Research & development technology

Building on an already strong scientific base in R&D developed many years ago for the pharmaceutical industry, Switzerland has transformed itself into a knowledgebased economy by expanding its education and research programs to include the most important fields in technology innovation today – life sciences and medical technology, micro-nanotechnologies, information and communication technologies (ICT) and environmental technologies, among many others.

The many private research and development centers such as the Nokia Research Center, the Nestlé Research Center or the Novartis Animal Health R&D Center are also evidence of the attractiveness of research and development in the GREATER GENEVA BERNE area. And the many programs the government has put in place to foster these activities, such as the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency (CTI) are testament to the important placed on research and development.

Download fact sheet "Research & development technology" (pdf, 9 pages, 575 KB)

 

5.1 R&D institutions

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL)
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) has three missions: education, research and technology transfer at the highest international level. EPFL has more than 250 laboratories and research groups on campus and has advanced degree and research programs in the fields of physics, materials science, life sciences and biotech, chemistry and engineering, among many others, making it one of Europe’s most innovative and productive technology institutes. Its research programs focus on trans-disciplinary research and the institution encourages partnerships with other institutions. EPFL also collaborates on large-scale, international research projects. EPFL emphasizes both fundamental research and engineering applications.
www.epfl.ch

University of Berne
The University of Berne is a pioneering leader in a number of research fields. The university has three renowned National Centers of Competence in Research (NCCR): Climate, North-South (sustainable development) and Trade Regulation. In addition, Berne is renowned for its work on space research, medtech, dental medicine and veterinary medicine. Other important research areas include public governance, fine art and culture. The University Hospital (Inselspital) is a world-class facility. The researchers are involved in networking with international partners and in European and worldwide research programs.
www.unibe.ch

University of Fribourg
The University of Fribourg is Switzerland’s only bilingual university. It has a tradition in frontier research which is expanding at both a national and international level in all the five faculties and in many fields, for example biomedical sciences, federalism, European law, European business, ethics and human rights, informatics, and educational sciences. The University’s dedication to new interdisciplinary fields of research, such as nanomaterials, competitiveness and multilingualism, keeps students as well as professors constantly striving to break new ground.
www.unifr.ch

University of Geneva
Many international rating bodies have ranked the University of Geneva as a leader in scientific research, in particular in the fields of molecular biology, astrophysics, social sciences and economics. Listed as one of the top 12 research universities in Europe, the university has been a member of the League of European Research-intensive universities since 2002. This scientific excellence is reflected in the three National Centers of Competence in Research (NCCR) that are headed by the University of Geneva: Frontiers in Genetics, Materials with Novel Electronic Properties, and Affective Sciences. Moreover, the university is home to several innovation-driven labs, such as MIRALab, an inter-disciplinary research lab working in areas including mixed reality, personality and emotion simulation in robotics, 3D medical simulation, cultural heritage, virtual humans, 3D multimedia application, and simulation of hair and clothes.
www.unige.ch
www.frontiers-in-genetics.org
www.manep.ch
www.affective-sciences.org
www.miralab.unige.ch

UNIL- University of Lausanne
At the University of Lausanne more than 130 research units are working on a wide variety of disciplines ranging from Greek numismatics and cyber-marketing to developmental biology. Within the university’s institutes, laboratories and libraries 2,000 researchers, 500 of whom are professors, work daily on research projects of national and international importance, contributing to the fund of scientific knowledge. Working on the principle that knowledge transcends boundaries, collaboration between disciplines is now a priority in order to explore new fields of research and provide more pertinent answers to the questions posed by society.
www.unil.ch

University of Neuchâtel (UNINE)
With approximately 800 professors, researchers and scientific collaborators, the University of Neuchâtel spends more than one-third of its annual budget on research. Its research programs are primarily supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and it regularly collaborates with other academic institutions and the private sector. The university’s Faculty of Science alone counts eight institutes in mathematics, physics, micro-technology, computer science, zoology, botany, chemistry, geology and hydrology.
www.unine.ch

Berne University of Applied Science Berne
University of Applied Sciences (BUAS) is actively involved in applied research. Projects are conducted in all departments, from engineering and information technology to business and administration. At BUAS, solutions are developed for “ICT-based management” and for problems concerning identity, security and privacy in the increasingly electronically linked world.
www.bfh.ch
www.ti.bfh.ch/med
www.ti.bfh.ch
www.e-government.bfh.ch

University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO)
The universities of applied sciences conduct important research in fields of direct relevance to the principal technology sectors in Switzerland and in many cases by specific mandate from private industry. There are five institutes of University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland in the GGBa.
www.hes-so.ch

University Hospital (Inselspital)
Bern The canton of Berne is home to one of Switzerland’s leading university hospitals with an international reputation: the Inselspital. Joint research is conducted by the Inselspital and the university into coronary and circulatory diseases, neurological diseases, the locomotor system, tumor treatments and transplant therapies. The Inselspital also provides highly specialized services in cutting-edge medicine with particular onus on the heart, blood vessels and neurology.
www.insel.ch
www.medizin.unibe.ch

University Hospital of Geneva (HUG)
The University Hospital of Geneva is considered one of the top hospital complexes in Switzerland. It has built up a Swiss and international reputation in several high-tech fields including bioinformatics, neurosciences, genomics, genetics and molecular biology, immunology, stem cells and cardiovascular surgery. Within the BioAlps cluster, the hospital is involved in six research programs in biomedical fields. It also collaborates closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) in developing programs in several areas, including education in chronic diseases as well as research and training in mental health. The hospital is also one of the three clinical trial units in Switzerland recognized by the Swiss National Fund as a national center of competence for phase I to III clinical research. In addition to strong cooperation with industry and academia, the hospital benefits from a high level of interaction between clinical and basic researchers and from Unitec, an experienced technology transfer office within the University of Geneva.
www.hug-ge.ch
www.unige.ch/unitec

University Hospital of Lausanne – (CHUV)
The University Hospital of Lausanne conducts world famous research in numerous fields, including biotech and medtech. The hospital offers medical expertise and facilities of the highest quality for the conduct of animal and human trials. To encourage researchers in their quest for new discoveries and applications, it cooperates with the University of Lausanne (UNIL) through a common technology transfer office (Pactt - www.pactt.ch). In addition, the Faculty of Biology and Medicine is the interface between hospital and university, conducting cutting-edge research in fields such as neurosciences, therapeutic procedures, cardiovascular and immune systems, cardiology or cardiovascular surgery.
www.chuv.ch

Adolphe Merkle Institute
The Adolphe Merkle Institute (AMI) is a research center devoted to materials science and nanoscience and is part of the Faculty of Science at the University of Fribourg. Teaching and research are pursued on an interdisciplinary basis, so cooperation with other departments and universities is important to the Institute. Administered by the Adolphe Merkle Foundation, the aim of the AMI is to become an international leader in basic research and it already hosts a group of outstanding scientists who are working leading-edge research programms.
www.am-institute.ch

Artificial Organ (ARTORG)
Center for Biomedical Engineering Research The Artificial Organ (ARTORG) Center for Biomedical Engineering Research brings together researchers from various biomedical institutes and clinical departments thematically centered on its Artificial Organs label. It collaborates actively with research and development groups from Berne University of Applied Sciences and other Swiss institutes of technology. Knowledge and technology transfer is promoted by involving partners from the Swiss medical technology industry. To increase the chances of success in this kind of translational research - namely the transformation of scientific discoveries into practical solutions - creative teamwork across the ARTORG disciplines is promoted.
www.artorg.unibe.ch

CABI Europe – Switzerland Bioscience Center
CABI Europe – Switzerland is one of an international network of CABI centers promoting the safe biological control of invasive weeds and insect pests on a global basis. Much of the work in Switzerland has been based on classic biological control, which involves the control of non-native pests in one area by introducing their natural enemies from the pest’s area of origin. The center has diversified to apply its experience in biological control, insect-plant and insect-natural enemy interactions to applied ecological problems that are relevant to Switzerland and Europe.
www.cabi.org > development and research > our centers > cabi Switzerland

European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centers for scientific research. Its business is fundamental physics, finding out what the universe is made of and how it works. At CERN, the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments are used to study the basic constitu- ents of matter — the fundamental particles. By studying what happens when these particles collide, physicists learn about the laws of nature. The instruments used at CERN are particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before they are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions.
www.cern.ch

IDIAP Research Institute
The IDIAP Research Institute is an independent, not-forprofit organization. Its research themes focus on machine learning, speech and audio processing, computer vision, information retrieval, biometric authentication and multimodal interaction. On a national level, IDIAP is the leading research institute of the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) on Interactive Multimodal Information Management (www.im2.ch). IDIAP has a strong academic link with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and is partly subsidized by federal, cantonal and municipal government.
www.idiap.ch

MEM Research Center Institute for Evaluative Research in Orthopedic Surgery
The MEM Research Center consists of the Institute of Surgical Technology and Biomechanics and the Institute Evaluative Research in Orthopedic Surgery. It forms part of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Berne.
www.memcenter.unibe.ch

Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB)
The SIB is an academic, not-for-profit foundation that co-ordinates research and education in bioinformatics throughout Switzerland and provides high-quality bioinformatics services to the national and international research community. The SIB is organized as a federation of bioinformatics research groups from leading Swiss universities and the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology. The SIB has a long-standing tradition of producing state-ofthe- art software for the life science research community, as well as carefully annotated databases. The SIB includes world-class research and service groups in the fields of proteomics, transcriptomics, genomics, systems biology, structural bioinformatics, evolutionary bioinformatics, modeling, imaging, biophysics and population genetics.
www.isb-sib.ch

Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM)
CSEM, Switzerland’s leading institute for microtechnology, is engaged in the areas of applied research, product development, prototype development and small series production, and technology consulting. It primarily conducts research and development into micro and nanotechnology, microelectronics, system engineering, microrobotics, photonics and ICT. The CSEM provides services for industrial clients. It also develops its own commercial activities with existing companies and by promoting spin-offs and start-ups.
www.csem.ch

Theodor Kocher Institute
The Theodor Kocher Institute is part of the medical, natural science and veterinary medicine faculty at the University of Berne. The institute’s initial research activities were established and financed by the Nobel Prize awarded to Theodor Kocher. The institute conducts research into immune cell migration, vascular morphogenesis, platelet biology, focusing on the blood-brain barrier. The institute is divided into individual research groups that work closely together.
www.tik.unibe.ch

Additional public research centers and institutes

Examples of private research centers and institutes

5.2 Support for innovation: technology transfer platforms

Alliance Network
Alliance sets up contacts between companies seeking cooperation in research and development and suitable research institutions in Western Switzerland. Alliance helps companies to identify their needs, translate them into projects and find the ideal partners among its network of research laboratories. Alliance is also linked to a Europewide technological exchange platform (IRC Network).
www.alliance-tt.ch

Competence Center for Medical Technology (CCMT)
The Competence Center for Medical Technology is a foundation operating throughout Switzerland in professional technology transfer between universities and industry. Partnerships are established between research and development institutions and industry with the aim of bringing new product innovations to a successful conclusion. CCMT services are free of charge to medtech companies.
www.ccmedtech.ch

The innovation promotion agency (CTI)
On a national level, the Swiss innovation promotion agency (CTI) promotes R&D projects in conjunction with universities and companies. The main focus of its promotional activities is in life sciences, engineering, micro-nanotechnologies and enabling sciences. Active throughout Switzerland, CTI pursues five objectives:

  • Supporting technology transfer by co-financing R&D projects managed jointly by companies and universities. When a project is taken on, CTI can cover up to 50% of the total cost
  • Supporting the establishment and development of start-up companies with strong growth potential by offering entrepreneurs a dedicated coaching program (CTI Start-up)
  • Promoting entrepreneurial spirit by offering highly practical education programs with its “Venturelab” initiative
  • Assistance in raising risk capital thanks to CTI Invest, a private independent association
  • Involvement in international R&D programs in order to facilitate access and participation for Swiss partners

www.kti-cti.ch

innoBE
innoBE acts as an intermediary for technology transfer between companies and universities. It offers free initial advice on company structures and innovation management for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises. innoBE advises and assists companies in the planning and implementation of innovation projects throughout the entire innovation process.
www.innoBE.ch

Platinn
Business innovation platform for Western Switzerland
Platinn provides coaching and strategic consulting services to both start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a view to strengthening their system of innovation across the following four dimensions: business, organization, cooperation and strategy.
www.platinn.ch

Plastics Cluster
The plastics Cluster is a network of industrial organizations, research and development centers, machine manufacturers, and suppliers. It is a platform for know-how transfer, a competence center for plastics engineering and a network for research and development and education. As such it works closely with similar institutions, research and development centers and educational organizations in Switzerland and worldwide.
www.reseau-plasturgie.ch

Scientific and Technological Center of the Canton of Fribourg
The Scientific and Technological Center of the Canton of Fribourg promotes public-private partnerships to encourage economic growth through job creation. To achieve these aims, projects in applied sciences are supported in the pre-competitive stages, as well as in the later technology transfer phase.
www.pst-fr.ch

Unitectra
Unitectra is the technology transfer organization of the Universities of Berne and Zurich. It promotes knowledge and technology transfer between research and the economy. Its services are used to support those engaged in research to find partnerships with the private sector or private and public sector institutions.
www.unitectra.ch

5.3 Support for innovation: cluster organizations

Alp ICT
Alp ICT is the cluster platform of information and communication technologies (ICT) as well as a competence center and center of innovation. By promoting multilateral networking between companies, politics and science, Alp ICT contributes to the development of a dynamic ICT economy in the GGBa. Alp ICT focuses principally on developing synergies, developing the cluster in an international framework and promoting the cluster.
www.alpict.ch

BioAlps
The BioAlps life science cluster has emerged as a European leader in biotech and biomed technologies. BioAlps is an association whose aim is to promote Western Switzerland as a European hub in matters of life sciences, its education and research institutions, and related enterprises. The main research focuses of BioAlps are: proteomics, bio-informatics, genomics, imaging and oncology
www.bioalps.ch

Business Consultancy Cluster
The Business Consultancy Cluster promotes networking in private and public services by way of professional groups and workshops. Its members range from public service providers, large companies and SMEs to individuals who are involved in economic and political events.
www.wbcb.ch

Energy Cluster
Energy Cluster is the umbrella organization for companies in energy and green technologies. It has seven defined areas of action across the entire value-added chain where it offers services to companies. These are coaching, technology transfer, partnership possibilities, education, export promotion, networking events and communication platforms.
www.energie-cluster.ch

Information Systems & IT Cluster (ISIS)
The Information Systems & IT Security Cluster brings together partners from education, export, public and private enterprise and research and development in the following fields: information systems, multimedia, IT applications and security.
www.infosystems-security.ch

Medical Cluster
Medical Cluster brings together manufacturers, suppliers, service providers and R&D companies from the entire Swiss medtech value chain. The association is present throughout Switzerland with more than 170 members in 14 cantons. It is open to foreign companies and is a member of the Swiss Life Science Marketing Alliance, where it has the role of industry partner. In conjunction with the Alliance, Medical Cluster markets the Swiss Medtech brand.
www.medical-cluster.ch
www.swiss-medtech.org

Micronarc
Micronarc is the communication platform for the region encompassed by the twin mountainous arcs of the Jura and the Alps, which has developed into an unparalleled centre of competence in the fields of micro and nanotechnology. The exceptionally dense network of institutes of higher education, research centers and private enterprises has resulted in an outstanding track record of joint research-applications projects, successful technology transfers and innovation cycles.
www.micronarc.ch

Precision Cluster
Precision Cluster offers a platform for companies, suppliers, and education and research institutions in the fields of precision industry and micro-technology. It promotes networking between its members and research institutions as well as companies from related fields. To further this goal it regularly conducts cluster events.
www.cluster-precision.ch

tcbe.ch – ICT Cluster Berne, Switzerland
The tcbe.ch – ICT Cluster Berne, Switzerland, is a network of more than 200 organizations in the area of information technology and telecommunications. The activities of tcbe.ch are focused on the organization of the world of work, the promotion of Berne as a business location, knowledge/ know-how transfer, education and further training, internationalization and networks. In additions, RFIDnet, a competence center for RFID technology, is part of the tcbe.ch.
www.tcbe.ch
www.rfidnet.ch

5.4 Science and technology parks

BioArk
BioArk hosts the Swiss Biotech Center (SBC), a pharmaceutical production platform that serves as a key link in the innovation chain. It is charged with bridging the gap between academic research and industry. BioArk hosts companies and start-ups active in the biotech sector. The state-of-the-art infrastructure combined with the concentration of specialized companies in the biotech industry fosters the exchange of information and technology, thereby increasing the possibility of identifying innovative solutions. BioArk has more than 20,000m² of space and enables companies to tap into valuable synergies between higher education institutions, research centers and private firms.
www.bioark.ch

Biopôle
The Biopôle Business Park is dedicated to the development of businesses operating in the biotech and medical fields. The business park offers an 80,000m² greenfield site ready for customized development to suit the requirements of each tenant. Biopôle is aimed at attracting companies aiming to establish themselves in Switzerland, to base an R&D center, their European headquarters or firms looking to expand.
www.biopole.ch

BlueArk
BlueArk encompasses a technology site specialized in renewable energies, especially hydraulic power. BlueArk provides a support platform for small and medium-sized companies as well as for innovative projects related to energy. A vast knowledge network comprising large-scale industry, energy producers and research institutes of the canton of Valais, offers valuable support for innovative projects.
www.blueark.ch

Broye Aéropôle
Broye Aéropôle is involved in establishing a technological and industrial business park adjoining the Payerne airfield, on over 400,000 m² of developed property. The industrial park is divided in two zones: Aeropôle 1 and 2. Aéropôle 1 offers 150,000m² of land with direct access to the Payerne airfield runway and is reserved for companies associated with aviation and aeronautics. Aéropôle 2, in contrast, is open to all other branches of industry and service, covering 250,000m². Both zones are fully equipped (electricity, gas, fiber optics, fresh and waste water management).
www.aeropole.ch

Eclosion
Eclosion gives entrepreneurs the resources to bridge the gap between their laboratories and the stage where their start-up can reasonably attract risk capital. In short, Eclosion helps convert innovation into a realistic venture through growth. Moreover, Eclosion invests up to SFr 2 million of private funds as seed capital for new innovating companies which offer high potential in the life sciences area. This sector particularly covers the pharmaceutical, biotech and medtech areas.
www.eclosion.com

Fri Up
Fri Up is a not-for-profit organization that supports existing companies in creating and enforcing their innovation capabilities and dynamics. Fri Up strives not only to improve the productivity and competitiveness of companies, but also to transform projects and create added value. Fri Up develops Swiss-wide synergies between the economy, higher education facilities and the state. In addition, Fri Up offers a business consultancy service to start-ups to help ensure their survival and success.
www.friup.ch

Fongit, Geneva Incubator
Fongit brings together valuable business, government and academic resources to catalyze business development in the technology industry. Although Fongit operates as a not-for-profit, private foundation, its purpose is to create wealth, employment and opportunity in local, regional and national economies. As a support organization its mission is to actively incubate, support and assist early-stage, high-risk companies and to provide the necessary assistance to increase the chances of their technology-based ventures.
www.fongit.ch

IdeArk
IdeArk is located in Martigny and focuses on multimodal interaction. Benefiting from close cooperation with the world-renowned IDIAP Research Institute and other nearby academic institutions and business partners, IdeArk offers ideal conditions for company R&D managers interested in gaining access to man-machine interface technologies: automated machine learning, speech processing, computerized vision, multimedia document indexing, biometric authentication and multimodal interaction.
www.ideark.ch

Neode – Science and Technology Park of Neuchâtel
Neode is a science and technology park hosting start-up and small companies which are active in micro and nanotechnologies. In contrast to other science and technology parks, Neode has two sites, one in Neuchâtel and the other in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Combined, they are situated at the heart of an intensely productive industrial region with superb research facilities and educational institutions.
www.neode.ch

Orbe Greentech Center
The Orbe Greentech Center is primarily focused on renewable energy. Office space and meeting facilities are provided at competitive prices for companies in the field of sustainable development. The center provides efficient services as well as several support and promotional tools to foster the development of its tenant companies. The facility has 7,000m² of office space, laboratories and workshops for pilot lines, together with meeting and conference rooms, a cafeteria and all the usual services that can be found in a technology center.
www.tecorbe.ch

PhytoArk
PhytoArk is a technology site dedicated to the development of products made from intact plant cells or from molecules extracted from such cells. PhytoArk is the heart of an ideal biological environment of incomparable know-how which accounts for 80% of Switzerland’s production of alpine plants. Designed to make innovations grow in fertile ground, PhytoArk offers access to growers, research institutes, educational institutions and companies to promote the health of all projects.
www.phytoark.ch

PTSI Technological Park
Located in Saint-Imier (canton Berne), the PTSI is an R&D and technology park hosting institutes, start-ups and medium-sized companies which are active in the fields of micro-technology and precision industries (leaning towards medicine and watchmaking). TT-Novatech, a multi-disciplinary institute, offers technology transfer and R&D assistance. The Institute of Industrial Micro- Technology of the University of Applied Science Greater Jura Area is located in the PTSI and gives access to fully equipped laboratories. The park covers 70,000m2. Science Park of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (PSE-EPFL) PSE is surrounded by several world-class technology research and management centers that provide a favorable environment for the creation of hi-tech start-ups. PSE provides office and laboratory space on flexible terms (for instance, short-term leases) to private companies keen to create synergies or to exploit public research innovations or resources. Currently, more than 100 startups, spin-offs, R&D corporate offices and service providers are renting office and laboratory space.
www.parc-scientifique.ch

SwissMedia Centers
SwissMedia is the Swiss Association of Information Technology. In addition to serving as a typical technology park, SwissMedia offers its members broad access to public relations and media networks, detailed market analysis about the ICT and multimedia industries, ongoing education and participation in industry meetings and conferences. SwissMedia has two centers, one in Vevey and the other in Lausanne. Both centers host a number of companies, including start-ups.
www.swissmedia-center.ch

TechnoArk
TechnoArk is designed for companies needing modular and hi-tech premises - and business development support. TechnoArk is open to both established companies and start-ups, predominantly related to the ICT industry. TechnoArk today houses more than 500 people in over 50 small and medium-sized enterprises and three research institutes.
www.technoark.ch

Sainte-Croix Microwelding Technology Center
Sainte-Croix Microwelding Technology Center provides facilities for companies active in the field of microwelding and related technologies, promotes contact between businesses and relevant institutions, and runs microwelding training courses.
www.technopole1450.ch

Y-Parc – Science and Technology Park of Yverdon
Y-Parc is Switzerland’s biggest technology park, covering 500,000m2. Today, around 100 companies are grouped together to pursue various hi-tech projects. The accumulation of highly developed technological knowledge enables the companies to create synergies and to take advantage of an invaluable network of skills and facilities.
www.y-parc.ch

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