ETHZ and Zurich University

ETHZ and Zurich University put their trust in polyright

Institutes of higher education are increasingly relying on polyright for their ID, access and payment cards. The chip card-based solution has also impressed the administrators in the heartland of Swiss tertiary education: the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) and the University of Zurich (UZH) marshalled all the resources at their disposal to equip 50,000 students, tuition staff and employees with personalised cards.

The ETHZ and UZH are located next to each other just beyond Zurich city centre. Between them they are home to the largest student population in Switzerland. The UZH has 25,000 students and 8000 employees, while the ETHZ has around 15,000 students and some 6000 teaching staff and employees.

The solution

Until spring 2008 the UZH had no standardised ID or payment card system: it used separate authorisation cards, access cards, meal vouchers, library cards and so forth. As for the ETHZ, although it adopted a standardised chip-based ID card system back in 1997, its semester confirmations, which came in the form of stamps, had to be affixed manually. Moreover, the cards used at the two institutions were incompatible with each other. Administrators at the two institutions therefore resolved to introduce a new joint electronic ID system. Following a public tendering process, Securitas Group member polyright was chosen to implement it. A number of reasons were cited in support of this decision: the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (ETHL) had successfully instituted a similar system, and the system and card functions were upgradable. Moreover, everything – from the production of the cards to the delivery of the system platform, including servicing and maintenance – was sourced from a single supplier.

The implementation

polyright had a six-month window within which to implement the new solution for the ETHZ and UZH: it had to be ready for the start of the spring seminar – the third week of February 2008 – by which time 50,000 cards, all personalised with a photo, needed to have been issued to everyone working or studying there. As a result of the close, fruitful collaboration between all the partners concerned, the system was successfully delivered on time. When the semester began, the UZH system alone recorded 15,000 validations within one week.
Alongside its basic function ­– that of providing a visual means of ID including a library barcode – the card now also acts as a badge granting access rights to buildings and to Mobility CarSharing vehicles. Although not yet contemplated by the two administrations, the card could also be used as a means of payment in the institutions’ restaurants.