- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETH)
- Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne
- Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology
- Information portal swissworld.org – Education and Research
- Information portal swissworld.org – science
- State Secretariat for Education and Research
- Federal Statistical Office – education and research (German, French, Italian)
- Information for students from abroad
- Swiss National Science Foundation
- Swiss Science and Technology Council
Research and Innovation
Switzerland spends a large proportion of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on research in comparison with most other countries. More than two thirds of the research budget comes from the private sector. The Swiss economy also conducts a lot of research abroad. Even more money is spent on there than in Switzerland.
Universities and Universities of Applied Science
While the private sector conducts mainly applied research, fundamental research is performed largely by the standard universities. The universities of applied science, on the other hand, direct their research to the needs of the market.
Most research is aimed at the growth areas of the future:
• Biotechnology
• Pharmaceuticals
• Chemistry
• Environmental and medical technology
• Information and communication technology
Swiss scientists have received 17 Nobel prizes – or if dual nationals and naturalised foreigners are also counted, 27.
In order to maintain the high level of research and development, Switzerland keeps an international outlook. There is a long tradition of foreign researchers and teachers at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich), where Albert Einstein once studied and taught. Only half the professorial staff there are Swiss nationals.
Switzerland is attractive for foreign scientists. It is recognised as a productive, international centre of research. The European Particle Physics Laboratory (CERN) is based in Geneva, and the European laboratory of the US high tech concern IBM is in Rüschlikon near Zurich.
Products of Swiss Research
Throughout history innovation has always been a key element in the Swiss economy. The government, and a large proportion of the Swiss people, are aware that the capacity for innovation and thus for the creation of economic growth is of central importance in an environment of increasing competition between firms and national economies.
Among the products that have emerged from the research laboratories of Swiss industry are the liquid crystal display (LCD), the super conductor and the scanning tunnelling microscope, which made matter “visible” at atomic level for the first time.
Universities and Universities of Applied Science
While the private sector conducts mainly applied research, fundamental research is performed largely by the standard universities. The universities of applied science, on the other hand, direct their research to the needs of the market.
Most research is aimed at the growth areas of the future:
• Biotechnology
• Pharmaceuticals
• Chemistry
• Environmental and medical technology
• Information and communication technology
Swiss scientists have received 17 Nobel prizes – or if dual nationals and naturalised foreigners are also counted, 27.
In order to maintain the high level of research and development, Switzerland keeps an international outlook. There is a long tradition of foreign researchers and teachers at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich), where Albert Einstein once studied and taught. Only half the professorial staff there are Swiss nationals.
Switzerland is attractive for foreign scientists. It is recognised as a productive, international centre of research. The European Particle Physics Laboratory (CERN) is based in Geneva, and the European laboratory of the US high tech concern IBM is in Rüschlikon near Zurich.
Products of Swiss Research
Throughout history innovation has always been a key element in the Swiss economy. The government, and a large proportion of the Swiss people, are aware that the capacity for innovation and thus for the creation of economic growth is of central importance in an environment of increasing competition between firms and national economies.
Among the products that have emerged from the research laboratories of Swiss industry are the liquid crystal display (LCD), the super conductor and the scanning tunnelling microscope, which made matter “visible” at atomic level for the first time.
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Last modification: 07.07.2008