Advancing pragmatic and resilient solutions for sustainability in times of uncertainty

On January 15–16, 2026, we co-hosted the Z-Forum on Sustainability and Innovation at ETH Zurich and Druckerei Baden. Framed by the theme “Building Resilience in the Age of Uncertainty”, more than 70 registered participants engaged with over 30 speakers and panelists to discuss how dynamic learning systems can foster innovative local responses to global challenges.

The many inspiring contributions and lively debates underlined the importance of a pragmatic, solution-oriented approach to sustainability, one that also acknowledges growing security and economic concerns. Building resilience requires moving beyond traditional milieu boundaries in academia, business, and politics, in order to mobilize the knowledge and capabilities needed to address emerging challenges in innovative and inclusive ways.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed to the success of this event.

In particular, we thank the MDPI Sciforum Management Team for their outstanding professionalism in managing this demanding two-day conference across two locations.

Special thanks to our panel chairs, speakers, and keynote speakers:

Martina Hirayama, Marianne Binder-Keller, Raphaël Tschanz, Markus Schaefer, Reto von Schulthess, Annalisa Manera, Shira Kaplan, Keyu Jin, Jan Grossarth, Louise Fresco, Ian Roberts, Bruno Basso, Rajib Shaw, Alisée de Tonnac, Doug Saunders, Thomas Lütolf, Nora Teuwsen, Rico Baldegger, Stefan Tochev, Pascale Bruderer, Markus Reubi, Roland Decorvet, Víctor Umaña, Shan Jiang, Risto Schmid, Eleni Gabre-Madhin, Antonio Hautle, Christian Brönnimann, Guido Conrad and Marjan Kraak.

All keynotes, talks and discussions are available on the ETH-Platform. We list them here for your convenience. Take the chance to re-watch or to catch-up.

Day 1

Day 2