"Kontaktparty" 2006

Happy faces everywhere at the ETH Computer Science job fair "Kontaktparty" 2006

By Alexandra Junghans, President of the "Kontaktparty" 2006

7 February 2006

Approximately 200 representatives of 58 firms and 400 undergraduate and PhD students mostly from ETH but also from the University of Zurich attended this year’s job fair “Kontaktparty” in the Mensa Polyterrasse on 31 January. The goal of the "Kontaktparty" is to provide a platform for Computer Science students and companies wishing to get in touch in an informal atmosphere. The "Kontaktparty" brochure contains all necessary information about the participating companies and allows students to decide in advance which firms they would like to talk to. This method has proven to be very successful.

The "Kontaktparty" Committee of VIS (the Association of Computer Science Students at ETH) has organized the “Kontaktparty” for the past 21 years. In June the Committee usually begins with the organization of the event. In August the companies receive a written invitation, then the companies wishing to participate are registered and the "Kontaktparty" brochure is designed. At the beginning of January all undergraduate and PhD students of the Department of Computer Science receive the brochure by mail, and at the end of January the "Kontaktparty" takes place.

Considering its Iong tradition, I am very pleased that the "Kontaktparty" has managed to survive the economic turbulences of the dot-com crisis. Especially difficult was the year 2002 when even ETH graduates were struggling hard to find a job. That year, only 20 firms attended the job fair and they had hardly any positions to offer.

Fortunately, the situation has been improving a lot over the last two years. Last year 40 companies were present, and with the 58 companies participating this year we were able to reach the attendance numbers we used to have before the crisis. One representative of a company at the "Kontaktparty" put it this way: “It seems that all Swiss companies of distinction are back at the party“. I share this impression and have made another important discovery during the event: ETH graduates and students are highly sought-after once more! Both makes me really happy!

The "Kontaktparty" 2006 was definitely a big success with happy faces everywhere and a wonderful mood throughout. I hope that all students and companies were able to establish good and fruitful contacts.

In closing, I would like to thank all people involved in the organization, first of all Sacha Bäbler, President of the "Kontaktparty" 2005, for teaching me all I had to know, Georg Troxler, Ghislain Fourny, Baptiste Prêtre, Florin Oswald and Thomas Dikk of the organization team who all did an excellent job, and also the numerous people who helped us during the event.

The "Kontaktparty" Committee is currently looking for Computer Science students interested in organizing next year’s edition of the event. If you would like to join the team or receive further information, please send an email to Georg Troxler at kp`at`vis.ethz.ch. Companies interested in attending the “Kontaktparty” are also cordially invited to contact us.

www.kontaktparty.ethz.ch