Scientific cooperation between Switzerland and Australia

Bern, 25. The second meeting of the Swiss-Australian joint committee for cooperation in the areas of science, research and cooperation was held today in Bern. The Swiss delegation, headed by Ambassador Mauro Moruzzi from the State Secretariat of Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), discussed the development of scientific cooperation between the two countries with the Secretary of the Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation and Science and her high-level delegation. Representatives from research institutions, research and innovation promotion agencies, and the two countries' governments assessed the progress that Switzerland and Australia have made in cooperating in this field since the first joint committee meeting held in Canberra in 2014. They also discussed the instruments available to develop cooperation, such as those offered by the Swiss National Science Foundation (project funding, exploratory activities and grants for individuals), and potential areas of common interest. The discussions revealed that, despite the geographical distance between the two countries, there is considerable potential for closer bilateral cooperation. The Australian side expressed a particular interest in the question of research commercialisation, and research in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and Earth observation.