‘In Switzerland, people prefer to put their money in the bank’: Julia Biwer on risk culture, virtual start-ups and Basel’s unspoken dependence on its location

During the Covid-19 pandemic, mRNA technology gained worldwide recognition. Now it could also transform cancer treatment: the first personalised mRNA vaccine against melanoma has shown promising results in a large Phase III trial. When used in combination with immunotherapy, it reduced the risk of recurrence by 42 per cent. How does a vaccine work that is produced individually for each patient? And what still stands in the way of its widespread use?

What will change when AI no longer merely provides answers, but takes over work? The SATW’s Digital Industry specialist group examines the potential of agent-based AI, ranging from administrative order processing to collaboration between humans and intelligent robots. This also addresses the strategic question of what role Switzerland can and wishes to play in this development.

Since 2025, the global L’ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women in Science program has had a Swiss chapter, with SATW as a partner: every year, four early-career researchers working in Switzerland receive 25,000 Swiss Francs each. The second cohort was honored on 21 October 2026. The jury is chaired by Janet Hering – aquatic scientist, professor emerita at ETH Zurich and EPFL, and the first woman to head a Swiss federal research institute, the Eawag. In conversation with SATW, she explains what convinces a jury, why role models alone are not enough, and where the implementation of gender equality actually breaks down.