Since its founding in 1854, ETH Zurich has had an excellent reputation. For more than a century and a half countless world-famous scientists, who have made major contributions to science, studied here. Think of Wilhelm Röntgen, the discoverer of X-rays; Fritz Haber, known for the Haber–Bosch process that enabled a massive increase in global food production; John von Neumann, the founder of the von Neumann computer architecture; and of course, Albert Einstein. Although the history of this Swiss top institution is fascinating and worthy of a book in and off itself, this article focuses on the experiences of the average Dutch Electrical Engineering student during their studies and stay in Zurich.

As 2025 is slowly coming to a close, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the past year. Although three months have passed since I started my board year, it feels like only three weeks. I guess time really does fly when you are having fun. It’s really interesting how a person can go from joining their first committee to becoming a full time board member in the span of a year. During this first quartile I learned the hard way that time management is one of the most important skills someone needs to learn during a board year. There is just so much fun stuff to do, and way to little time do everything.

ChatGPT has only been released for 3 years, but it, and other LLMs, are already becoming a prominent feature in our (student) lives. By now, AI is everywhere. We use it to research a random question, to make music, to proofread our assignments, or even to do our assignments (which is obviously not advised). At De Vonk, we strive to produce articles that are written completely manually to keep the personal touch in touch. ...

Do you wanna know what Scintilla members do on their time off? Of course you do! We go to conferences to better our knowledge on a particular subject!! One of our members recently went to the European Microwave Week — the short-wave variant, not the kitchen appliance. (Yes, I was asked what we were actually doing more times than I can count.) This year, the conference was hosted at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, so sadly no trip abroad. ...

At the start of this academic year, the 95th board handed over the scepter to the 96th board of E.T.S.V. Scintilla. We have asked them to introduce themselves by writing something about their history. Get to know the new board members a little better by reading their stories in this article and learn about what is driving them and what will be keeping them busy coming year.

It’s a scene you probably know too well: it’s a busy Wednesday afternoon, and you wander into the SK to cram for tomorrow’s test. But of course, so have all your fellow students. The room is crammed. Now you will have to find another place to study, and with only precious few hours left it should better be a good spot. But you have no idea what the best places to study on campus are, where should you go? What you need is a nice list, ranking all the study spots in order. Well you’re in luck, because that’s what I’m attempting to make.