A Hot Summer in Zurich and the Züri Fäscht!

Travelling to Zurich, an unfamiliar city with new faces was definitely an experience I never thought I would have before.  At the beginning of this year, I’ve always wanted to make sure I would push myself out of my comfort zone and this exchange opportunity at the University of Zurich definitely helped me in doing that. I’ve learnt so much through this experience that I will definitely carry over and remember for the rest of my life. Every day I spent at Zurich for the 3 weeks, felt like I was living 2 days in 1 (figuratively) and I loved every moment of it!

I was fortunate enough to be able to study the course “Finance for the Future” at UZH International Summer School in July 2023. The course was designed in a way where we had lectures in the morning from 9-12 pm with short breaks in between and the second half of the day would usually consist of more lectures or group work time to work on our assignments. The concepts and topics taught mainly focused on Sustainable Finance, FinTech, Portfolio Management and the Swiss Financial System.

UZH also planned many social activities, and a few examples include Welcome BBQs, Dinner at a Traditional Swiss Restaurant, Day trips to Bern (capital city of Switzerland), Lucerne and hiking at Uetilberg. These activities allowed participants of all Summer Schools to interact and build connections and I generally had so much fun at these events.

One of the highlights of my trip was the Züri Fäscht (Zurich Festival). This festival happens every 3 years for 3 days in the first weekend of July and I was so fortunate that it took place when I was in Switzerland. For the 3 days the whole of the city was revamped into a place where there were stalls, music festivals, rides and many more (just like the Easter Show but imagine that across a whole city!). I went all 3 days, and it was the best experience and I also got to experience Swiss night life with it.

Other highlights of my trip include travelling to Grindelwald and Matterhorn (Zermatt). Grindelwald was just such a magical place, the greenery and the scenery was something I’ve never seen before in my life. As soon I as I got to the lookout point, I felt like I was in the song ‘The Hills are Alive” from the Sound of Music…Matterhorn (the mountain on the Toblerone packaging) is one of the most famous mountains in Switzerland and it’s in the Swiss Alps. This also had beautiful scenery and hiking trails. We did mountain karting down the mountains with the view of the Matterhorn and that was honestly once in a lifetime experience.

I had the best time while doing my exchange in Switzerland and I wish it was longer. I highly recommend everyone to apply for a short term or long term exchange as honestly you come back as a different person (in a good way) with all these new experiences.

Chandra Sri Vibh Maddali
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
Finance for the Future – Investments, Sustainable Finance and FinTech at University of Zurich, Switzerland
Global Short Programs Travel Scholarship recipient