Patrick Hertzog, Pedro Bados and Michèle Reigner are the recipients of the 2026 EPFL Alumni Awards
It is one of the highlights of the year at EPFL: the 2026 Magistrale will take place on Saturday, October 3, at the SwissTech Convention Center. Every year, this ceremony marks the moment when students become alumni and alumnae: a new generation of engineers and architects ready to put their knowledge to work in research, innovation, industry and society.
But this special day is also an opportunity to celebrate those who, after their time at EPFL, have gone on to build remarkable careers and contribute to advancing their fields. This is why EPFL presents Alumni Awards each year. This year, three awards will be presented to Patrick Hertzog and Pedro Bados, co-founders of Nexthink, as well as Michèle Reigner, Head of R&D at Rolex.
Discover their biographies below and find the list of previous Alumni Award recipients here.
 | Patrick Hertzog, IN'01 and Pedro Bados, Master’s project'03 A computer science graduate of EPFL, Patrick served as User Experience Officer until 2026, shaping product strategy around user experience and data visualization. He remains actively involved in the Swiss startup ecosystem today, supporting the next generation of founders. Pedro holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Zaragoza and went on to conduct research at EPFL's AI Laboratory, where he developed the foundational technology behind Nexthink and authored two patents on behavior modeling. |
 | Michèle Reigner, MX'01 Michèle Reigner is an engineer and R&D executive specializing in advanced materials, industrial technologies, and the characterization of metals and alloys. With more than twenty years of experience at Rolex, she has built her career at the intersection of engineering, technological innovation, materials analysis, and technical team management. She is currently Head of the R&D Department at Rolex in Biel, Switzerland. In this role, she contributes to the management of R&D activities, with a particular focus on materials, technologies, technology intelligence, and the development of innovative solutions that support industrial excellence. Previously, she served as Head of the Materials & Technologies Department, Head of Technology Intelligence & Patents, and Team Manager, after beginning her career as an R&D engineer specializing in advanced materials and innovative technologies. In her technical roles, she worked extensively on metallography, failure analysis, mechanical characterization, and scanning electron microscopy. Before joining Rolex, she was a Laboratory Analyst at ATEST SA, where she specialized in the analysis of metals and alloys, technical reporting, and customer relations. She began her professional career with an internship at Pilatus Aircraft Ltd., maintaining a strong connection with the industrial sector from the outset. Her career is distinguished by deep expertise in materials, a thorough understanding of industrial challenges, and a proven ability to support innovation over the long term. |
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