Swiss knowledge society
In Switzerland, research and innovation are a federal responsibility, while education is in the responsibility of the cantons and the federal level. The federal funding and policy for education, research and innovation is defined in so called Education, Research and Innovation (ERI) Dispatches every four years.
All Swiss ERI institutions share the following three values and principles:
1. ensure autonomy of higher education institutions and researchers;
2. foster competition and quality when allocating public funds;
3. encourage openness towards the world.
The following particularities describe the Swiss education, research and innovation landscape:
- Knowledge (i.e. education, research and innovation) is at the core of modernity as laid down in the constitution from 1848 together with academic freedom.
- The investments into knowledge have grown steadily as of the mid-nineteenth century and are high in international comparison, particularly through a substantial investment from the private sector.
- Public funds are exclusively invested into publicly oriented knowledge, never into private.
- The Swiss society and government respect institutional autonomy and do not focus on politically programmed knowledge production.
- Switzerland allows for only few higher education students and highly esteems (dual) Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Professional Education and Training (PET).
The Swiss knowledge society is strongly embedded within the Europe of knowledge. Switzerland is:
