Bern, 25.01.2018 - On 25 January, Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, the head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), signed a joint declaration with Canada’s minister of innovation, science and economic development, Navdeep Bains. The signing took place at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. The aim of the joint declaration is to encourage the deepening of bilateral cooperation in the fields of science, technology and innovation.
During their meeting on the fringes of the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, Mr Schneider-Ammann and Mr Navdeep Bains expressed their desire to see in the coming years more of the high quality cooperation that has gradually evolved between Switzerland and Canada in the fields of education, research and innovation.
A round table was held on the fringes of the meeting attended by the presidents of swissuniversities - the umbrella organisation of Switzerland’s higher education institutions - the EPFL and ETH Zurich, university rectors, and representatives from the innovation promotion bodies of the two countries. It provided an opportunity to stress the richness of existing partnerships and examine interesting avenues for the future development of cooperation within the framework of existing mechanisms.
At the end of the meeting, the two ministers signed a joint declaration aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation. The document will serve as a reference for future activities conducted autonomously by institutions and partners involved in collaborations between the two countries.
Canada is an important partner outside Europe for Swiss academic actors. Between 2013 and 2017, researchers from 269 projects funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation indicated that they worked with Canadian colleagues. 40 projects involving scientists from both countries are funded by the EU research programme, Horizon 2020. Cooperation in the area of innovation has increased significantly in recent years, thanks, for example, to the EUREKA initiative.
Switzerland and Canada to strengthen cooperation in the fields of science, technology and innovation
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