Dies academicus of the University of Basel and Artificial Intelligence
30 November 2023
The Dies academicus of the University of Basel took place on 24 November 2023 in the town’s oldest parish church, the Martinskirche (11th century). It is an appropriate location for the country’s oldest University.
Martinskirche
Erasmus (1469-1536) did not live long enough to experience it. Still, in 1538, the Erasmus Foundation (Erasmusstiftung) for scholarships for (international) students, was founded more than four centuries before the European Union’s Erasmus programme! Even then, Switzerland was an innovative country. Its capital consisted of Erasmus’ estate.
The first trustee of the fund was his friend Bonifacius Amerbach (1495-1562). The University, the city administration, and the citizens of Basel also set up funds to grant scholarships after 1532.
Of the 5 600 Students who enrolled between 1532 and 1600, most came from the Swiss Confederation, Germany and Austrian territories, 500 from France, 250 from the Netherlands, 150 from the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania, 100 from England, 70 from Italy and 60 from Scandinavia.
The first university building (until 1939) on the right, on the left the botanical garden (until 1692)
1460-1532
1532 was an important year for the University; it was a new beginning. The University was founded on the city council’s initiative in 1460, following written permission from Pope Pius II (1405-1464) in a bull on 12 November 1459.
On 4 April 1460, with a mass and the Te Deum laudamus in the Münster (the cathedral), the University opened its doors with the faculties of theology, law, medicine and the Artes liberales.
The Council of Basel (1431-1438/1449) and the good contacts with Pope Pius II, who had attended the Council as secretary to a cardinal under his name Enea Silvio Piccolomini, the printing and publishing houses, the central location, and the humanist spirit created the conditions for the University in this city of 10 000 inhabitants.
The city centre around 1450. Model of the Historisches Museum Basel
The Council had its University, the Konzilsuniversität (1432-1440). There, scientists from the most prestigious universities studied and taught. The church and science, research and universities were still closely linked. The University came under the direct supervision of the Bishop of Basel, who was also chancellor of the University.
After the Council, the Konzilsuniversität was continued as Kurienuniversität (1440-1448). The foundations for a permanent university had been laid. Moreover, it was a period of the founding of several new universities in the German-speaking area, including in Greifswald (1456), Freiburg (1457), Ingolstadt (1472), Trier (1473), Mainz (1477), Tübingen (1477), Wittenberg (1502) and Frankfurt a/d Oder (1506).
The University developed well with prestigious chairs and professors. However, joining the Swiss Confederation in 1501 meant a loss of students from the Habsburg countries (who mainly chose the University of Freiburg im Breisgau).
The second break came with the Reformation. After tumultuous years and the polarisation of supporters and opponents, the city and the University opted for the Reformation in 1529. Many professors, students, the Cathedral Chapter, and the bishop left the town, and the University was closed. Most students and professors went to Catholic Freiburg (as did Erasmus until his return to Basel in 1535).
The Protestant university restarted with new statutes and new funding in 1532. A significant introduction was the introduction of student scholarships, now that the church had disappeared as a funder. The Erasmus Foundation, city support and citizen initiatives fulfilled this function.
Johann Jakob Neustück (1799/1800-1867), 1844, the courtyard of the monastery and the “Oberes Kollegium” 1844. Photo: Wikipedia
Johann Jakob Neustück (1799/1800–1867), 1843, view from the Rheinsprung and the Ausgustinergasse to the Münsterplatz, on the right of the ancient monastery. Photo: Wikipedia
The “Collegium alumnorum” also supported students financially. The two locations averted the “Oberes Kollegium” in the former Augustinian monastery (on the site of today’s Natural History Museum) and the “Unteres Kollegium” at the old university building ‘Schalerhof’ on the Rheinsprung.
The separation of University and church also brought much more attention to medical science, civil, public and international law and the artes liberales. Thanks in part to the presence of publishers and printers, a liberal, humanist environment and a central location, the University attracted increasing numbers of international students and professors.
The botanical garden on the Rheinsprung came into being in 1588. In 1692, the botanical garden moved to Petersgraben to the former Dominican convent and in 1898 to its current location at the Spalentor on Petersplatz, near the new main University building (Kollegienhaus) from 1939.
The Kollegienhaus, the Petersplatz and the Spalenberg
Museums
The University acquired the Amerbachkabinett in 1661, creating the conditions for the first public European museum in the Haus zur Mücke in 1671. The university library was already housed there.
At the time, the collections were the work of citizens and university professors. Bonfacius and his son Basilius Amerbach were the most prominent collectors of ancient art, contemporary fine art and objects from nature and other cultures.
Haus zur Mücke
Several museums emerged from this initiative in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the Museum der Kulturen, Kunstmuseum Basel, Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, Historisches Museum Basel, Pharmaziemuseum and Anatomisches Museum.
The University has experienced several lows since then, in student numbers, political situation (1798-1813, the French rule) and the separation of Canton Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft in 1833. Today, the two cantons have found a (financial) modus vivendi and cooperation. Economic crises and (world) wars also had their repercussions.
After 1945
The seven faculties of psychology, economics, natural sciences, humanities, medical sciences, law and theology have around 13,000 students today.
At the Dies academicus of Switzerland´s oldest University, the chancellor of the University (Rektorin) focused on the latest global challenge in science under the title ´Intelligenzen: Künstliche Intelligenz, KI ( Artificial Intelligence, AI).
Chancellor Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Andrea Schenker-Wicki during her speech ‘Intelligenzen’.
The University engaged in a so-called KI-Initiative (AI-Initiative) to use and develop KI for society in a responsible way (responsible, intelligent society) and involving all citizens in this process (no one left behind).
Erasmus dealt with the challenges of his time in a nuanced, humanistic and tolerant way. He would be proud of his beloved city and of what can be regarded in a certain sense as his Alma Mater.
(Source: University of Basel; G. Kreis, 550 Years of the University of Basel, Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel 2010).
Post scriptum
ETH Zurich and EPFL are launching the “Swiss AI Initiative”, whose purpose is to position Switzerland as a leading global hub for the development and implementation of transparent and reliable artificial intelligence (AI). The new Alps supercomputer based at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) provides the supporting infrastructure.
Impressions of the Dies academicus
