Universities

Switzerland offers a broad choice to students at the level of higher or tertiary education. A vertical distinction can be made between general education and professional education, and as far as professional education is concerned, a horizontal distinction can be made between universities and technical schools.

No fewer than 113 Nobel Prize winners stand in relation to Switzerland. The most famous of them is Albert Einstein, citizen of Zurich, according to "Time Magazine" the "Man of the (20th) Century". In addition 9 times international organizations, residing in Geneva, have got the Nobel Peace Price.The often discussed problem of citizenship reflects the peculiarity of Switzerland.

Leonhard Euler, who was born in Basel 301 years ago, left his mark on the world in more ways than can be imagined. Yet few non-mathematicians would know that his ideas underpin the Swiss Federal Railways' famously efficient timetable, the success of the Swiss yacht Alinghi – winner of the America's Cup – and sudoku.

Swiss doctors have successfully fitted a blind patient with a tiny electronic eye implant to help restore their sight – a European first. The device uses a camera mounted on a pair of glasses to feed visual information to electrodes in the eye, allowing the patient to see light, shapes and movement.

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize goes to Al Gore and all the members of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Among those honoured are a number of Swiss scientists, including University of Berne climatologist and professor Thomas Stocker. This success builds on the work of his predecessor, Berne-based environmental physicist Hans Oeschger

The new head of Switzerland’s two Federal Institutes of Technology says he wants to ensure they remain among the top universities in the world. But Alexander Zehnder told swissinfo that reforms were needed if the schools in Lausanne and Zurich were to compete with institutions such as Harvard and Oxford.