Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) is a public research university located in Lausanne, Switzerland. It specializes in natural sciences and engineering. It is one of the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology, with three main missions: education, research and innovation.

The QS World University Rankings ranked EPFL as the 14th best university in the world across all fields in 2021, whereas THE World University Rankings ranked EPFL as the world’s 19th best school for engineering and technology in 2020.

As at all universities in Switzerland, the academic year is divided into two semesters. The usual time till graduation is six semesters for the Bachelor of Science degree and four additional semesters for the Master of Science degree. Though only 58% of the students who manage to graduate are able to graduate within this time-period.

Entrepreneurship is actively encouraged, as evident by the EPFL Innovation Park being an integral part of campus. Since 1997, 12 start-ups have been created per year on average by EPFL students and faculty. In the year 2013, a total of 105 million CHF was raised by EPFL start-ups.