Many of us enjoy going backcountry skiing and lots of us plan and even share our trips online. But did you know that the digital traces that you leave online could help make backcountry touring safer?

Zürich’s green tram tracks may seem like a simple aesthetic upgrade, but they could be doing far more than just making the city look greener. Students from the GEO410 «Geography.Matters.» course describe the different types of green tram tracks and explore whether this green infrastructure unintentionally helps to spread invasive plant species.

What makes change ‘transformative’? How useful is the term ‘polycrisis’ for the global challenges we face today? How do we narrow the gap between knowledge about global sustainability challenges and transformative action? What is the role of Higher Education in societal transformations? How can we co-create just and sustainable futures? Whose voices and knowledge count […]

Despite strong political pushback, the number of people searching for protection in Europe is not decreasing. Urban spaces, especially, are the destination of many seeking a new home. Yet, arriving in a new urban environment does not automatically mean feeling at home. Students from the GEO410 «Geography.Matters.» course accompanied two refugees to understand how physical places shape their sense of belonging in Zürich.

User Experience (UX) Design und Geographie haben mehr gemeinsam, als man denkt: Ein ganzheitliches Verständnis, barrierefreie Visualisierung und qualitative Methoden prägen beide Bereiche. Mein Praktikum zeigte: Das Geographiestudium liefert ideale Grundlagen für nutzerzentriertes Design – und macht Geograph:innen in dieser Branche begehrt.

Mit GPS-gesteuerten Audiotouren lassen sich wissenschaftliche Themen auf eine neue Art erleben, ganz ohne Blick aufs Smartphone. Unsere Exkursionen rund um das Thema Wasser führen durch Zürich, Bern, Baden und Reichenau – Städte, in denen das Wasser allgegenwärtig ist.

Well-designed cartographic displays turn complex geopolitical data into actionable insights for evidence-based policy. The Geographic Information Visualization and Analysis (GIVA) group has developed a streamlined mapping process to support decision-making on behalf of the FDFA’s Policy Planning Division. The solution combines established cartographic principles with efficient open data workflows.

How do global pressures play out in mountain regions? In our joint course between GIUZ and Tbilisi State University, students from Georgia and Switzerland have been working in cross-border teams, navigating different academic cultures, time zones, and perspectives — and turned this into collaborative blog posts on key socio-political questions in mountain regions.

Zurich’s riverbanks are being reshaped—not by humans, but by beavers, whose return to the city brings both promise for biodiversity and friction with city life. In this post, students from the GEO410 Geography. Matters. course explore whether beavers can be partners rather than problems in our shared urban future.

For many students, excursions and field trips are among the most enjoyable and memorable parts of their studies, and may even be one of the reasons why they chose this subject. For us as teachers, they offer a chance to step outside the classroom and show what we study in the real world. But what happens when (former) students invite us on an excursion?