EPFL Together – Defining the values that guide us

Context

What makes EPFL unique, and an inspiring place to study and work?

Our institution has undergone major developments over the past decades, establishing itself as a leading technical university in Switzerland, Europe, and worldwide, home to people from more than 120 nationalities. The years ahead will bring further transformation, as we navigate significant human, societal, and technological challenges. To face these changes, we need strong, shared human and ethical foundations that express who we are, what we stand for, and how we want to shape the future to the benefit of all.

While EPFL’s values are often mentioned, they have never been articulated through a community‑driven process. “EPFL Together – Defining the values that guide us” is part of the Rethink EPFL initiative launched by the EPFL Direction to strengthen the institution’s foundations. This project proposes a structured process to define EPFL’s values and embed them into the EPFL way of life by the end of 2026. This is not a top‑down exercise. It is a collective exploration.

Purpose

EPFL Together aims to align and reinforce EPFL’s identity, foster belonging, inclusion, and engagement, and guide decisions and actions across the institution. Clear values will serve as a shared reference for all members of the community — in daily interactions, in moments of challenge, and across all areas of EPFL’s impact.

These values must be authentic to EPFL, relevant to all bodies and missions, and capable of turning a shared vision into action. They will help make EPFL a place where everyone can excel, contribute meaningfully, and grow.

→ See EPFL’s Vision and Missions

Project Steps

1. Foundations

The project began with a benchmark of value‑definition processes at peer institutions (ETH Zurich, MIT, Imperial College). The EPFL Direction also reflected on the values that guide their leadership. An AI‑assisted analysis of EPFL’s strategic documents completed this phase.

2. Community engagement

Students, researchers, faculty members, and staff were invited to contribute to the values definition through workshops, a digital platform, and questions on postcards. Participants were encouraged to share their experiences, examples of meaningful behaviors, and their vision of what makes EPFL a distinctive place to study, work, and grow.

These contributions inspired the “We are EPFL” campaign, launched at the beginning of the academic year in September 2026.

At the same time, an alumni survey gathered views on the values perceived by those who have studied at EPFL over the past decades.

In total, more than 800 contributions were collected to inform the Steering Committee’s reflection process.

3. Drafting the Values Statement

All community contributions were analyzed to identify recurring themes. Based on this analysis, the Steering Committee identified six values, organized into three pairs of complementary values, each accompanied by a set of keywords.

On 29 September 2026, the Steering Committee presented these six values to the EPFL Direction, together with a report (restricted access to the EPFL community) describing the process that led to their development and a draft Values Statement outlining their significance for the institution. The Direction endorsed the proposed values and agreed to submit the outcome to the community. However, they wished to wait for community feedback before finalizing the text of the Values Statement.

4. Finalization and implementation

A community survey will be conducted from 12 October to 2 November 2026 to gather feedback on the importance of these values for EPFL and the extent to which they are currently lived across the institution.

Responses and suggestions will help identify priorities and concrete actions to strengthen the implementation of these values in practice.

Once this feedback has been received, the draft Values Statement will be revised and submitted to the Direction for adoption at its meeting on 15 December 2026.

The Values Statement will be accompanied by an integration plan specifying how the values will be embedded in everyday life at EPFL through communication, events, teaching and research practices, recruitment, onboarding, leadership development, and management practices.

5. Project closure and Value Integration Plan

Once approved, the Values Statement and supporting documents (report and Integration Plan) will mark the launch of the Value Integration Plan, guiding the long‑term embedding of EPFL’s values across the institution. Defining values is only the beginning. Living them is what will make the difference.

The values

Following an analysis of the feedback received from the EPFL community and extensive discussions, the Steering Committee proposed the following six values to the Direction, organized in pairs of complementary values and accompanied by keywords. These values were subsequently adopted by the Direction:

Creativity & Responsibility combining curiosity, enthusiasm, and audacity with integrity, trust, and sustainability.

Diversity & Collaboration aiming at equality, inclusion, and critical thinking together with dialogue, recognition, and impact.

Excellence & Respect affirming that achieving high standards requires both commitment, rigor, and efficiency, as well as openness, humanity, and humility.

Timeline

Organization

Related Rethink EPFL initiatives