Katharina Schulthess, IngOG+’s President, recently spoke with tsüri.ch to explain the organisation’s activities and tell us a little more about herself.
[tsüri.ch]: Who are you, and what has made you who you are?
[KS]: I would like to introduce myself as the president of Engineers without Borders Switzerland. For two and a half years now, I’ve had a huge motivation to be involved with this organisation. After my bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences, I wanted to not only analyse problems but also have the opportunity to solve them. The switch to Environmental Engineering allowed me to do this, albeit on quite a theoretical level. Well and good, but sometimes it can feel like not enough, in real terms. So I landed with IngOG+, where I felt I could do something with tangible benefits. Otherwise I’m simply me, Katharina, who photographs a lot, plays piano, enjoys pottering around with anything going really, and takes an interest in many things.
[tsüri.ch]: What is the organisation “Engineers without Borders”?
[KS]: Our basic idea is essentially humanitarian work, concerned with the application of engineering knowledge. With this we would like to support small and isolated communities to improve their living conditions. Isolated communities, for us, mean those who go unnoticed to larger aid organisations, those who have no economic safety net and who cannot meet their basic needs due to their geographical, political or financial situation. As part of our approach, we actively drive knowledge transfer and exchanges with the local communities we work in.
We are a straightforward, transparent organisation with ca. 100 members and currently we are working on four different projects on four different continents in the areas of drinking water, shelter and heating systems. And this is all made possible through volunteers, meaning around thirty of our most active engineers (and non-engineers!) who mostly work full-time and then work in their evenings and weekends for IngOG+.
[tsüri.ch]: We read on your website that you got involved with these projects as you were looking for a meaning in life after your studies. Have you found it here?
[KS]: (laughs) I’d like to correct the question! I was, and always will be, searching for ways to put my knowledge from my studies and slowly growing experience to worthwhile uses. For me, that means using it where it is most needed – allowing people to lead dignified lives. From ensuring transparency in the budget, the contact with other cultures, the sustainability of the projects – I want to play an active role in ensuring all this and more. And with IngOG+, it’s possible.
In this sense, my involvement with IngOG+ definitely gives meaning. It gives me the feeling that I’m able to change something, to bring about something positive. It’s always amazing to see the motivation of younger people and to have the possibility to channel that constructively.
To answer whether I’ve found the meaning though, I would nevertheless answer with a no – as in my opinion life doesn’t have just one meaning. But for the moment, I’m satisfied and will carry on!
[tsüri.ch]: Would you designate yourself as a “Gutmensch”?
[KS]: No, I’ve still never seen myself as such, felt or designated. And, honestly, whoever voluntarily designates themselves as so would be a (from the dictionary) “naïve” person: someone who behaves in a sense of political correctness in a manner that is perceived as uncritical, exaggerated, annoying, or the like, advocating political correctness.
Maybe there are other people who would consider me to be a “Gutmensch”, but this doesn’t make a difference for me. My experience indicates that if I approach people openly and cheerfully to try to improve their situation, I always get happiness and positivity in return.
[tsüri.ch]: How does a normal day look for you?
[KS]: That’s difficult to say, as for the last eighteen months I was quite nomadic and virtually lived “without borders”. For all of 2017 I studied and worked in the Netherlands, travelled back and forth a lot and in April I’ll begin a full-time position as an assistant at ETH (the Technical University) Zürich.
But I can describe here, how I imagine my future daily routine: I wake up, toast oatmeal, cycle to ETH and spend the majority of my day involved in exciting Urban Water-related stories. In the evenings I go down maybe to an IngOG+ meeting, or go bouldering, or meet friends and family or otherwise go after my own interests.
[tsüri.ch]: If you could be “Queen of Zürich” for a day, what’s the first thing you would change?
[KS]: Always, when I’ve been far away for a while and I come home to Zurich, I find it fascinating to see how central hard work is to life here. One defines oneself by his/her work and even asks first about work to get to know new people. People also complain a lot about this and that. I believe if I were to be queen for a day, I’d have a vote on whether a FREE day [from FREItag] should be introduced, where everyone should step back, look around, appreciate what we have here and see the people behind the counters, office desks and building sites from another side.
Katharina was speaking with Simon Jacoby. (Article translated from German by Keith Wilson).