The CHUV, Lausanne’s university hospital, and EPFL, one of Switzerland’s two federal universities made an important discovery this week in the fight against the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for Covid-19. Scientists at the two organisations have discovered a highly potent monoclonal antibody that targets the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and is effective at neutralising all variants of […]
Switzerland breaks record for highest number of PhD students
In 2017, there were 31,293 doctoral students at Switzerland’s two federal technical universities, EPFL in Lausanne and ETHZ in Zurich. This record figure is 1,000 more than in 2016 and 10,000 more than 10 years ago. The biggest rise in 2017 was the number in computing (+7.5%) and in science and engineering (+4.1%), both higher […]
What one Swiss university learned by following student smartphone wifi signals
Researchers followed students on the EPFL campus in Lausanne, Switzerland, for ten days, by tracking their mobile wifi signals. Thanks to help from IT services at the university, researcher Antonin Danalet was able collect information on the movements of 2,000 individuals via their wifi signals over a period of ten days. By linking wifi access point […]
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 […]
Calls for tax breaks for Swiss investors
Start up businesses in Switzerland are being stifled by a lack of investment at the critical early funding stages. This message came across loud and clear at the Innovation Forum conference on Science and Technology this week at EPFL. Entrepreneurs who start new ventures often fund them with money from friends and family. But as […]
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 […]
Swiss immigration vote: no impact on top university enrollments
According to Tribune de Geneve, the Swiss vote on 9 February 2014 is not hurting enrollments at top universities in Switzerland as some had predicted. The two prestigious Swiss science universities, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, had record enrollments in 2014. Up by 1.8%, 28,537 students and doctoral […]
How the strong franc helps Swiss business
Switzerland is an expensive place to locate a business. The strong Swiss franc makes nearly everything expensive. On the face of it this seems like a handicap, however in the end it is arguably an advantage. High costs force businesses to innovate to create products that command a price premium or to find hi tech […]
Is Lausanne beating Geneva?
A Tale of Two Cities “Lausanne is the capital of Suisse Romande and Geneva is Geneva,” a canny observer recently remarked. The distinction is important. Geneva may be wealthier and have a greater international reputation, but Lausanne, Switzerland’s fourth largest city population-wise, often seems more dynamic. The two cities have chosen very different strategies. Geneva […]
Never trust the advice of friends and family
This was one piece of advice to would be entrepreneurs at the Innovation Forum at EPFL in Lausanne last night. “Innovation” that increasingly over-used and tired word is one much bandied around by those who observe from behind the safety of their corporate desks, academic podia and political soap boxes. Last night the word won […]
