Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich) have this week signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the construction of Institute of Risk Analysis, Prediction and Management (Institute).

The agreement was signed by SUSTech President Chen Shiyi and ETH Zürich President Joël Mesot. The signing took place on the sidelines of the 12th Glion Colloquium in Montreux, Switzerland, which is a think-tank on higher education for the leaders of research universities. Every two years the Glion Colloquium hosts a forum for research university leaders to consider together the role that the world’s leading universities should play in addressing the great challenges and opportunities of our times. 

Under the terms of the MoC, the Institute will be established by both the Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies at SUSTech and the Department of Management, Technology and Economics (D-MTEC) at ETH Zürich. The Institute shall be devoted to research and developing an innovative dynamic risk management system. The system will develop real-time dynamic monitoring of extreme events in different natural and social systems through simulation and trend analysis.

Accurate forecasting and early warning problems will provide society with the ability to better adapt to new and unique problems, minimizing risk and social instability. The Institute will be led by the Head of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at SUSTech, Professor Chen Xiaofei, in conjunction with Chair of Entrepreneurial Risks at D-MTEC, Professor Didier Sornette.

ETH Zürich is the world’s top research university, and has been ranked among the top universities in Europe for many years. It is ranked 7th in the world in the Times Higher Education 2019 World University Rankings. There are 21 Nobel Prize Laureates among the alumni and current faculty members, including Albert Einstein.