Innovation

Zürich is a European centre for technology transfer, a place where ideas become marketable products. This process is ensured by a strong network consisting of universities, the private sector and the state. Thanks to and with the assistance of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich, one of the world’s leading technical universities, at least 170 high-tech companies have been established in the past ten years.

Based in Zurich, Switzerland, Prionics is one of the world’s leading providers of farm animal diagnostic solutions and is a recognized center of expertise in BSE and prion diseases.

The Swiss-made solar boat Sun21 has arrived in New York, the final destination of its sun-powered transatlantic journey, the first of its kind. The catamaran reached New York in may 2007 after sailing 13 000 kilometres from Chipiona in Spain to the Caribbean island of Martinique and along the East Coast of the United States.

The solar-powered airplane in which Swiss native Bertrand Piccard plans to fly around the world in 2011 has taken another step towards realization. In November 2007, a prototype model of the future airplane was revealed. The EPF Lausanne is among those involved in its innovation and development.

Is there life elsewhere in the Universe? Swiss planet hunter Michel Mayor would love to know but tells swissinfo he prefers scientific facts to speculation. A few weeks after announcing the discovery of a planet 20 light years away that could potentially support life, Mayor is keeping his feet firmly on the ground and planning his retirement from his teaching duties at Geneva University.