Interview with Martin Vetterli, new IC Dean

How do you feel, just as you are taking office?
I am ready to take on this challenge, even if any period of transition brings its dose of stress. I am lucky to know the functioning of EPFL and the IC School inside and out. Everything that is happening in this School, coupled with an environment that lends itself to industrial relations, is extremely motivating for me. I am taking over my new function as Dean in this positive light.

How do you manage the tension and stress of such moments?
Sports and music help me to handle stress. I transform it into positive energy.

What is your vision for the School of Computer and Communication Sciences?
My vision is simple. EPFL has a social contract with the Swiss citizen. And concretely we have three missions: education (from the Bachelor to PhD), research (principally in fundamental sciences, at the best level worldwide), and tech-transfer (in applied sciences).

Education will be my first priority. I see it as a “black box;” a place of knowledge transfer and production for well-educated people – our scientists and engineers. Imagine this box, at one end we have students entering (input) and on the other end we have graduate engineers (output). We could qualify these as interfaces. At the entrance it is essential to optimize the recruitment of new students and to better understand what they are bringing with them, where they come from, what they know, and what they expect from their studies here. At the exit we need to understand where our graduates are being hired and for which types of careers. Are we producing enough qualified people for the jobs that exist in the hi-tech domain? Are our engineers satisfied with the knowledge and know-how that are taught here? I would like to bring answers to these questions. It will be through these results that we can improve our “interface phenomena” by conveying knowledge that is the best adapted to the needs of students on one hand, and preparing engineers for the job market or academic career on the other. I would like to emphasize one thing: even if our education offer is of a very high quality and our professors have an international reputation in their field of research – teaching is the most important part of being a professor.

Secondly, research: it is on this that our reputation is based. Whether we like it or not, a reputation is as important as it is easy to measure. Our professors are recruited, by large, for their ability to conduct high-level research. Our School is very well positioned in regards to the European Research Council awards where we have received six senior grants (of which three are shared with other Schools at EPFL) and four junior grants

Finally, it is important to reinforce our relationship with the industrial sector and fit our activities with its needs here in Switzerland as much as abroad. Our Innovation Square is home to many enterprises that were born at EPFL, take Logitech for example, or to multinational companies with whom we collaborate such as Nokia. We should imagine intensifying our collaborations and creating new ones. Finally, an IPO (Initial Public Offering, or a company going on the stock market) issued from the IC School would be a great success!

My global vision for ten year’s time is to be certain that our School will be involved in so-called emerging issues. Ten years from now, these subject matters will be essential to the fields of computer science and communications systems. We will continue our work in our fields of excellence while exploring new and promising territories that complement our current activities. These goals can be reached thanks to the quality of our personnel and by favoring a culture of creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration.

What are the new fields you are already thinking about?
Even if it is difficult to say what the prominent themes will be in the future, we have a good idea about what is to come. I’m thinking particularly about how our society is increasingly transforming into a digital society. These fields, tied to the Internet, will engender a multitude of services that are, in my opinion, virtually unlimited. Subjects concerning the consumption of energy, whether in datacenters, chips or communication infrastructures pose ever-growing challenges. Finally, the fundamental questions about the complexity, security, learning and distributed systems – to cite only a few examples – remain at the heart of IC School research.

What are the most important next steps for the School in your eyes?
One very important thing for me is improving our visibility outside of EPFL. Communication is at the center of my attention – it corroborates our engagement with society, this famous social contract. It is also the responsibility of the dean to insure the continuation and development of the School. I would use the term ‘sustainability’ in this sense. Then comes the question of oiling the wheels of our interactions with the economic world. Our goal is to remain within the world leaders in our field and to be able to offer the best innovations to society. I also intend to strengthen our network of former students and to develop the team spirit of our School, which is a big family.