The ZHW came into being in 1998 through the merger of the Winterthur Polytechnic (TWI) and the Winterthur School of Economics and Business Administration (HWV). Since early 2000, the Zurich School for Translation and Interpretation (DOZ).has also been part of the ZHW.

All three precursor institutions of the ZHW can look back on a history rich in tradition: the TWI, founded in 1874, is the oldest and largest engineering polytechnic in Switzerland.
The HWV, founded in 1968 by the Commercial Association of Zurich (KV Zurich) was the first institution of its kind in Switzerland. In 1996 it moved from Zurich to the Volkart Building in Winterthur.

The Zurich School for Translation and Interpretation (DOZ) originated as a private school in 1946 before becoming a cooperative. The DOZ is expected to move from its current location in Zurich Oerlikon in early 2005, to the Mäander Building in Winterthur.

The University of Applied Sciences formed out of these institutions is one of the seven members of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZFH), which was created in 1998 after the voters of the Canton of Zurich approved the Zurich law concerning the Universities of Applied Sciences.

History of HWV (in German, pdf, 86KB)
History of TWI (in German, pdf, 97 KB)
History of DOZ (in German, pdf, 66 KB)

«Von der Lehranstalt zur Fachhochschule»: commemorative publication «125 Jahre Technikum Winterthur» (information in German only)