Radio Television Swiss (RTS), the French language arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, plans to discontinue three religious programmes by 2017. According to a spokesman the decision was taken for cost-cutting reasons. A group of cross-party politicians, academics and civic leaders has protested that the decision was taken without consultation or debate and has demanded a […]
Half of Swiss jobs will be lost to automation, says Deloitte.
An analysis by Deloitte shows that 48% of current Swiss jobs could be lost to automation. Administrative, secretarial, agricultural and production jobs are most at risk. Most jobs set to go require low levels of education but some requiring highly educated people will disappear also. Self-driving vehicles, 3D printers, speaking robots and artificial intelligence will […]
Young multicultural Swiss prefer English
A study recently released by ch-x shows that only 28.2% of young people in the academic stream (Gymnase) at high school in French-speaking Switzerland speak German. On the German-speaking side of the rösti graben 40.6% of the same group speak French, still far from a majority. The number speaking a national language, other than their […]
Big fines for those who skip school
Tribune de Genève. Travelling outside the school holidays might be a good way to beat the crowds and save money however the DIP, Geneva’s department of education (Département de l’instruction publique) thinks it’s a poor way to ensure children get a proper education. Pierre-Antoine Preti, head of DIP’s communications told the Tribune de Genève that […]
Must a second Swiss language be taught at school? No says commission.
24 Heures. The long running battle over which languages should be taught at Swiss primary schools, took another twist this week. Swiss cantons largely decide for themselves which languages they teach at school, with minimal interference from the Federal government in Bern. This makes a lot of sense given Switzerland’s linguistic diversity – Switzerland has […]
Most UK graduates fail to get a job doing what they studied. Most Swiss do.
A recent report by the UK based Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) calculates that nearly 59% of UK graduates end up with non-graduate jobs, such as working in a cafe or bar. The report looks at European countries and only Greece and Estonia perform worse on this measure. In Switzerland less than 10% […]
Why is Swiss French so similar to Standard French, but Swiss German so different from Standard German?
Quora.com – where questions are asked and answered by a community of users. Martin Strohmeier says “it is more about culture and attitude towards the countries than the languages itself….by the time of WW1, Swiss German proved to be a useful way of differentiation from other German speakers and to establish their own identity.” Richard […]
More money for students? – Swiss vote
On 14 June 2015 Swiss voters will decide whether to increase tertiary student bursaries and make them a federal rather than a cantonal matter. Presently, bursaries are determined and paid by cantons and vary significantly from canton to canton. In 2013 the highest annual average of CHF 9,365 was in Vaud and the lowest of […]
Unique summer opportunity at EPFL for undergrad students
Every year at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), the School of Life Sciences offers 25 high-potential international undergraduate students full access to its top researchers and labs through its Summer Research Program (SRP). The selection is tough; 25 selected out of nearly 600 applications makes the programme’s acceptance rate even more […]
The surprising way listening to music could make you smarter
To optimize your intelligence your brain needs to be charged. The ear’s role in this essential work is huge. Music can boost your brainpower but it is important to select the right kind. Intelligence is broad. Most would agree that academic, artistic, sporting and interpersonal acumen are all aspects of intelligence. Most would also equate […]
