EAER - Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of the Swiss Confederation

07/04/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/04/2022 03:39

State Secretary Martina Hirayama on a working visit to Germany

State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation

Bern, 04.07.2022 - State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation, Martina Hirayama, will travel to Berlin on 5 July for a bilateral meeting with Jens Brandenburg, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Education and Research.

The two Secretaries of State will discuss bilateral relations in the field of education, research and innovation and ways to further strengthen scientific exchanges between Switzerland and Germany. During the meeting, Ms Hirayama will address Switzerland's association to Horizon Europe and Erasmus+. The discussions will also centre around vocational training and cooperation between the two countries. During her stay in Berlin, Ms Hirayama will have the opportunity to meet several prominent figures from the fields of education, research and innovation in Germany.

Germany is Switzerland's leading partner with respect to education, research and innovation. There is a high level of direct contact and cooperation between researchers and universities in both countries. Within the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation (FPRI), Germany and Switzerland enjoy longstanding and fruitful cooperation. In the context of Horizon 2020 alone, Swiss and German researchers have worked collaboratively on around 1,900 research projects, making Germany Switzerland's most important partner in this area. In addition, both countries are members of international research organisations and infrastructures, such as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The regular high-level exchanges and numerous working contacts between the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation at both the political and the technical level are important examples of the strong relationship between Switzerland and Germany in the area of science. In the field of innovation, the two countries also maintain strong ties and collaborate closely within the intergovernmental Eureka network.

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Communication
State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI
T +41 58 462 96 90
[email protected]

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State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation
http://www.sbfi.admin.ch