January 18
Research and Innovation SERI
Secretariat for Education,
Information from State
1
Contents
In this issue
Encouraging mobility
Scholarship applications for European higher education institutions now open 6
IMPRESSUM
Publisher: State Secretariat for Education,
Research and Innovation SERI
Einsteinstrasse 2, 3003 Bern
info@sbfi.admin.ch
www.sbfi.admin.ch
Edition: No. 10 2017 (10/17)
Editors: Dani Duttweiler, Jasmin Odermatt and
Martin Fischer
Graphics: Désirée Goetschi
Translations: Languages Services SERI, EAER, FCh
Printer: FOBL Follow us on social media
Languages: ger and fr (print), en and it (electronic)
ISSN 2296-3677
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SERI News 10/17 l eDITORIAL
Dear reader,
“It would be a real opportunity for sport, the economy and society in our country.”
That’s one of the arguments we often hear (quite understandably) in favour of hosting
the Winter Olympics in Switzerland in 2026. The federal government intends to sup-
port a Swiss bid to the tune of CHF 8 million francs. And if the bid were to be success-
ful, it would be prepared to spend up to CHF 1 billion.
Although admittedly nowhere near as high profile as the Olympic Games, the
WorldSkills competitions, which have been taking place since 1950 and are open to
participants up to the age of 23, also showcase considerable talent. At the recent
edition in Abu Dhabi in October, the Swiss team brought home almost 20 medals,
including eleven gold medals. In the country rankings it came second behind China.
What is particularly remarkable about this success is the fact that Swiss vocational
education and training is not some abstract sideshow grafted onto the education
system, but rather it is its backbone. In addition, the participants are young profession-
als enrolled in regular VET programmes. They do not undergo years of special coach-
ing, nor do they have to hone their technical knowledge and practical skills specifical-
ly for the WorldSkills competition.
Against this backdrop, it is gratifying that Switzerland’s future bid to host the next
WorldSkills competition is on the political agenda. For this competition would be a
real opportunity for the country, its economy and society too.
Switzerland would be in the media spotlight worldwide. At the same time, it could
also draw attention to vocational education and training at national level. Families and
young people with a migration background, but also those who are more familiar
with our education system, would be able to experience first-hand what dual-track
VET can do for their personal careers and what prestige it can have.
It will be possible to get a taster of just what the WorldSkills competition would mean
for Switzerland on a smaller scale when the SwissSkills competition is held in Bern in
2018.
Mauro Dell’Ambrogio
State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation
3
SERI News 10/17 l professional education
The Autumn VET Conference organised by SERI met with great interest: around 700 participants were present in Bern.
Josef Widmer, SERI Deputy Director, opens the 2017 VET Autumn Conference. Rémy Hübschi, head of SERI’s Professional Educa-
tion Division provides an update of the situation.
Further information
www.sbfi.admin.ch/herbsttagung
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SERI News 10/17 l professional education
Jessica Kanagalingam, an apprentice at SERI, and moderator, Roberto Pirola, co-hosted the conference. In the morning and afternoon, six freely selectable
focus presentations provided a glimpse of voca-
tional education and training from various angles.
Among other things, Prof. Andreas Hirschi, from
the University of Bern, presented research findings
showing the impact of VET on career trajectories.
During the lunch break visitors were able to find out more about current VET projects at over 30 stands.
From apprentice to top management: Lukas Gäh- Speeches and panel discussions by and with different generations highlighted the range of VET challenges.
wiler, Chairman of the Board of Directors of UBS In the afternoon, co-host Jessica Kanagalingam interviewed professors from the F+F School of Art and
Switzerland AG, chatted with Christine Maier at the Design in Zurich about its training area.
podium. In his opinion, commitment and a bit of
luck help people to achieve success by being in the
right place at the right time.
5
SERI News 10/17 l education cooperation
Encouraging mobility
6
SERI News 10/17 l professional education
Legal basis
With the entry into force of the Vo-
cational and Professional Education
and Training Ordinance (VPETO), the
Confederation laid the foundations
for courses to be taught in a second
national language or in a foreign lan-
guage. Art. 12 para. 2 states: ‘As a
rule, learners are required to attend a
foreign language course. This require-
ment shall be met in accordance with
the needs of the VET programme.’
Following the entry into force of the
new Federal Vocational and Profes-
sional Education and Training Act
(VPETA) in 2004, VET ordinances were
issued for over 230 different occupa-
tions. 38 VET ordinances provide for
The report approved by the Federal Council is intended to encourage more learners in VET programmes to mandatory instruction in a foreign lan-
acquire foreign language skills, to provide holders of vocational qualifications with the best possible prepara-
guage. In 2016, the Federal Statistical
tion for the labour market, and to ensure that evidence of acquired foreign language skills is as standardised,
simple and reliable as possible. Photo: Iris Krebs Office (FSO) estimated that over half
of learners (around 54%) enrolled in
Foreign language skills are becoming more • Information and awareness-raising of Swiss VET programmes lacked stand-
important with the increasing internation- available options (including free courses ard access to instruction in a foreign
alisation of working life in many occupa- at vocational schools or in-house meas- language at their vocational school. It
tions. With the adoption of the report ures); should also be noted that compulsory
by the Federal Department of Economic • Start-up project funding from the Con- foreign language instruction can vary
Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) federation through Articles 54 and 55 of greatly depending on the occupation.
drafted in response to the Buillard-Mar- the Federal Vocational and Professional Often it is not so much the ability to
bach Postulate of 2014 (14.4258), the Education and Training Act (VPETA). understand and communicate in a for-
Federal Council is showing its commit- eign language as the ability to teach
ment to greater promotion of foreign Three objectives – different technical terminology. As a result, an
languages in Swiss VET programmes. approaches international language diploma is rare-
Since 2011, this has been part of the joint The report provides an overview of cur- ly applied for.
work pursued by the Confederation, the rent practices and suggests subsequent
cantons and professional organisations to steps based on the work done so far
further develop vocational education and by the Confederation, the cantons and This means that all the players involved
training. Efforts are being made in differ- professional organisations. The various should intensify their efforts, expand ex-
ent areas, including in particular: recommendations also take into account isting services and encourage young peo-
• Support for bilingual instruction; the challenges facing vocational educa- ple to make use of them. In order to reach
• Support for the federal vocational bac- tion and training. The aim is to encourage as many young people as possible and
calaureate; more learners to acquire foreign language build on the basic knowledge acquired
• Carrying out language exchanges and skills, to optimally prepare them for the in primary and lower-secondary school,
other mobility activities (national and labour market and to ensure that proof of efforts must be made to ensure that
international), also with the aim of es- their acquired language skills is as stand- foreign language instruction becomes
tablishing best practice models; ardised, simple and reliable as possible. mandatory in an increasing number of
7
SERI News 10/17 l professional education
8
SERI News 10/17 l CET
This support programme will be imple- then decide whether the planned course
mented by SERI over a limited period is eligible for a federal subsidy.
of three years and will be evaluated in
preparation for the budgetary period Once the measure has been completed,
2021-2024. It is based on the Vocational a reporting form is submitted as part of
and Professional Education and Training the second phase of the procedure. This
Act (VPETA) and funding will come from includes a report on the course given. The
the budget allocation already approved by federal subsidy will be paid to the compa-
Parliament in the Federal Council Dispatch ny after the course has been given.
on the Promotion of Education, Research
and Innovation for 2017-2020. A total of Contact
CHF 13 million have been set aside for the Theres Kuratli, SERI
period 2018-2020. Projectmanager CET and Projects
+41 58 464 20 86
„Einfach besser!... am Arbeitsplatz“.Under this title, Support programme design weiterbildung@sbfi.admin.ch
the Confederation seeks to promote adult acquisi- Federal support for the programme will
tion of basic skills intended to enable workers to face
challenges at the workplace.
be limited to measures designed to enable Further information
adults to acquire basic work-related skills. Application and reporting forms as well
In order for a company to function prop- These must be tailor-made continuing ed- as the information sheet on support
erly, its employees need to have a whole ucation and training courses funded by measures to enable acquisition of
range of skills. Job-related basic skills are VPET funds or professional organisations, job-related basic skills:
those that are closely matched to the re- or offered as in-company training courses. www.sbfi.admin.ch/einfach-besser
quirements of the workplace. These in- These CET courses must be closely related
clude reading, writing, the ability to speak to the specific everyday needs of working Award of lump-sum federal subsi-
a national language, everyday maths and life and its challenges. The skills learned dies: eligibility criteria
basic skills in information and communi- should be of benefit both to the employee
• In terms of content, the measure is
cation technologies (ICT). and the employer straight away.
intended to ensure acquisition of
The measures supported by the Confed-
work-related basic skills.
The aim of the support programme is eration are intended for all employees
to provide employees with basic skills in who require help with basic skills. Spe- • An attendance certificate is issued
courses that enable them to keep pace cial emphasis, however, is placed on the at the end of the course. This cer-
with the continually changing demands needs of older workers. Federal funding tificate explains the skills that were
of working life. This enables them, is provided in the form of a lump sum imparted during the course.
for example, to fill in work reports elec- payment of CHF 15 per lesson per partic- • The training course must be free of
tronically, record measurements and ipating worker. charge for participants and must
product codes, perform calculations and take place during working hours.
conversions, follow dosage instructions or When developing a new training course, • The training course must comprise
use the computer to perform simple tasks. a flat-rate federal subsidy of CHF 3,000 between 20 and 40 lessons lasting
may also be claimed, regardless of the at least 45 minutes each. There must
About Basic Skills at the Workplace intended duration of the training course. be no more than three lessons per
‘Basic Skills at the Workplace’ is a sup- day. The minimum number of par-
port programme developed by the Fed- Awarding of subsidies ticipants per course is six, the maxi-
eral Council as part of the ‘Skilled Work- A two-phase procedure is used for award- mum number is twelve.
ers Initiative’. The focus is on companies ing subsidies. The first step is for the em-
Further details are provided in the SERI
that want to train their employees more ployer to submit an application to SERI.
information sheet (see Further infor-
effectively for future challenges in the This application must be submitted be-
mation below).
workplace. fore the planned measure begins. SERI will
9
SERI News 10/17 l CET
10
SERI News 10/17 l CET
www.sbfi.admin.ch/weiterbildung
An overview of public expenditure, Public expenditure on education, research and innovation in Switzerland,
bringing together all cantonal and fed- 2008-2015
eral contributions to the ERI sector, is es-
2008: CHF 32.8 billion 2015: CHF 38.3 billion
sential to fully understand how the ERI Billion CHF
20
sector operates. An annual report (and 16.6% 19.0%
18
every four years a comprehensive report)
16
jointly produced by the SERI and the 83.4% 81.0%
14
General Secretariat of the Swiss Confer-
12
ence of Cantonal Ministers of Education
10
(EDK) provides such an overview. The lat-
8
est figures can be found in the recently
6
published 2017 ERI Bulletin.
4
0
Compulsory Vocational and Schools: Higher education Research and Other education
schooling professional education general education Institutions Innovation spending
and training
Source: Financial Statistics 2015, Federal Finance Administration. The entry “Other education
spending” refers to expenditure that does not fall into other categories.
11
SERI News 10/17 l Higher Education
12
SERI News 10/17 l Higher Education
four-year VET programmes. For the work learning objectives established for the Contact
experience requirement, professional given traineeship are deemed to have Sonja Henrich-Barrat, SERI
organisations chose professional com- satisfied the admission requirements for Scientific Advisor, Higher Education
petencies that may be expected of both the corresponding Bachelor’s degree pro- Division
students and host companies within the gramme at the UAS. However, the final +41 58 462 95 20
framework of a one-year internship. The decision on admission is still made by the sonja.henrich@sbfi.admin.ch
guidelines of professional organisations respective UAS. The competence certifi-
were taken into account in the selection cates obtained upon completion of the Sabine Felder, swissuniversities
of mandatory and optional competenc- traineeship are generally valid for an un- Head of Teaching Division
es, which include practical aspects (e.g. limited period of time. Commencement +41 31 335 07 39
standard contract between the host of studies at the UAS does not have to sabine.felder@swissuniversities.ch
company and prospective UAS student) take place immediately after completion
or information and recommendations on of the traineeship. Early contact with the Further information
holiday time. desired UAS is the best prerequisite for a Best Practices for Implementation of the
smooth transition from the traineeship to Work Experience Requirement, List of
Trainees who, based on assessment by UAS enrolment. Required Competences, etc.:
the host company, have achieved the www.arbeitswelterfahrung.ch
The Swiss Innovation Agency (Innosuisse) will begin its activities on 1 January 2018. Its remit will for the most part be a continuation
of CTI’s current mandate: helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve their innovation capacity and focus. Inno-
suisse is a federal institution under public law with its own legal personality. It is independent in its organisation and management
and has its own accounting. The Federal Council manages Innosuisse through strategic objectives.
A publication “Mit Innosuisse in die Zukunft” (“The future with Innosuisse”) has been released to mark the transition from CTI
to Innosuisse, This publication presents examples of CTI-funded initiatives and historical milestones over the past 21 years. It also
provides information about Innosuisse bodies and funding instruments.
Click here for more information and to download this publication: www.innosuisse.ch
13
SERI News 10/17 l Higher Education
Billion CHF
Total funding by type of higher
12 60% education institution
Total funding (public and private) of the
52%
10 49% 50% Swiss higher education sector (cantonal
universities, federal institutes of tech-
nology, universities of applied sciences
8 40%
and universities of teacher education) in-
creased from CHF 7.4 billion in 2007 to
6 30% CHF 10.9 billion in 2016. As expenditure
24%
for all four types of HEI has run more or
22%
21% less in parallel, the distribution of fund-
4 20% 20%
ing among them has varied very little.
Cantonal universities continue to receive
2 10% almost half of total funding.
6% 6%
0%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
FIT cantonal universities universities of applied sciences
universities of teacher education
Explanation: this figure shows the amounts allocated to the various HEIs (bars stacked in CHF billion on the
left-hand scale) and the evolution of the shares of each type of HEI (horizontal curves in % on the right-hand
scale); SFO data.
Funding of Swiss higher education Total funding of Swiss higher education sector by source of funding
sector by source
Billion CHF
Total funding of the Swiss higher educa-
12 170
tion sector comes from three sources: the
cantons, the Confederation and third par-
10 159
160
ties. All three sources have increased their
HEI funding. The strongest growth be- 152
150
tween 2007 and 2016 was from the Con- 8 147
2 110
100
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Cantons Confederation third parties Total
Explanation: this figure shows the amounts allocated by the three sources to the various types of HEIs (bars
stacked in CHF billion on the left-hand scale) and the indexed evolution of funding by type of donor (horizontal
curves indexed to 100 in 2007; right-hand scale); FSO data.
14
SERI News 10/17 l Higher Education
Public funding of Swiss higher edu- Public funding of Swiss higher education sector by source of funding
cation sector
100%
In the case of public funding of the Swiss
higher education sector, there was an in-
90%
crease in the federal proportion of fund-
ing from 45.4% (2007) to 49.4% (2016)
80%
and a decrease in the cantonal share from
54.6% to 50.6%. If only the funding of 70% 70.2%
cantonal universities and universities of 65.5%
applied sciences is taken into account 60%
(i.e. excl. federal institutes of technology 54.6%
and universities of teacher education), 50.6%
50%
the Confederation accounts for 34.5% 45.4% 49.4%
of funding and the cantons for 65.5%. 40%
34.5%
30% 29.8%
20%
Federal funding of Swiss higher education sector: Project and basic funding
15
SERI News 10/17 l Research
16
SERI News 10/17 l Research
Further information
Information about “Research institutes SERI newsflash
of national importance”:
www.sbfi.admin.ch/fvnb Visit to Israel and the Occupied Prof. Willy Benz elected new Presi-
Palestinian Territories dent of ESO Council
Information about the Federal Food
Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO):
www.blv.admin.ch/blv/de/home/
tiere/tierversuche.html
17
SERI News 10/17 l Space Affairs
energy and precision measuring instru- really impressed by the quality and range
ments, to software for self-driving cars (or seen in each of the selection rounds. It
even rockets). There are many promising is also worth mentioning that it wasn’t
young companies among them, spin- long before we received the first serious
offs from the two Swiss federal institutes applications from abroad. To be accepted
of technology and from the cantonal on the programme, companies need to
universities and universities of applied be independent and registered in Switzer-
sciences. land, so that is quite something .
We are also impressed by the pace and We are also delighted that we had start-
energy which the ETH Zurich-based con- ups from all over Switzerland in the pro-
Johann Richard, Scientific advisor, Space Affairs sortium brings to the project. ESA BIC gramme within the first twelve months.
Division, SERI
Switzerland presents a dynamic pro- The “virtual” model that we selected has
gramme which complements existing clearly paid dividends. It means that the
Have expectations in ESA BIC Swit- promotion programmes such as those companies involved are not forced to
zerland been met? run by Venture Kick or initiatives set up move to a particular location. We don’t
Johann Richard: After just one year, it’s by the Commission for Technology and just pay lip service to this – it is reality,
still a bit early to draw any firm conclu- Innovation (Innosuisse from 2018). and surely an expression of the quality
sions. But there are several things worth and attractiveness of the programme. A
mentioning. For one, in its first year the How popular is the programme? further factor is the value to the start-ups
programme has aroused a large amount Considering that the programme has only of the “ESA Approval” label. For many
of interest, and has attracted the types been running for a year, it is fair to say: of their clients, participation in an ESA
of start-up that we had hoped to attract. fairly popular! We have had considera- BIC indicates high standards, quality and
Secondly, we have a great mix of start- bly more applications than places in each reliability of the promoted products and
ups from different fields, from drones and application round. So, a lot of great ideas technologies.
robotics through additive manufacturing competing with each other. The ESA rep-
(production technology), semiconductors, resentatives and the jury members were From what you have learnt so far,
what improvements could be made?
The rapid pace at which we recruit-
ed companies, and the speed at which
things went during our first year, was
a challenge for everyone concerned, in
particular for the consortium. We could
certainly slow down a bit, from a sprint to
a steady jog perhaps, without losing too
much dynamism. Over the past year we
were also able to form an idea of which
start-ups can best benefit from the pro-
gramme. We are going to need to adapt
certain factors, such as maximum age of
the start-up (currently five years) or its
“space connection” (space technology or
data that the start-ups want to develop
or use). This will also help us to focus the
programme more and to further highlight
the way it complements private and insti-
To mark its first anniversary, ESA BIC Switzerland held a demonstration day in Zurich, at which projects were tutional initiatives.
presented, experiences exchanged and contacts made and maintained. Photos: ESA BIC zVg
18
SERI News 10/17 l Space Affairs
As quite a few aspects of the model this – CHF 200,000 – is a subsidy from Contact
are new even for ESA, there are several ESA, the rest is private funds from inves- Johann Richard, SERI
areas in which we could improve coop- tors, private partners and angel investors, Specialist advisor, Swiss Space Office
eration and some other features of the who help start-ups to grow. +41 58 465 58 95
programme. But this won’t be a prob- johann.richard@sbfi.admin.ch
lem, because in many areas our work is The second element is the virtual model
pioneering in the ESA BIC network. The already mentioned. In all other BICs, start- Further information
experiences and changes we make are ups have to move or set up a branch on http://esabic.ch
already being translated into an adapted the physical site of the BIC. In Switzerland
modular programme to serve as a model we decided to avoid this for several rea-
for the ESA BICs, and this will benefit all sons. But we still regularly hold ‘commu-
the ESA member states. nity events’, at which entrepreneurs can
come together to exchange their ideas
We have developed and implemented a and experiences.
huge number of new elements, but that
is no real surprise – rather, it confirms that The Swiss BIC’s network also distinguish-
the path we have taken, although chal- es it from other BICs. The programme is
lenging, is an effective one. not only a public-private partnership in
the way it is funded, it also operates as a
There are ESA Business Incubation consortium between the ETH Zurich and
Centres in other European countries the organisations IFJ, Venture Kick, Im-
too. What is different about the pact Hub and Expenditure Policy-Swiss.
Swiss one? Because these organisations are so well
Firstly, the funding we provide. Whereas known and so well connected, the Swiss
the BICs in other countries provide up to BIC has been able to build up a huge
EUR 50,000, we are able to make up to network of over 50 international part-
EUR 500,000 available. Forty per cent of ners, providing technical and operational
support in various forms to the start-ups.
Technology transfer for start-ups The size of its network is very impressive
compared to those of other BICs.
The Swiss ESA Business Incubation
Centre offers start-ups both funding One final factor is what we expect the
and operational and technical support. start-ups to have in terms of a space
It promotes space innovation and the connection. Because of the high degree
transfer of applications to other areas. of interest, but also because we are ex-
Launched in 2016, the programme is pected to promote excellence, we set
initially due to run for five years. Up to rather higher demands in this respect
ten start-ups receive support each year. than other ESA BICs may have. We
Currently there are 18 ESA BICs in 15 know from experience with other ESA
different European countries. In 2017 programmes that start-ups which are
these BICs promoted 140 start-ups. highly technological and which have a
Over 500 start-ups have received fund- certain something have better chances
ing and support since the first ESAs of successfully launching their ideas on
were established, which in turn has the market, provided, of course, that
led to the creation of jobs and boosted other factors are also right, such as the
regional economies. team, entrepreneurial spirit and ability to
convince the market.
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SERI News 10/17 l Research
A bottom-up process is used to select to- NRPs will comprise two to three coordi- Contact
pics for national research programmes. nated NRPs with a research duration of Claudine Dolt, SERI
In July 2017, SERI invited all interested five years each. The Confederation in- Project Manager, National Research and
parties to submit proposals for new natio- tends to allocate a total of CHF 30 million Innovation Division
nal research programmes (see SERI News, to this new series of NRPs. +41 58 462 78 38
September 2017). This initiative was a claudine.dolt@sbfi.admin.ch
follow-up on the Federal Council’s deci- The SNSF feasibility study is expected to
sion to focus on «Digital transformation be completed in the spring of 2018. The Further information
in the economy and society» in the programme concepts will then be deve- National research programmes (infor-
2017/2018 NRP Review Round. A total loped by the autumn of 2018. The Fede- mation about the current NRP round
of 92 NRP proposals were submitted by ral Council is expected to decide on the «Digital transformation in the economy
mid-September. launch of the new NRP series at the end and society»):
of 2018. www.sbfi.admin.ch/nfp
Grouping of proposals into thematic
areas
SERI reviewed submitted proposals in Digital transformation: the following three programme proposals
light of federal research policy criteria for have been submitted to the SNSF for a feasibility study
NRPs and potential thematic areas. This
work was guided by a group of experts Impact of digital transformation on education
from various federal offices, professional The aim of this programme is to analyse the effects and mechanisms of digitalisation
organisations and higher education insti- on education - from early childhood education through all levels of the education
tutions. The result was the following three system, including non-formal education. The programme aims to generate knowl-
programme proposals (see box): edge about the challenges and opportunities associated with digital change in
• Impact of digital transformation on education and to develop the foundation needed for challenges and opportunities
education to be addressed in an optimal fashion.
• Digital trust and ethics Digital trust and ethics
• Digital economy and working life The aim of this programme is to analyse opportunities and risks. On the one hand,
in terms of the security (stability/resilience) of digital infrastructures and services.
SERI has now commissioned the Swiss And on the other by analysing measures taken on the part of various users and user
National Science Foundation (SNSF) to groups to instil and maintain confidence in these infrastructures/services. Research
conduct a feasibility study on these three findings will be used to develop scientifically supported solutions and/or recom-
programme proposals. If the SNSF feels mended action steps for each topic area.
that a given proposal is feasible, then
it will draft a corresponding programme Digital economy and working life
concept. If it does not, then the SNSF In Switzerland today, business leaders and politicians are faced with the task of
will explain its conclusions in a short re- identifying at an early stage the relevant impact of digital transformation on the
port. In the latter case, SERI will decide economy and working life. At the same time, there is a need for government inter-
whether the given programme proposal vention in the private sector to create the conditions needed for Swiss companies
should be rejected entirely or whether to remain competitive. This, in turn, will enable those companies to create and
changes can be made to make it more maintain appealing, future-oriented jobs. The aim of the programme is to examine
feasible. the impact of digital transformation on the economy and on working life and to
use fresh insights to identify potential opportunities and risks.
Federal Council launches new series
of NRPs
According to the Federal Council’s deci-
sion of 5 July 2017, the planned series of
20