Science 
The EPFL claims to be one of the most cosmopolitan universities in the world, with students from 107 countries in 2007.
International Research Locations
Switzerland also houses two European research locations, CERN and IBM at Rüschlikon.
CERN
The European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) is situated near Geneva (part of the installation crosses into French territory). It was founded in 1954 as a European joint venture, and now has 20 member states. Its purpose is to enable scientists to study the elementary particles which make up everything in the universe. This is done by accelerating particles almost to the speed of light and making them collide. The huge particle accelerators are circular tunnels built underground.
The most ambitious experiment yet will be conducted using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) due to come into use in 2007. It lies about 100 m below the ground straddling the Swiss-French border, and has a circumference of about 27 km. Its purpose is to track down the elusive Higgs-Boson particle. This particle, whose existence was first predicted in 1954 but which has never yet been observed, would help explain how particles obtain their mass.
A particle detector developed by the PSI will be used in this experiment to enable scientists to «see» the particles produced.
Work at CERN has produced a number of spin-offs, of which the best known is the world wide web, originally designed to enable scientists to communicate more easily with each other.
IBM, Rüschlikon
The European laboratory of the American high-tech company IBM is in Rüschlikon, near Zurich. IBM has had a research laboratory in Switzerland since 1956.
The staff come from a number of European countries. They are part of the international scientific community, attending conferences and collaborating in joint projects with universities and industrial partners.
The facility also hosts a constant flow of visiting scientists and students.
Two of Switzerland's Nobel laureates in physics – Heinrich Rohrer (1986) and Alexander Müller (1987) – won the prize for work carried out in Rüschlikon, in both cases jointly with German colleagues.
National Research Institutions
The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Canton Aargau is one of Europe's leading research institutes. Scientists from a range of countries come to use such facilities as the Swiss Light Source and the Spallation Neutron Source.
EMPA, a materials science and technology research institution
Empa is a materials science and technology research institution. It belongs to the ETH domain and as such is an important element in education, science and innovation in Switzerland. It specializes in applications, focused research and development, and provides high-level services in the field of sustainable materials science and technology. Its core tasks are innovative collaboration with industry and public institutions, ensuring the safety of people and the environment, knowledge propagation and university-level teaching.
CSEM, Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology
CSEM is a private company that has become a powerful link between university-based research and industrial applications of new technologies and is prominently represented in many national research programs that foster cooperation between academia and industry. CSEM is mainly active in the areas of microtechnology, microelectronics and information systems.
IDSIA, The Dalle Molle institute for artificial intelligence
IDSIA (Istituto Dalle Molle di Studi sull’Intelligenza Artificiale) is a non-profit oriented research institute for artificial intelligence, affiliated with both the University of Lugano and SUPSI. We focus on machine learning (artificial neural networks, reinforcement learning), optimal universal artificial intelligence and optimal rational agents, operations research, complexity theory, and robotics. IDSIA is situated near Lugano, a lakeside city in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.
EAWAG, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology
Eawag is a Swiss-based and internationally linked aquatic research institute committed to an ecological, economical and socially responsible management of water - the primary source of all life. It carries out research, teaching and consulting and forms a link between science and practical application.
The Swiss Portal for Research and Innovation
This portal gives an overview of sciences, employment, funding, research area, universities and other research institutions in Switzerland. myScience.ch provides also practical information about research mobility and living in Switerland including immigration, taxation, driving licenses and legal issues. It is intended for researchers and students, and all those who are interested in sciences in Switzerland and abroad. myScience.ch is online since May 2007 and is supported by Scimetrica.
(swissworld.org/myscience.ch)
Research locations in Switzerland
At the Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ) and Lausanne (EPFL), there is a tradition of foreign researchers and lecturers. At both of them more than half of the teaching staff are foreign nationals.