Progress happens when knowledge is shared and developed collaboratively. That’s why the professional development courses of all four research institutes of the ETH Domain have been collected at the PSI Education Center. The School for Radiation Protection is also open to the entire country, ensuring that emergency responders and specialists working in medicine, industry and energy supply receive outstanding training and professional development.
It’s a Tuesday morning in December, the first rays of sunlight are filtering through the treetops, throwing patterns on the road that winds through the expansive PSI campus. A few latecomers hurry along the pavement towards a brick building: the OSGA training centre. Three courses are taking place here today: Accredited Radiological Protection Training for Laboratory Personnel, a practical course in X-ray physics and the course Communicating in Science. In the training rooms, physicists sit next to environmental scientists, laboratory staff meet dangerous goods officers, and aspiring radiology professionals encounter radiation protection personnel.
“This is about far more than just transferring knowledge,” says David Sprenger. “A shared language of research is taking shape – a cultural foundation that transcends disciplines and boundaries.” Sprenger has a doctorate in digital learning technologies and is the head of the PSI Education Center. Since spring 2024, the lead campus has offered a joint course programme for all four national research institutes belonging to the ETH Domain: PSI, Empa, Eawag and WSL. The programme comprises around 200 courses. Courses cover topics such as research data management (RDM), geographic information systems (GIS), the Python programming language and Quarto reporting software, and participants not only learn methods and regulations but also embrace the vision of ETH research: openness, precision and the courage to innovate.
Focusing on learning and development
From the outset, exchanging ideas and consciously cultivating the shared ETH research culture were declared goals, David Sprenger explains: “The acronym ‘lead’ is composed of ‘learning’ and ‘development.’” In other words, the continuous pursuit of improvement that underlies all research.
Thanks to the existing PSI Education Center, the lead campus got off to a solid start. “The infrastructure was already in place,” Sprenger explains. “At PSI, we have attractive classrooms, modern laboratories and a fully equipped area for emergency response training – in radiation protection, for example.” Firefighting courses, tailored to the specific conditions found in laboratories, are also held in a specially equipped area.
Courses have been standardised wherever the four research institutes share common ground. There are courses on presentation skills in the scientific environment, successfully applying for research fund ing, communicating one’s own research to a broad audience and a module that shows early-career researchers how to successfully publish their results in international journals.
According to David Sprenger, online learning has gained considerable importance since the pandemic years of 2020–21. Where appropriate, however, professional development courses are held on-site. This promotes social exchange between the institutes and simplifies practical exercises.
Sprenger’s team regularly reviews the individual courses. They assess the participation rate and the popularity of each course. “Depending on the results, we expand certain modules or remove them. This keeps the programme dynamic.” Each of the four research institutes has a contact person to identify professional development needs. The languages of instruction are German and English. Researchers at the ETH institutes come from all over the world.
The early verdict on the shared learning platform is positive: in the first two years of the lead campus, there have already been 4,500 course attendances – across all in-person courses. “If we also include the mandatory online courses, the total rises to around ten thousand,” says David Sprenger. To put this in context, the four ETH research institutes together have approximately 4,600 employees, 2,300 of them at PSI alone.
Career development for research and industry
An academic career differs from a professional career in the private sector – the Career Center takes this into account. It is another part of the PSI Education Center and is available to doctoral candidates and postdoctoral researchers at ETH Domain research institutes.
Young researchers who want to move into industry are also prepared for this. The numerous spin-off companies that have already established themselves at all four research institutes testify to the business acumen of some former researchers. “The economic success of these spin-offs owes much to how confidently researchers navigate the economic landscape of the private sector,” David Sprenger explains. “Our courses help pave the way.”
The School for Radiation Protection – a national responsibility
For more than 60 years, training in radiation protection has been an integral part of PSI and is open to participants from all over Switzerland. As Switzerland’s competence centre for nuclear energy and safety, the institute bears a key responsibility for ensuring that expertise in handling ionising radiation is continuously developed and passed on to future generations. Having grown out of PSI’s own nuclear research activities, the School for Radiation Protection is financially self-sufficient and is now part of the PSI Education Center. Course participants come from many different fields: for example, emergency responders in the event of a malfunction or emergency, medical professionals in radiology or nuclear medicine, researchers in the pharmaceutical industry or people working in nuclear research, at Swiss nuclear power plants or at the Zwilag interim storage facility.
In Switzerland, training to handle radiation safely is legally enshrined in the Radiation Protection Act and the Radiation Protection Training Ordinance; 70 professional groups are covered by these regulations. Occupationally exposed personnel are subject to strict legal regulations and are supervised by the Federal Office of Public Health, the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI), and the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport.
“PSI is the only institute mentioned in the Radiation Protection Ordinance, meaning we have a direct mandate from the federal government,” says Maya Keller, head of the School for Radiation Protection. “We are the largest school of its kind in Switzerland and offer the broadest range of courses. For many years, we have reliably contributed to ensuring the safe handling of ionising radiation in Switzerland. I am proud of that.” Maya Keller grew up in Ticino and the US and holds a master’s degree in radiation protection, as well as the highest US certification.
Later that Tuesday, she is teaching the course Accredited Radiological Protection Training for Laboratory Personnel in English. The participants come from the University of Basel, among other places; others work at Novartis, and a small number are also from PSI. “These people are attending this one-week course because they all work in a laboratory with what are known as open radioactive sources.”
For many years, our training programme has reliably contributed to the required safe handling of ionising radiation in Switzerland.
With 60 different courses, ranging from half a day to three months, the School for Radiation Protection covers the entire spectrum. And it achieves this with just seven instructors, who together cover 6.2 fulltime equivalents (FTEs). “In addition, changes in legal requirements necessitate further training modules,” explains Maya Keller.
The needs in the medical field are constantly evolving. Flexibility is essential. Maya Keller: “To meet the needs of our clients, we also offer customised training programmes. For example, instructors go directly to a hospital to teach its medical staff about radiation protection and enable them to practise it in the operating theatre.”
A tailored training course for handling malfunctions and emergencies is also part of the PSI School for Radiation Protection’s portfolio. “We work directly with cantonal organisations to develop realistic emergency drills.”
Instruction in Switzerland’s largest X-ray laboratory
The School for Radiation Protection addresses the growing needs in the field of X-ray diagnostics, among other things with the largest X-ray laboratory in Switzerland. A total of nine X-ray systems and one fluoroscopy device allow a wide variety of experiments and exercises to be conducted, giving future radiographers and physicians hands-on preparation.
The X-ray laboratory is rented out to third parties approximately 65 days a year. During these times, schools for medical practice assistants use the facilities. This allows the School for Radiation Protection to offset the cost of its modern equipment.
Practical course units are also held in the physics and chemistry labs, where participants learn how to use measuring instruments, for example. Safety is always a top priority. “Consistently safety-conscious behaviour in the work environment is essential, precisely because ionising radiation is undetectable by our five senses,” Maya Keller explains. “That’s exactly what we teach in our courses.”
