In a video conference on 27 August, Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and South Africa's minister for science, Blade Nzimande, welcomed the recent signing of the Lead Agency Agreement between the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) as an important milestone in scientific relations between the two countries.

The Confederation will continue to draw on independent scientific expertise from academic and research circles during the 'special situation' in accordance with the Epidemics Act. The FDHA General Secretariat and the Federal Office of Public Health have accordingly adapted the mandate of the Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force (SN-STF), which was set up during the epidemiological 'extraordinary situation'.

Neuchâtel, 26.05.2020 - Five years after obtaining their federal proficiency certificate, 26% of young people were in occupations requiring a higher level of education than that of the occupation they trained in during their apprenticeship. 22% were in a different occupation but which required a similar level of qualification and only 4% were in an occupation requiring a lower level. This means that less than half of these young people, 48%, remained in the occupation that they trained in according to a study carried out by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

In 2019 the swissnex Network ran over 340 activities and events throughout the world in conjunction with over 180 partner organizations. It also supported 58 Swiss start-ups to internationalize their business and promoted exchange between a range of players in different fields, which are of relevance to the Swiss education, research and innovation landscape, for example in space engineering.

The evaluation of bilateral cooperation programmes in research and innovation commissioned by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI was published on 3 March. According to the report, the programmes, launched in 2008, have brought considerable benefits to Swiss researchers and their institutions.

State Secretary Martina Hirayama participated by videoconference in the informal meeting of the ministers for research and innovation of the EU member states on 21 July 2020. The biannual event focused on the dialogue about joint research and innovation activities to foster a sustainable and sovereign Europe, in particular in the context of global crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

On 24 June 2020, the Federal Council elected the members of the ETH Board for the period 2021-2024, appointing in the process long-standing member Barbara Haering as Vice President and Cornelia Ritz Bossicard as a new member of the ETH Board.

Horizon Europe, the EU's next Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, is due to start in 2021. Along with three other European initiatives, Horizon Europe forms the '2021-2027 Horizon package'.

In the current crisis, the federal government wants to exploit the potential available in the Swiss scientific community to an even greater extent by working with scientists to find the best approach to overcoming the pandemic.

On 26 February, the Federal Council adopted the Dispatch on the Promotion of Education, Research and Innovation (ERI) for the period 2021-2024 for the attention of Parliament. It is requesting almost CHF 28 billion over the next four years.