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Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences a+
Yves Flückiger is our new President
As planned, Yves Flückiger takes up his office as President of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences (a+) in January 2024. He succeeds Marcel Tanner, who is stepping down after four years in office, and to whom we express our deep gratitude for his commitment to education, research and innovation and for his decisive contributions to make the Swiss Academies performant.
Yves Flückiger will remain Rector of the University of Geneva until March 2024, when he will be succeeded by Audrey Leuba. He graduated in political economy and sociology, and did his doctorate in political economy. In 1992, after research stays in the United States (Harvard), England (Oxford) and Australia (Deakin University in Victoria), he was appointed professor at the University of Geneva. His many responsibilities included directing the Observatoire universitaire de l'emploi and the Leading House for Education Economics, serving as a vice-president of the Competition Commission (2003-2007) as well as chairing swissuniversities (2020-2023) and the League of European Research Universities (2022-2023).
Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW
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Agent-based AI in industry: Where are you heading, Switzerland?
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.Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW
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«Translation into effective action is needed» – Janet Hering on structures and what universities owe women in science
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.Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW
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Innovation – an ongoing challenge
Although Switzerland is regarded as a world leader in innovation, technology transfer is faltering. This is evident from a number of findings in the SATW’s 2024 Innovation Capacity Analysis: The proportion of companies engaged in research and development is falling, and the share of turnover generated by new products has declined, particularly among SMEs, which form the backbone of the Swiss economy. How can companies capitalise on new technologies and thereby reignite the engine of innovation?