2000 new students are discovering EPFL this week
© Alain Herzog / EPFL
EPFL’s latest enrollment statistics point to an increase of nearly 10%, to more than 8000 people, in the total number of students for the academic year 2011–2012. It is the fourth consecutive year of growth. Civil engineering, mechanical engineering, architecture and mathematics are establishing their appeal to new first-year students, while the principle of “tutorial” teaching for them is becoming more standard. Bachelor’s graduates from other institutions are mainly embarking on Master’s programs in computer science and technology management.
Growth continues in the student numbers enrolled at EPFL. The new academic year started last Tuesday in the atmosphere of a heartening increase in the number of enrollments for the fourth consecutive year—a record. Across all the study courses, the new enrollments recorded on September 9th are 9.5% higher than for the same period in 2010. Because of inevitable withdrawals resulting from multiple enrollments or accommodation problems, particularly acute this year, the final figures will not be established till the end of October.
The provisional figures show that 1467 new students, 28% of whom are women, have been accepted on to one of the Bachelor’s courses.
In parallel, 296 students (+11%) coming from other institutions or the higher education college (HES) pathway, 30% of whom are women, will begin a Master’s course at EPFL. There they will rub shoulders with the 636 students who have obtained their Bachelor’s degree at EPFL this summer and are continuing their program of studies here.
All these newcomers to the lecture-halls are joining students who are following a continuous program at EPFL. Their total for the academic year 2011–2012, allowing for probable disenrollments, will exceed 8000 students (an increase of around 10% on the final figures for last year). The Bachelor’s students will increase by around 10%, those on Master’s courses between 10% and 20% and, finally, there will be 5% to 10% more doctoral candidates than in 2010–2011.
An increase in almost all the courses
Almost all the Bachelor’s courses are anticipating an increase in their student numbers. At this stage of enrollments, it’s mainly courses in civil engineering (+67 students, +75% on the final figures for 2010), mathematics (+29 students, +38%) and mechanical engineering (+32 students, +30%) that account for the increase in the number of new faces that will be seen at EPFL this year.
At the Master’s level, despite the risks of making comparisons given the small numbers, there is evidence of a strong attraction for students from outside EPFL to the computer science section (+21 students, +48.8%). The College of Management of Technology and Entrepreneurship also has a full house, with 25 new students enrolled (+400%). Finally this year 20 students, 17 of whom are from other institutions, are starting the new Masters in Energy Management and Sustainability, which they will partly attend at EPFL Middle East in Ras Al Khaimah (United Arab Emirates).
Working in small groups is becoming standard in the first year
The students who are starting at EPFL this year will benefit substantially from an innovative educational system specific to this institution: the “tutorial” principle, designed to reinforce the supervision of exercise sessions in the analysis and physics lessons. In this system, a group of eight students is presented with exercises to solve under supervision of a “tutor” recruited from the more advanced students. The emphasis is on problem solving, which the participants debate together. “This system, which we tested out four years ago, has proved its merits”, states Nadine Stainier, Teaching Advisor for Pedagogical Research and Support (CRAFT). It gives the students the opportunity to be much more active in seeking solutions and teaches them to argue their standpoint with their colleagues. It helps them to build their network and to integrate into the academic community.’
Another new feature is the requirement for Master’s students on engineering courses to carry out a minimum of eight weeks’ work experience in a company to obtain their diploma. This means they are confronted very early on with the realities of the working world.
These two examples demonstrate EPFL’s dynamism also in terms of its primary mission, teaching. They occur in the context of a major review that will ultimately lead to a fundamental reorganization in Bachelor’s courses. In the future, this will allow more communication between subject areas and will place an even stronger emphasis on practical activities.