance. The first part of the event focused on clarifying the origins of the project, its place within the Direction’s Rethink initiative, and the underlying rationale behind its pillars.
In the second part, participants worked in small groups to explore key thematic questions, with the goal of identifying two hopes, two concerns and two open questions for the future of education at EPFL
A debrief then allowed each group’s moderators to share the outcomes of their discussions with the entire audience. The session concluded with a Q&A.
A complex ecosystem and concrete solutions
This exercise highlighted the variety of perspectives and experiences within the groups themselves, thereby reinforcing the importance of a collaborative and integrative approach to dealing with the complexity intrinsic to the project.
In terms of expectations for the first-year restructuring, most groups shared a vision of engineering education that is more responsible, inclusive, and equitable, with an openness to the world and society. The importance of integrating transversal skills into courses and facilitating access to interdisciplinary projects appeared as essential elements for achieving this goal.
With regard to teaching careers, continuing education, the development of a support system and a clear career structure enabling professional recognition achieved consensus among the groups that focused on this issue.
In terms of the risks associated with change, several groups emphasized the importance of carrying out concrete groundwork and expressed concern about the availability of sufficient human, technical, and financial resources to successfully implement this transformation.
Feasibility report
The work carried out during this session will be shared with the working groups, who are working on a feasibility report. This report will be presented to the Conférence des Directeurs de Section (CDS), the school’s Direction and to the wider community on the 27th of April at 13h30. An invitation will be sent with further details.
