On 14 July 2021, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation reported that it had been told by the European Commission that Switzerland will be treated as a non-associated third country in the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. © Thamrongpat Theerathammakorn | Dreamstime.comThis means that Switzerland can only participate in limited ways. It can put forward proposals to some projects but will not qualify for funding. As a work around, the...
Read More »Switzerland tops innovation in Europe in 2021
In 2021, Switzerland had the highest innovation score in Europe, according to a report published by the European Commission this week. © Diego Grandi | Dreamstime.comSwitzerland’s innovation score of 162.3 put it comfortably ahead of Sweden (156.5), the European nation in second place. The score measures innovation across 12 areas, which include workforce education, research systems (international research publications), digitalisation, finance and support, investment, use of IT,...
Read More »Referendum: higher tax deductions for children and childcare
In Switzerland, parents can claim tax allowances for their children. Currently they can deduct CHF 6,500 for each child plus up to CHF 10,100 per child for money spent on childcare from their federal tax calculation. © Marija Starcevic | Dreamstime.comResidents of Switzerland pay three layers of tax: federal, cantonal and municipal. These particular deductions apply only to federal tax. The Federal Council and Parliament decided to increase the per child deduction from CHF 6,500 to CHF...
Read More »2500 students quarantined at Lausanne’s hotel school
EHL – source Wikipedia Around three quarters of the students at the hotel school of Lausanne (EHL) have been placed in quarantine after a number of students tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, reported RTS. The 2,500 students affected will be isolated until 28 September 2020 to stop the spread of the virus. The Swiss canton of Vaud, where recorded infections recently reached 213 per 100,000 over 14 days, is currently Switzerland’s Covid-19 hotspot. Eleven students spread...
Read More »Switzerland remains first in the world for innovation
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has ranked Switzerland number one in the world for innovation for the tenth consecutive year, according to its latest Global Innovation Index (GII) published this week. © Thomas Jurkowski | Dreamstime.comSwitzerland, Sweden, U.S., U.K and Netherlands lead the innovation ranking, which ranks more than 130 nations. The biggest change in Switzerland’s score this year related to its performance on patents. The GII shows year-on-year...
Read More »Coronavirus: Swiss schools and other establishments set to reopen
© Jan Gajdosik | Dreamstime.com On 29 April 2020, Switzerland’s government announced plans to allow schools and other establishments to reopen on Monday 11 May 2020. From 11 May 2020, shops, restaurants, markets, museums, libraries, primary and lower secondary schools and sports training centres will be allowed to reopen. In addition, public transport will operate according to the standard timetable, announced the government. The easing is conditional on the...
Read More »Coronavirus: Swiss schools and other establishments set to reopen
On 29 April 2020, Switzerland’s government announced plans to allow schools and other establishments to reopen on Monday 11 May 2020. © Jan Gajdosik | Dreamstime.comFrom 11 May 2020, shops, restaurants, markets, museums, libraries, primary and lower secondary schools and sports training centres will be allowed to reopen. In addition, public transport will operate according to the standard timetable, announced the government. The easing is conditional on the businesses and institutions...
Read More »One fifth of pupils ‘falling though remote learning net’
Schoolwork at home: some do more, some do less (Keystone / Laurent Gillieron) There is a big difference in the amount of time pupils are spending at their studies during the corona school closures, a Swiss-led study has found. Some children are doing five or more hours a day, others just one or two. This is one of the main findings of the School Barometerexternal link, led by the Institute of the Management and Economics of Education (IBB)external link of the...
Read More »Report: it pays for companies to have apprentices
It doesn’t cost as much to train a painter as it does an IT specialist Firms in Switzerland may benefit annually by over CHF3,000 ($3,000) per apprentice when they train their own apprentices, a report has found. The fourth cost-benefit studyexternal link conducted by the Observatory for Vocational Education and Training of the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (OBS SFIVETexternal link), published on Tuesdayexternal link, revealed that...
Read More »Harvard’s Admissions Policy
A paper by Peter Arcidiacono, Josh Kinsler, and Tyler Ransom offers some glimpses. The lawsuit Students For Fair Admissions v. Harvard University provided an unprecedented look at how an elite school makes admissions decisions. Using publicly released reports, we examine the preferences Harvard gives for recruited athletes, legacies, those on the dean’s interest list, and children of faculty and staff (ALDCs). Among white admits, over 43% are ALDC. Among admits who are African American,...
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