Google and ETH: ingenious tech giant meets leading 'knowledge broker'

Business-university collaboration is increasingly seen as critical to economic performance. Also, the current shortage of high-quality trained manpower underlines this trend. Cyrill, why is the partnership with ETH essential for Google?
Traditionally, there was a gap between research-oriented universities and application-centric private companies. In my view, this gap is about to diminish due to the rise of complexity mainly driven by data, interconnectedness and the speed of change. As a company we must stay fit for the demands of today, as well as for the challenges of tomorrow. With ETH as a recognized and visionary partner, we continue to push the leading edge of technology to solve complex and multi-faceted problems. That’s why Google Zurich, our largest engineering hub in EMEA, has been collaborating for several years with ETH’s Computer Science Department in strategic focus areas like information security, computer vision and distributed systems.

The goal of academic research is to create new knowledge, while research in a corporation is to create new knowledge which other parts of the company can use to generate more revenue and profits. Research is typically not a business or profit center, but a long-term investment. From your experience on both sides, where do you see the opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration between Google and ETH?
We currently find ourselves in a transformational phase toward a fully digitized and networked world of the 21st century. A part of the way is already behind us, but the biggest changes are still ahead in the steady development towards an ever more inter-connected world. This trend is transforming the economy as are politics and society: The boundaries between different markets are becoming blurred, activity areas are expanding, contracting and overlapping. Digitalization and networking have significant and far-reaching effects. To master these serious upheavals, we have integrated research and development, embedded research within engineering. Typically, a single team iteratively explores fundamental research ideas, advances and maintains the software, and helps operate the firm’s services - all driven by real-world experience and concrete empirical data. In our “Hybrid Research Model”, new ideas can be rapidly verified - or falsified - by small teams through large-scale experiments on real data, rather than just debated. In this context, the collaboration and partnership with leading academic institutions such as ETH give us the opportunity to screen potential radical innovation early on and spot the most outstanding talents which may influence our product developments.

From my observation, business and industry want primarily two things from our students: firstly, the technical and innovation skills, and secondly, the students’ creative, cool ideas, a sort of “underground subculture ingredient” as some say. What special ingredients of ETH’s computer science students do you value most?
I am convinced that the new economics of information will change the focus of strategy. Strategy will be less about establishing and then defending a position within an industry. It will be more about investing in options that allow a company to change course or to pursue radical innovations that turns entire sectors upside down and may lead long-time market leaders to a crisis. To achieve this goal, we are looking for high-performing students who are first and foremost passionate about computer science and have a strong technical foundation. Also, radical innovation comes in particular from motivated individuals driven by their vigorous entrepreneurial spirit to break free from the rule book. It is this inherent entrepreneurial trait that represents an important source of competitive advantage and a key success factor for modern organizations.

Do you think the students are equipped with adequate “business-ready” skills to enter an extremely competitive market place like the technology one?
In the advent of the information age we put a premium on highly educated workforces. Google is an ‘evolving body of knowledge’. It is fully committed to be impactful and to promote significant change. Our endeavor is to show that today’s world does not have to be the way it is. We strive to contribute to the improvement in both society and the market which extends well beyond short-term effects. New hires need to understand the central meaning of impact and relevance of engaged research and engineering solutions.
Unlike incremental innovation, radical breakthrough projects involve a great deal of uncertainty and unpredictability. Therefore, new hires from ETH need to be nimble and far more tolerant of ambiguity, which can slow the work. However, sometimes even mistaken paths can still provide vital insights and point the way to important discoveries.

For several years already, Google awards the Anita Borg Scholarship to female students who excel in computing and technology and demonstrate first leadership skills. I can imagine that Google has plenty of talented women in the pipeline. How does your company nurture and promote those female high-potentials as possible new hires in the long run? And what are other initiatives to increase diversity at Google?
Indeed, with the co-hosting of ETH’s computer science ‘Schnupperstudium’ and the advancement of the well-established RISE Awards and Women in Tech Travel and Conference Grants, we have a well-rounded and intergenerational mix of female computer scientists. How do we further develop and retain those exceptional talents in the workforce? In my opinion, it is important both to hire these new employees with appropriate lead times and to plan career paths for them – in technical as well as management tracks. As a global company, we need to provide ongoing skills training, re-training and cross-training, and integrate technical capabilities into the broader business. It is our responsibility to take care of the ‘life cycle’ of their talent, and to get the right people in the right places at the right times doing the right things.

In addition, at Google, we have a diverse range of opportunities for women to get connected. For instance, Women@Google is one of our most active employee groups hosting summits, providing courses and offering mentorship to more than 4’000 female Googler members across 27 countries.