Fourth meeting of the Swiss-Italian joint committee for scientific cooperation
Bern, 31.01.2024 - On 31 January 2024, State Secretary Martina Hirayama and the Italian Minister for University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, convened the fourth meeting of the Swiss-Italian joint committee for scientific cooperation in Rome. This meeting focused mainly on bilateral cooperation in the areas of higher education, research and innovation. The next meeting will be held in Switzerland in 2026.
To open the meeting, Ms Hirayama and Ms Bernini presented the latest political developments and priorities relating to education, research and innovation (ERI) in their respective countries and highlighted the intensity and outstanding quality of bilateral cooperation between Switzerland and Italy.
The two delegations were comprised of high-ranking officials representing the Swiss and Italian higher education, research and innovation sectors. Discussions centred on developments affecting the ERI landscape of both countries, existing bilateral and multilateral ERI cooperation and potential ways to intensify and supplement existing cooperation instruments. Ms Hirayama and Ms Bernini then met discussed Horizon Europe and bilateral ERI cooperation.
While in Rome, the Swiss delegation visited the Sapienza University of Rome, the Rome Technopole project, the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes (ANVUR), the National Research Council (CNR) and the Swiss Institute in Rome. The latter fosters international cooperation between Switzerland and Italy in the areas of science and art.
Neighbouring Italy is one of Switzerland's key ERI partners. There are extensive direct bilateral cooperation ties at institutional level as well as between individual researchers. Cooperation is supported through a variety of instruments. In the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (2014-2020), Swiss and Italian researchers worked together in over 1,500 projects. In the current Horizon Europe programme (2021-2027) their collaboration has spanned 500 projects thus far. Between 2018 and 2022, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provided funding for over 1,300 projects in which Swiss and Italian researchers worked together. This makes Italy the fifth most important partner country for SNSF funding programmes.
Address for enquiries
State Secretariat for education, research and innovation
Communication
medien@sbfi.admin.ch
+41 58 462 96 90
Publisher
State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation
http://www.sbfi.admin.ch
