Politicians must provide more support to the Swiss Science Centre

In 2022, for the twelfth consecutive year, Switzerland ranked first in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index. The reasons for this success are well known: the quality of the Swiss research and training system thanks to continuous investment in training, research and innovation (FRI) for more than a century and the strong international connections of our higher education institutions. We are thinking in particular of the exchange of talent between Swiss universities and partners abroad, or the international use of Swiss research infrastructures such as the Paul Scherrer Institute.

However, this “international interconnectedness” does not benefit from the political support needed to encourage cooperation with the best minds wherever they are. The Swiss academic and scientific center is suffering from the consequences of the deadlock in relations between Switzerland and the European Union. Without a solution to the institutional question, it is impossible to link to crucial European programs for our higher education institutions, such as Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, or even Erasmus+. Transitional solutions avoid complete isolation of Switzerland and minimize financial losses: whether it is the Swiss National Research Fund’s “backup scheme” for European Research Council grants, the possibility of participating in research projects directly funded by the Confederation, or the Swiss-European mobility program for student exchange. But immeasurable losses (loss of competitive influence, diminished opportunities for exchange, exclusion from strategic areas) are already being felt. In the long term, the Swiss academic center risks losing performance and attractiveness.

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