About
The Center on the Economics and Management of Education and Training Systems (CEMETS) is the reform lab at the Chair of Education Systems. We study the design, implementation, and outcomes of education reforms on all six inhabited continents.
CEMETS in short
Mission, focus & history
We place special focus on the importance of permeable education systems that have vocational and professional education and training (VPET) programs and allow individuals to progress from any starting point to any endpoint.
CEMETS is committed to translational research: we transfer research findings to practice and help strengthen countries’ ability to successfully re-engineer their education systems. To that end, we organize annual reform labs (CEMETS institutes) during which international reform leaders receive scientific input about the key factors for education systems. Our institutes provide support in developing practical cases so that countries can successfully design and implement education reforms with lasting effects.
One of the key drivers of this change is digital transformation. New technology is ever more quickly developed and adopted, leading to an ongoing shift in the skills and qualifications needed on the labor market. Most academic education programs can simply not keep up with this.
This is where vocational and professional education and training (VPET) comes in. It offers both general education for future mobility and experience with the current state of the art through workplace learning. When implemented successfully, vocational education and training can offer a sustainable solution to the mismatch between the skills transmitted via education systems and the skills needed in an ever-changing world.
CEMETS started as part of the KOF Swiss Economic Institute of ETH Zurich. The Center is a collaboration between the Comparative Education Systems Research Division of the KOF Swiss Economic Institute and the external pageSwiss Leading House on Economics of Education, Firm Behaviour, and Training Policies. As such, it is also a collaboration between two of Switzerland’s premier universities: ETH Zurich and the external pageUniversity of Zurich.
CEMETS was established in 2015. Our first Summer Institute took place in July of 2015 and our ongoing research project on the success factors and barriers to labor market-oriented education systems reform implementation began at the same time.
Since then, we have continued both our education and research missions. We have hosted international delegations, including various states and major cities in the United States, the Singapore Ministry of Education, and others. In addition, Prof. Dr. Ursula Renold regularly visits or holds lectures for education systems all over the world.