Switzerland – Leading in
Research and Innovation
Dr. Alexandra Zingg, swissnex Boston –
Consulate of Switzerland, Project
Leader for Academic Relations
Dr. Marc Hafner, Harvard University –
Harvard Medical School, Department of
Systems Biology, Postdoctoral Fellow
Destination Europe
20th February 2015, Taj Boston
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Education, Research and Innovation - Network
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Switzerland in Europe
German
French
Italian
Romansh
Bilingual areas
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Swiss Universities
University of Zurich
University of St. Gallen ETH Zurich
University of Basel
University of Lucerne
Università della Svizzera italiana
University of Neuchâtel
University of Bern
University of Fribourg
University of Lausanne
EPFL
University of Geneva
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Swiss Universities
ETH Zurich University of Zurich EPFL University of Geneva
University of Bern University of Basel University of Lausanne University of Fribourg
University of St. Gallen University of Neuchâtel Università della
Svizzera italiana
University of Lucerne
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Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2014/15
World University Ranking World University Ranking
– only Europe
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Strengths: large R&D investments
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Development of federal expenditure (2008-2011)
Education and research
Expenditure 2011
CHF 6.5 billion
10.4% of total budget
Change from 2010
+CHF 0.4 billion
+7.3%
Source: Federal Finance Administration / Chart
There was a particularly strong increase in contributions in the area of vocational education and training as well as in expenditure on basic research (e.g. ETH Domain, SNSF, CERN) and applied research (particularly EU Research Framework Programmes, CTI).
With a compound annual growth rate of 6.8% since 2008, federal expenditure on education and research has been increasing gradually but steadily.
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Strengths: publications per capita
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The Global Innovation Index 2014
Every year, the Global Innovation Index ranks the innovation performance of more than
140 countries and economies around the world. The ranking is based on 81 indicators.
For the GII 2014, Switzerland remains the leader for the fourth consecutive year.
Source: http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/pressroom/en/documents/gii_2014_infographic2.pdf
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Strengths: number of patents per capita
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Emerging Patterns
50% 30%
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Where do students...
Germany 10 808 28.3%
France 6 006 15.7%
Italy 3 020 7.9%
Austria 970 2.5%
China 819 2.1%
Liechtenstein 736 1.9%
United States 734 1.9%
Russian Federation 719 1.9%
Romania 635 1.7%
Turkey 628 1.6%
Spain 541 1.4%
India 475 1.4%
United Kingdom 2 260 20.3%
Germany 2 127 19.1%
France 1 770 15.9%
United States 1 273 11.4%
Austria 871 7.8%
Italy 823 7.4%
Spain 453 4.1%
Australia 332 3.0%
Canada 258 2.3%
Liechtenstein 202 1.8%
Sweden 70 0.6%
Netherlands 68 0.6%
come from... and go to...
Source: UNESCO 2010
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Source: Nature, Vol 490, 18 Oct 2012
Science on the Move
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Source: SNSF, 2012
Swiss National Science Foundation Grants
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Swiss National Science Foundation: Intl. Collaborations
(3900 cases)
Source: SNSF Statistics 2011
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Funding Instruments
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
Various funding schemes, incl. international collaboration
PhD Students, Postdocs, Professors – e.g. Ambizione, International Short Visits
Horizon 2020 (European Research Framework Programs)
Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions, European Research Council (ERC)
PhD Students, Postdocs, Professors - Top-down funding schemes
Fulbright Program (U.S. Department of State)
U.S. graduating college seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists
ThinkSwiss Research Scholarships + Summer Schools
Undergraduate and Graduate Students
Others
systemsx.ch – Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships in Systems Biology
AXA Research Fund – Postdoctoral Fellowships
Society in Science – The Branco Weiss Fellowship
ETH Zurich Postdoctoral Fellowships (ETH Fellows)
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Swiss Research Institutions
EMPA: Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
WSL: Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
PSI: Paul Scherrer Institute (largest research centre for natural & engineering sciences)
Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology
e.g. Nestlé
Institute
of Health
Sciences
e.g. IBM Research -
Binnig and Rohrer
Nanotechnology
Center
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Switzerland – Strong Private Industry & International Environment
Nestlé
UBS
Bally
Holcim
ABB
Rolex
United Nations’ European seat in
Geneva
24 international organizations
Several hundred international NGOs
International conferences
Credit Suisse
Swatch
Novartis
Roche
Ciba Chemicals
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Meet a researcher – Marc Hafner from Harvard Medical School
From Jan 2012 SNSF Postdoctoral fellow in Prof. P. K. Sorger’s laboratory,
department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School.
Feb – Sept 2011 Postdoctoral associate in the BISON group, Swiss Institute of
Technology (ETH Zurich), Switzerland.
May 2007 – Dec 2010 Doctor of Sciences from the faculty of Computer and
Communication Sciences at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
(EPFL), supervised by Profs. M. Hasler, H. Koeppl, Prof. A. Wagner (University
of Zurich).
Sept – Nov 2009 Scientific visit in Prof. R. Weiss' laboratory, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. Further visits in 2010 and 2011.
Oct 2000 – Mar 2007 Bachelors and Masters of Sciences in Physics,
specialization in biophysics at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
(EPFL), Switzerland.
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Contact Information
Alexandra Zingg, Project Leader for Academic Relations
swissnex Boston – Consulate of Switzerland
420 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Phone: +1 617 876 6699
http://www.swissnexboston.org/
Marc Hafner, Postdoctoral Fellow
Harvard Medical School - Department of Systems Biology
200 Longwood Avenue, WAB438, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Phone: +1 617 432 6901
http://sorger.med.harvard.edu