s’EPanouir–FLourish: developing EPFL’s educational programs

Ongoing

s'EPanouir–FLourish is EPFL's educational initiative to rethink Bachelor's programs and prepare students for a world transformed by AI and the growing complexity of science and engineering. Led by the Direction in close collaboration with faculty and students, it aims for a first implementation phase in September 2027.

Link to the initiative

Why reform EPFL’s Bachelor’s programs?

The world of science and engineering is changing fast: scientific knowledge is expanding, AI is transforming jobs and learning, and solving complex problems is becoming increasingly important. EPFL’s study programs face a dual challenge. On one hand, the content to cover is growing faster than the time available to teach it. On the other, the school must prepare future experts, leaders, and decision-makers to play an active role in an ever-evolving technological society.

It is in this context that EPFL launched s’EPanouir–FLourish. The initiative is dedicating the time and collective effort needed to evolve its educational programs, so that students gain the knowledge, skills, and mindset required to flourish and reach their full potential.

A project carried out in several stages

Five working groups, bringing together faculty, teaching staff, academic leaders, and students, are leading a collaborative design process on topics such as curriculum models in science and engineering, the student and teaching experience in the age of AI, and the resources needed for teaching.
Regular exchanges with the entire EPFL community punctuate the process, through public events and open surveys.
A data-driven approach is used to assess the impact of the proposed changes on the experience of the different stakeholders.
Sufficient time for reflection and planning is being allowed before a first implementation phase in September 2027.

Community participation

Faculty and student involvement is at the heart of s’EPanouir–FLourish. Every community event has resulted in a detailed feedback report, shared with the working groups to inform their proposals:

Community events will continue to be held regularly, giving everyone ongoing opportunities to contribute ideas and respond to proposals as they take shape. The next event is planned for the start of the 2026–2027 academic year.

A fund for teaching development

Given the curricular evolutions and course changes anticipated as part of EPFL’s s’EPanouir–FLourish initiative, this fund provides support to teaching staff and sections for exploring, developing, and implementing pedagogical approaches aligned with the initiative’s educational vision.