In September 2024, the Embassy of Switzerland in the United States had the pleasure to organize a week-long delegation visit to Switzerland for a group of selected U.S. think tankers, providing a unique opportunity to experience how regional ecosystems actively work to boost their own local expertise and how they drive Swiss innovation as a whole. The delegation comprised a diverse group of U.S. experts on innovation & science policy – senior analysts, researchers and professors, program directors, and managers. As senior advisors, they spend valuable time refining their expertise, notably by observing foreign national strategies in education, workforce, research, and innovation, in order to provide the most accurate information for domestic policy-making.
As the United States seeks to revitalize and decentralize its innovation landscape with a “place-based innovation” approach, the opportunity to experience successful international models has never been more pertinent. Switzerland offers a compelling case study with a bottom-up and decentralized approach, enabled by a federal system which favors the emergence of regional innovation hubs.
Switzerland and the U.S. have a long-standing tradition of economic and scientific cooperation. Switzerland with its export-oriented economy represents the 7th largest foreign direct investor in the United States. Reciprocally, the U.S. has become Switzerland’s first scientific partner in terms of co-published research papers. Both countries also share the strategic vision to diversify economic growth, build highly-skilled workforce and foster technology-driven developments across the country. The week-long study tour offered a unique opportunity to share perspectives on these priorities, all while highlighting Switzerland’s key expertise in technologies that are shaping the 21st century: quantum and robotics, space and energy, and microelectronics.
Over the course of one week, the delegation visited 7 cities: Montreux, Lausanne, Bern, Neuchâtel, Bienne, Villigen, and Zurich. In each city, exchanges and field visits touched on regional competencies, which are supported by a whole ecosystem. Here are some examples of innovation clusters highlighted during the week:
Energy and Food
Switzerland has a vibrant ecosystem of Cleantech start-ups and cities offer valuable lessons in sustainable urban planning and resource management. The U.S. delegation visited the EPFL campus based in Lausanne, one of the world’s greatest institutes for research and technology. After a visit at Switzerland Innovation Park West EPFL, they met with Enerdrape, an EPFL spin-off which provides geo-thermal panels solution. Later that day, they had a chance to engage with representatives from the Nestlé Research & Development facility where they had a unique glimpse into the future of food solutions and sustainable packaging.
Space
When it comes to space, a city like Bern particularly stands out for its robust tradition in space exploration and space engineering with over 50 years of collaboration on NASA missions. After visiting the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation, the delegation went on to meet with the Rector of the University of Bern and visited its Center for Space and Habitability.
Microelectronics and Advanced Manufacturing
Switzerland developed a strong focus in incremental innovation and precision instruments which serve the big industries: automotive, pharmaceutical, infrastructure, aerospace, and many more. The cities of Neuchâtel and Bienne are particularly famous for their savoir-faire in the watch-making industry which now developed into a high-tech precision field. The delegation stopped for half a day at the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology CSEM. With collaborative environments such as CSEM, EPFL, and the Innovation Park, this regional ecosystem supports companies in maintaining a competitive edge in high-tech industries.
Computer Sciences and Robotics
The region of Zurich is a world-class, vibrant ecosystem for computer sciences and robotics with the world-renowned ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich, and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW. The delegation had the opportunity to visit the campus of ETH Zurich with its AI Center, Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, and Quantum Center. The week concluded with a demonstration of automated robots for industrial inspection at Anybotics.
The think tankers study tour provided a platform to discover and compare successful models for innovation. It also allowed participants to depict a more accurate image of Switzerland and how the country of 9 million people, mostly covered by Alps, has been able to lead innovation rankings year after year.
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