From 1 to 5 December, State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation Dr. Martina Hirayama led a science mission to San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Boston. She was accompanied by a distinguished delegation that included André Kudelski, President of Innosuisse, Dr. Ambrogio Fasoli, Provost of EPFL, Dr. Günther Dissertori, Rector of ETH Zürich, Dr. Sébastien Castelltort, Vice-Rector for Research & Sustainability at the University of Geneva, Anouk De Bast, Head of International Affairs at ETH Zürich, and Dr. Katharina Füglister, Director of International Affairs at EPFL.
On Wednesday, December 3rd, following their visit to San Francisco, the delegation traveled to Washington, D.C. They attended a seated dinner at the Swiss Residence with Dr. Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA, Dr. Barbara Snyder, President of the Association of American Universities, and Dr. Cybele Bjorklund, Vice President of Federal Strategy and Executive Director of the Hopkins Bloomberg Center at John Hopkins University, where their discussion focused on the current landscape of U.S. academia, research universities, and international engagement.
On Thursday, the delegation met with several U.S. policymakers, beginning with meetings at Congress. They met with the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology through Congressman Daniel Webster (R-FL), as well as with the Senate Subcommittee on Science, Manufacturing and Competitiveness, chaired by Senator Ted Budd (R-NC). These discussions highlighted ongoing Swiss-U.S. collaboration in areas such as space, quantum, AI, cybersecurity, and workforce development, and underscored the strong academic and innovation ties with the states of Florida and North Carolina.
The delegation then continued to NASA, where State Secretary Martina Hirayama met with Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s Associate Administrator and Dr. Nicola Fox, the Associate Administrator (AA) for the Science Mission Directorate. During the visit, the delegation emphasized the depth of Swiss–U.S. collaboration in space science, grounded in Switzerland’s strong research capabilities and advanced technologies. They also reiterated Switzerland’s commitment, through its participation in ESA programs, to key NASA missions, including human spaceflight initiatives such as the ISS and Artemis.
Maintaining the momentum of the visit, the delegation next turned to discussions on energy, meeting with ARPA-E Director Dr. Conner Prochaska at the Department of Energy. They then continued conversations on emerging technologies at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
Before attending the National Youth Apprenticeship Summit reception at the Swiss Residence, the delegation met with Maryland leaders Portia Wu, Secretary of Labor, Alex Reese, Chief of Staff at Maryland State Department of Education and Sanjay Rai, Secretary for Higher Education, to discuss cooperation on apprenticeships. At the reception, which was co-organized with CareerWise, the delegation engaged with more than 100 participants from across the United States committed to strengthening workforce development. Guests also had the chance to meet two Swiss graduate apprentices in the NextStep program and even “be an apprentice for an evening” by decorating chocolate truffles made by sous-chef Simon, one of the two NextStep interns.
