Swissnex is a network of education, research, innovation and art outposts aimed at connecting Switzerland with the world's innovation hubs. The network is managed by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) in cooperation with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). There are currently five Swissnex branches:

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

(2000),

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

(2003),

Shanghai, China Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

(2008),

Bangalore, India Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

(2011) and

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

(2013). One Swissnex office operated in Singapore from 2004 to 2015. Since 2003, the network has relied on public and private funding (one third from the SERI and two thirds from other sources). Each Swissnex branch offers a variety of services to Swiss companies, academics, policy-makers, and others. The SERI also maintains and develops a worldwide network of science and technology counselors sharing the Swissnex mission. Twelve science and technology counselors work at selected Swiss embassies.

Swissnex in Boston and New York

Swissnex in Boston, the network's first location, opened in 2000 to pioneer “

science diplomacy Science diplomacy is the use of scientific collaborations among nations to address common problems and to build constructive international partnerships. Science diplomacy is a form of new diplomacy and has become an umbrella term to describe a n ...

" in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most ...

. Situated strategically between the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, Swissnex in Boston and New York works closely with higher education institutions in both Switzerland and the Greater Northeastern US. The region, due to its highly dynamic startup ecosystem and leading role in biotech and biomedical research, is also fertile ground for Swissnex in Boston's startup programs. In 2013, Swissnex in Boston and New York opened the New York Outpost in Manhattan. Since 2016, the office is actively involved in the planning of ''swissnex mobile'', as part of the Swiss Pavilion at the

Expo 2017 Expo 2017 Astana was an International Exposition which took place from June 10 to September 10, 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The expo's theme was "Future Energy", and aimed to create a global debate between countries, nongovernmental organizatio ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

Swissnex in San Francisco

Swissnex in

is located at pier 17. Services offered by Swissnex in San Francisco include public events, study tours, startup coaching, innovation consulting, press outreach, social media training, university affairs, alumni networking, workspace, and more. Swissnex in San Francisco hosts the three-month CTI Start-up US Market Entry Camp for Swiss startups, and worked on a two-year social media program for all Swiss institutions of higher education, now called the Digital Campus. Public events organized by Swissnex in San Francisco cover topics from augmented reality to astronomy to innovative design. It also maintains a blog called ''nextrends'' that reports news and insights from the American West in the fields of science, education, innovation.

Swissnex in China

Swissnex in China, the Science Consulate of Switzerland in China, was founded in 2008 and is located in the heart of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. Working together with the Science, Education and Technology Section at the Embassy of Switzerland in China and Consulates-General in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Swissnex in China connects the dots between Switzerland and China in science, research, education and innovation. The main goal of Swissnex in China is to establish a solid, long-lasting network of cooperation between Swiss and Chinese academics and researchers, serving as a base for bottom-up initiatives, as well as to help Swiss startups to prepare their first step in China, to discover the market, to meet professional coaches and to connect with local experts. Public events organized by Swissnex in China cover the future of work, AI, circular economy, quantum computing, fintech, sustainable design, and more.

Swissnex in India

Swissnex in India, Consulate General of Switzerland is located in India's startup capital and education hub,

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, close to the central business district. Services offered by Swissnex in India include CTI India market entry camp covering fact finding (digital assistance) for startups, market validation (field immersion for 1-3 weeks) and market entry (1-3 months), focus group discussions for Swiss researchers, professors and startups, startup coaching, public events, university affairs, alumni networking, workspace, and more. Public events organized by Swissnex in India cover topics such as applied research, robotics, innovative design, augmented reality, sustainable architecture, and more.

Swissnex in Brazil

Swissnex in Brazil was first opened in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

, in 2014. The office was inaugurated with the presence of the Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann, at the time head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. The Brazilian office was expanded with an outpost in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

in October 2016.

Swissnex in Japan

Swissnex in Japan, Consulate of Switzerland, is located in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

and is the newest Swissnex location. On 24th of July 2021, the President of the Swiss Confederation, H.E. Guy Parmelin, announced the opening of a new Consulate of Switzerland in Osaka, Japan and the 6th Swissnex key location. Swiss President Ignazio Cassis held the groundbreaking ceremony in the new Consulate offices on April 20, 2022, officially making Japan the 6th Swissnex location.

Inactive Locations

swissnex Singapore

swissnex Singapore opened in 2004 and ceased its operations by the end of September 2015. The remaining two staff members from SERI have been transferred to the Science and Technology Office at the local FDFA office, the Embassy of Switzerland, Singapore.

Notes and references

External links

*
Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation

Swiss Academia and the Social Media Landscape

* ttp://www.agefi.com/2011-09-13/Gallatin-Award-2011-deux-Romands-prim%C3%A9s-302693.php Gallatin Awards Ceremony honors those who inspired Swissnex
Swissnex San Francisco Executive Director interviewed in article on innovative workspace in San Francisco

ETH Zurich publication highlights Swissnex San Francisco director, Christian Simm

The Digital Campus
{{Universities in Switzerland Communications in Switzerland Science and technology in Switzerland