Author: Hana Syla

A wrap for the gnarly costume party night! A big thank you to all students for showing up and participating in the costume contest and creating an unforgettable first Halloween night for the GESS community. Happy 2025 Halloween and perhaps we will see each other again on this same spooky night in the next moon.

Thank you to Bao, our board member, for organizing this amazing gathering!

 

“Ha, Pi, Rri” was our motto this Thirsty Thursday! In the warm environment of Shqipstër, the first Albanian Pop-Up in Zürich, we enjoyed traditional Albanian Fli, Manti, and Tea. 

We learned a bit about history, touching on the political context of migration. Our Swiss students, who have lived alongside Albanian migrants for so long, gained insight into their realities and what they contribute to Swiss society. We spoke about longing and belonging while guided through the exhibition dedicated to Albanian diaspora in Swirzerland “ENOUGH TO BECOME HISTORY, YET NEVER ENOUGH TO BELONG”. 

We thank Brezi Ynë for the organization, hospitality, and warm welcoming.

From 3 to 5 October 2025, D-GESS students enjoyed an autumn weekend in Beinwil am See, organized and subsidized by GESS WHO! Many students from the new cohort joined alongside those from the current cohorts, making the weekend a great success in fostering a warm atmosphere and helping everyone connect.

We thank the organizers and students for joining!

The new cohort and current MACIS students were warmly welcomed to a start of semester Apéro, organized by MACIS student representatives Alessio Guidon and Theodoros Karapantzios.

GESS Who! successfully closed the welcoming days for the new cohort joining the department from all three programmes: MACIS, ISTP, and MAHPK.

The events kicked off with icebreakers, followed by a campus scavenger hunt, a library tour, and a fun evening of bowling. The second day began with a technical session, where students were guided through all the essential administrative steps to start their studies. The board supported them in setting up passwords, VPN access, and other services such as library resources, sports, and printing. Later, students from upper cohorts gave a Q&A session to share experiences and valuable information about what to expect from ETH and each program. The events concluded with an Apéro and a symbolic gift to each student from VSETH – the famous Ersti Bags!

We thank Aina, Tim, Bao, and Hana for putting in all the work to organize and make these days informative, helpful, and fun. We also thank Maren, Mauro, Theo, and Aysha for being our guests in the Q&A session.

Lastly, we warmly thank the new cohort for attending and bringing with them the positive energy. We wish everyone a good and exciting start of the semester, with a lot of success to come. Off you go!