- UK and Switzerland update science and research partnership to focus on some of today’s most pressing challenges, from healthcare to green energy
- £16 million joint funding includes backing to support UK-Swiss clinical trials that could help unlock new treatments and diagnoses for a range of diseases
- Funding also supports UK-Swiss work on novel joint replacements that resist infections, quantum sensors, and more
LONDON, England – Science and tech leaders from the UK and Switzerland on Monday 9 December agreed to update the landmark science and research agreement between the two countries, to focus work on some of today’s most pressing challenges, from boosting public health to making the shift to green energy.
The UK and Switzerland are natural partners when it comes to science and innovation. Together, the two countries are home to 10 of Europe’s top 20 research universities. To support even closer ties between both countries’ best and brightest, today Innovate UK and the Swiss innovation authority Innosuisse have awarded circa £8 million in joint funding to eleven UK-Swiss research projects.
These range from work on new antibacterial coatings that could prevent infections during hip and knee replacements, to using quantum tech to develop a new generation of cheap, specialised sensors for use in anti-counterfeiting, manufacturing quality control, and more. The projects bring together UK and Swiss businesses, research institutes and universities. This builds on previous UK-Switzerland Collaborative R&D funding which supported cutting edge work ranging from developing new ways of capturing CO2 emissions, to developing robot surgeons to improve stroke treatment.
Both countries are also key global players in life sciences – with the UK’s life sciences sector worth £108 billion, and Switzerland home to major companies like Roche and Novartis. Today both countries are building on their positions of strength in life sciences, with a new £8 million joint funding call to support UK-Swiss clinical trials, that could deliver new treatments and diagnoses for a range of diseases that are currently affecting patients across both countries. This work will be overseen by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the research delivery arm of the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
UK science minister Lord Vallance met the Swiss State secretary for education, research and innovation Martina Hirayama in Berne, where they signed an update to the UK-Swiss Memorandum of Understanding, at a Joint Committee Meeting bringing together science and research figures from both nations.
The updated UK-Swiss MoU also commits both countries to deepen their links in fields such as the space sector, as well as when it comes to AI – an area where Lord Vallance will see Swiss expertise first-hand when he visits the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich later today. He will also visit the University of Berne Climate Research Centre.
This updated agreement is part of the government’s plan to strengthen ties with international partners and rebuild the UK’s reputation as a strong, reliable partner, while harnessing the power of science and technology for global benefit.
The commitments made today will further enable the UK to collaborate with international partners and accelerate investments in cutting-edge technologies, creating the jobs of the future, supporting long-term growth, and helping to bring tech to bear to overhaul healthcare, seize the opportunities of green energy, and deliver safer streets.
