Innovation & Competitiveness

When it comes to competition, Switzerland does not just rely on Roger Federer’s backhand (or forehand). We do not mean to brag, but Switzerland has been topping innovation charts for years.

#1 Position

Switzerland’s #1 position is based on two main factors:

  • 1st, an education system of exceptional quality. It features a high degree of flexibility between educational paths and allows researchers to play out their creativity. Swiss universities educate and form a highly skilled workforce that meets the high demands of the labour market.
  • 2nd, public authorities and the private sector devote substantial financial resources to education and research activities.

Switzerland figures among the countries with substantial public and private spending on fundamental research and on research and development in relation to their gross domestic product.

Public research is funded according to liberal principles. Funds are thus awarded on a competitive basis, on a researcher’s individual initiative and on the quality of the proposal. The research of Swiss higher education institutions is also highly integrated into global research systems. Competing with international competition is a beneficial factor assuring Switzerland’s innovation performance.

The Swiss rank first in knowledge creation and also have a very high score in technology outputs. A highly performing economy of small and medium enterprises as well as major corporations closely work with the different types of universities in research and development. Furthermore, Switzerland is highly successful in transforming resources into more numerous and more varied innovation outputs; indeed, this is borne out by the fact that the country has the highest ratio of patent applications per capita in Europe.

 

 

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Front picture: Solar Impulse ©Ed Mullin, Wikimedia Commons

 

 

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