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Autumn Meeting of the European STI Councils in Lausanne
The Swiss Science Council SSC hosted the 2022 Autumn Meeting of the Presidents and Secretariats of the European Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Councils. 13 countries were represented at this event, which took place on 20 and 21 October at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Read more
“More weight for women’s voices”: Gender parity in the Swiss Science Council
In 1971, the federal referendum on women’s suffrage was accepted, granting Swiss women the same political rights as men. As Switzerland celebrates and commemorates the 50th anniversary of this historic event, the Swiss Science Council takes the opportunity to look back at its own history.Read more
Hopefuls and Stars: Technological Developments Shaping Switzerland’s Future
The eleventh instalment of “Science after Noon” (12 November 2021) was co-convened by the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW) and the Swiss Science Council (SSC). The event focused on the latest technological “hopeful” and “star” developments likely to shape the Swiss economy and society in the next ten years. Three technology brokers and three research and innovation scientists, among them SSC member Anna Valente, took part in the panel discussion. Marcel Tanner, president of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, chaired the event.
“Missions” in Horizon Europe: Genesis and State of Play
One of the novelties of the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe (2021–2027), is the introduction of “missions”. According to the European Commission, this funding line should help to solve some of the great challenges the world is facing today. This blog post discusses the role of the economist Mariana Mazzucato in designing the Horizon Europe mission approach. It also provides an overview of the current state of play.
Challenges and Opportunities in a Digital Society
Sara Irina Fabrikant is a member of the Swiss Science Council and a professor of geography at the University of Zurich, where she heads the Geographic Information Visualization and Analysis (GIVA) group. In this interview, she talks about the opportunities and challenges in a digital society. Read more
Online seminar on science-based policy advice in agriculture, food, climate and environment
The SSC is part of the European Science Advisors Forum ESAF an independent platform of European science-based strategic advisors that promotes and facilitates the use of scientific evidence in policy. On 16 and 17 Mars, together with Aarhus University in Denmark, 300 people discussed on science-based policy advice in agriculture, food, climate and environment. Find here a summary of the main results.Read more
Lessons from the corona virus pandemic for the life sciences
The SARS-2 Coronavirus pandemic has brought infection biology and the importance of molecular mechanisms of virology and our immune response into focus. It is an opportunity for life scientists to respond to a call for information and explanation, that comes from beyond our community – a request from the general public and from government officials.
Back in grace of mission-oriented innovation?
Not a day goes by without a newspaper announcing a new sustainable technology somewhere in the world or a government initiative to address a global challenge. This is certainly due to an awareness of our enormous challenges, but also to a new understanding of the role of governments in research and innovation (R&D). Indeed, governments seem to have rediscovered the virtues of mission-oriented R&D programs like Apollo (moon landing) or Manhattan (atomic bomb) missions carried out by direct interventions in R&D activities.Read more
Switzerland is not an island
As Switzerland prepares to vote – once again – on whether it should barricade itself off from the world, my thoughts turn to what I consider quintessentially Swiss. It is not the local costumes, dialects and deep valleys, but mountaintops, pragmatism and hospitality. Or perhaps what is quintessentially Swiss is to weld these six into a vibrant, healthy economy and one of the few truly democratic systems of government. A tiny country with four languages and 26 primary and secondary school systems: how can it support two of the top universities in the world – one that is ranked second best in Europe?
Switzerland’s other assets in the face of the digital revolution
In the face of the growing technological revolution – digitalisation and artificial intelligence – Switzerland has a number of assets. Some are well known and visible – the quality of its higher education institutions, its research and its entire innovation ecosystem. Two of these assets – although very important – remain however neither very visible nor well understood. These two assets enable Switzerland to effectively resolve a crucial problem – one that all developed countries are today confronted with. This problem concerns – not innovation – but the diffusion of innovation, its absorption and propagation throughout the whole economic system. This is an essential problem. Indeed, it is one thing to promote a system allowing certain companies and entrepreneurs to innovate, but quite another to get these innovations adopted and diffused throughout all the industries and services comprising a country’s economy. And yet this second point is just as important as the first for increasing productivity and creating the right jobs of the future.Read more
