ETH Domain supports the competitiveness of the Swiss economy with urgent measures

Zurich, 25.06.2015 - The Swiss economy is being severely challenged by the strong franc. The ETH Domain with the two Federal Institutes of Technology, ETH Zurich and EPFL, and the four research institutes PSI, WSL, Empa and Eawag, will take urgent measures to provide firms in Switzerland with better access to the knowledge, technology and infrastructures of the ETH Domain and thus to further reinforce these firms’ innovative power and competitiveness. The measures, which are the result of a decision made by Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), in cooperation and coordination with the ETH Board, aim to accelerate knowledge and technology transfer, to extend advanced education opportunities and to intensify cooperation.

The two Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne, as well as the four research institutes PSI, WSL, Empa and Eawag educate and train urgently needed specialists and ensure that the knowledge and technology arising from their research is carried out into industry. Owing to the currently difficult situation experienced by many firms in Switzerland, they will implement numerous projects in education and research at an accelerated rate – projects from which trade and industry, and SMEs in particular, will be able to profit quickly and directly and thus further improve their innovative power and competitiveness.

Measures with a volume totalling 20 million francs

The ETH Domain is involved with a total of eleven urgent measures with an overall volume of about 20 million francs. They can be implemented in the short term and are largely cost-neutral since they are measures that have already been budgeted for but are now being brought forward or intensified. The economy will thus be provided with another quick and simple way of accessing knowledge from the ETH Domain.

The measures cover knowledge and technology transfer, cooperation with trade and industry and advanced education and training, in particular. For instance, firms will be able to use additional research facilities of the institutions of the ETH Domain and thus accelerate the development of their products. Thus industry will be provided with access to ETH Zurich’s high-performance computer, Euler, for example. SMEs in particular are intended to be given an opportunity to make use of computing power at the highest technological level, and to benefit from related support, at attractive terms and conditions, in order to develop innovative products at a faster pace. At Empa, enterprises that work in the field of material technology will in future be able to use state-of-the-art coating machines to enable them to implement new coating technologies more quickly. At an Inventors’ Day, workable technologies from the ETH Domain will be presented to industry, and patented inventions and software will be displayed. Additional advanced education and training programmes are intended to make current and research-based knowledge available to firms and individuals in Switzerland. Further measures will be taken, among others, by PSI (“Power-to-Gas” for the cement industry) and by WSL (RAMMS hazard software).

The urgent measures in the ETH Domain will complement those taken by the Commission for Technology and Innovation CTI, which will exempt strong export-oriented SMEs from the cash contribution in order to relieve their burden in research and development projects. The institutions of the ETH Domain will also be involved in the context of such CTI projects and thus contribute towards the reinforcement of Swiss trade and industry’s innovative power and competitiveness.

ETH Board welcomes urgent measures

The ETH Board welcomes the initiative launched by the Head of the EAER and the urgent measures taken by the institutions of the ETH Domain. These measures contribute towards strengthening Switzerland as a workplace and improving its competitiveness through innovation. Switzerland is among the world’s most innovative countries. The ETH Domain with ETH Zurich, EPFL and the four research institutes PSI, WSL, Empa and Eawag makes a crucial contribution to this innovative power. In terms of knowledge and technology transfer, the ETH Domain is already the most important academic partner of Swiss enterprises and of public administration today.


Address for enquiries

Alex Biscaro
Head of Communication of the ETH Board
CH-8092 Zürich
alex.biscaro@ethrat.ch
+41 44 632 20 03



Publisher

Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology
https://www.ethrat.ch/en

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