Excellence Program in HS 2026
Some courses in the Excellence Program can only be attended by participants of the Excellence Program: DSI BootCamp, Interdisciplinary Reading Seminar and Summer School (spring semester). The remaining courses are also open to other PhD students, provided that there are still enough places available.
If in doubt, read the information on the target group of a course in the course catalogue. The course offerings can be found in the UZH course catalogue (Further offerings; UZH Digital Society Initiative Excellence Program).
Module booking at UZH
UZH uses a module booking tool, through which DSI courses can also be booked. The most important information can be found here.
Registration
Unless otherwise noted, the courses listed below are booked via the UZH module booking tool. Be sure to follow the booking information as well as booking and cancellation deadlines listed in the course catalogue.
Registration and cancellation conditions
- Module bookings in the module booking tool can only be made within the module booking period and only after payment of the semester fees.
- You are responsible for monitoring your own bookings and cancellations. This includes checking that the bookings or cancellations you have made have been made correctly.
- Cancellations can be made via the module booking tool until the cancellation deadline expires. After the cancellation deadline, cancellations are only possible in exceptional cases, and to do so you must contact the DSI program coordination. Cancellation only to the lecturer is not valid.
- For technical reasons, there are no waiting lists for courses to be booked via the module booking tool. We recommend to inquire about free places via the UZH module booking tool, especially 2-3 weeks before the course starts (in the time between cancellation and booking deadline).
Transcript of records and ECTS points
- For a booked course, the performance assessment must be passed, regardless of whether ECTS credits are needed or not. Otherwise the course is considered as «failed» in your transcript of records.
- ECTS credits can only be earned if the course's performance assessment is passed.
- It is up to the faculties to decide whether a successfully completed DSI course will be considered as a curricular part of the Excellence Program and whether ECTS credits will be credited. There is no general entitlement to the recognition or crediting of performance. It is therefore strongly recommended that doctoral students inform themselves about their institute's regulations regarding recognition and crediting before they take a course offered by the DSI. Ideally, recognition and crediting should be discussed with the supervisor before registration.
- For participants of the Excellence Program, successfully completed DSI courses are part of their DSI program requirements. Some institutes may consider simultaneous crediting of ECTS credits to the respective doctoral program as double crediting. In such a case, the participant may have the choice of crediting the performance either to the doctoral program or to the DSI program requirements (except for compulsory courses).
Course Categories
The courses that count towards the Excellence Program are divided into three categories.
Compulsory modules: These courses must be successfully completed by the participants of the Excellence Program. In case of space limitations, participants of the Excellence Program have first priority.
DSI core elective modules: These courses can be chosen by the participants of the Excellence Program. The courses are offered by the DSI. In case of space limitations, participants of the Excellence Program have first priority.
Other core elective modules: These courses can be chosen by the participants of the Excellence Program. The courses are offered by other organisational units (e.g. by different faculties), but can be credited to the Excellence Program. There is no prioritization for participants of the Excellence Program in case of space limitations.
Courses
Module booking starts on August 13, 2026, 10 o'clock (request deadline) in the module booking tool. Registration for the courses “Good research practice” starts in July 2026.
|
DSI Compulsory Modules |
Dates, Location |
|---|---|
| DSI BootCamp* |
01. - 03.09.2026, 9:00 - 17:00 |
|
Digital Transformation, Science, and Law: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives* |
29.09.2026, 9:00 - 17:00 |
| Scientific Overview / Professor Presentations* | 21.09. - 16.11.2026, 15:00 - 15:45 |
| Interdisciplinary Reading Seminar** |
Kick-off-Session in the BootCamp: 01.09.2026, 15:00 - 16:00 |
| (Leveraging) AI for Research Purposes*** |
19.10.2026, 9:30 . 17:00 |
* Compulsory courses in the 1st year of the Excellence Program.
** The Interdisciplinary Reading Seminar course is a compulsory course for students in the first year of the Excellence Program. Second year PhD students in the Excellence Program may take the course as an elective and register until September 1, 2026 via phd-program@dsi.uzh.ch.
*** The (Leveraging) AI for Research Purposes" is a compulsory course for students in the first year of the Excellence Program. Second year PhD students in the Excellence Program may take the course as an elective and register until September 15, 2026 via phd-program@dsi.uzh.ch.
|
DSI Core Elective Modules |
Dates, Location |
|---|---|
| Agentic Coding |
27:10.2026, 9:00 - 17:00 Location: SOC-E-010 |
| Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)**** |
24.09.2026, 13:00 - 17:00 Location: tbd |
**** Interested PhDs from the Excellence Program can earn 2 ECTS credits (out of 3 ECTS credits) towards the Excellence Program for successful participation in the «Open Science Intelligenge (OSINT). If you are interested, please book the course and let the program coordinator of the Excellence Program know via phd-program@dsi.uzh.ch.
|
Other Core Elective Modules |
Dates, Location |
|---|---|
| 14.09. - 14.12.2026, 14:00 - 18:00 Location: Information via Department of Informatics |
|
| Good Research Practice |
23.10. & 30.10.2026, 9:00 - 17:00 Location: tbd |