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- With Frills - Frames ]
Document produced by a "Swiss-List1)" committee2), for the visit of Dr. Charles Kleiber, State Secretary for Science and Research.
Problem Statement
Young Swiss scientists represent a significant investment from the Swiss government. Some of them leave Switzerland to perfect their formation abroad, often thanks to grants distributed by the Swiss National Research Fund. A significant part of them stay abroad to start their carrier. This represents a lost investment, as well as a loss of intellectual resources for Switzerland.
Generally, technological innovation, as well as the creation of small innovative companies seems to find much more fertile ground in California than in Switzerland. The numerous difficulties experienced in the process of technology transfer from the academic to the private sector lower the Swiss economy's competitiveness.
The San Francisco Bay Area is the home of several world-famous research and education centers; the renowned "Silicon Valley" is also located there, as well as several consortiums very active in the bio-technology sector. Because of their professional experience, Swiss scientists in this region are naturally inclined to work in an environment that fosters a tight collaboration between academic and industrial institutions. They also maintain daily contacts with the California's typical entrepreneurial spirit.
The "Swiss-List" group tried to understand the main reasons that would prevent young scientists in California to move back to their homeland, and is bringing forward a few solutions. Here they are, in summary:
Promote the exchange of information between Switzerland and Swiss scientists abroad.
It is often difficult to stay informed of the latest job high-level offerings in Switzerland from abroad. Furthermore, young Swiss scientists abroad often lose contact with the Swiss scientific community. Some fairly cheap and simple initiatives could alleviate this problem.
Full-time or long-term positions in the Federal Institutes of Technology (EPF, ETH), Universities, HES, engineering schools as well as government scientific positions should be transmitted to a single central site using modern electronic information media.
It is often difficult to stay informed from abroad of the latest job high-level offerings in Switzerland (professor, teacher in science and research, scientific collaborator) that are offered by public science and research facilities before their due date. More often than not, these positions are advertised only through the local media (local newspapers, "Feuille des Avis Officiels"). It would be very useful to have such positions be transmitted to a central site using modern electronic information media. Such a site could be browsed using the World Wide Web (WWW), or could publish job offerings via electronic mail to a list of subscribed users. This is currently partially done by Telejob (http://www.telejob.ethz.ch/). It is possible to consider using this site as a starting point. Telejob is currently mainly focusing on doctorate level and post-doctorate positions and is far from complete. A very serious promotion effort needs to be undertaken with directions and rectorates, so that they will require such position announcements to be transmitted to this central site.
A repeated effort should be made to make private employers aware of availability of such a resource and improve the circulation of highly qualified personnel in science and technology.
The site mentioned above must be open to private corporations. A wide distribution of government positions will generate interest on the part of high-level personnel. This interest in turn should generate interest with private employers if an appropriate promotion effort is undertaken. The advantages of such diffusion could be brought forward: access to a larger pool of qualified candidates, availability of new ideas, etc. In this context, it would be useful to give private and public employers up-to-date information about initiatives taken to improve the return of highly qualified personnel. A similar initiative, Swissclick.ch (http://www.swissclick.ch/), was taken by some of the big publishing groups in Switzerland , is aimed at grouping classified ads (including job offers) published in national newspapers across the country.
One person could summarize the Swiss scientific events and distribute this information via email to subscribers.
Swiss scientists abroad lose contact with the scientific and technology community in Switzerland. A short electronic information newsletter would help them stay informed of significant scientific events in Switzerland. The raw content could be extracted from publications of the Federal Institutes, Universities, scientific publications, scientific articles in the non-specialized press et spontaneous communications. Such a newsletter should be short (15 to 20 lines per topic). It could also mention scientific congresses and conferences in Switzerland.
A traveling forum visiting the regions most populated with Swiss scientists could be imagined. Labor groups, big corporations with R&D departments as well as innovating companies would be invited to join.
The development of personal relationships between Swiss scientists abroad and the Swiss scientific and technologic community must be encouraged. Initiatives such as the "Swiss-List" were founded with this goal in mind, creating an "alumni" network. Furthermore, meetings between scientific community and economy would foster contact with employers. Corporations with active R&D departments should be able to personally meet with Swiss scientists abroad.
Special grants or diverse assistance intending to alleviate the cost of travel expenses for a conference in Switzerland or to give seminars could be considered.
Given the large number of international conferences given in the US, it is very difficult to justify to American employers the expense of participating to a conference in Switzerland, or generally in Europe. Assistance from the SNRF is limited to grantees from the SNRF, is limited to trips taken during the length of the grant and is fairly difficult to obtain. Special grants or diverse assistance intending to alleviate the cost of travel expenses for a conference in Switzerland or to give seminars could be considered.
Initiatives such as the "Swiss-List" should be mentioned to new candidates planning to further their formation abroad (for example in flyers from the SNRF or other granting organisms).
Alleviate the difficulties linked to the return of Swiss scientists with administrative and financial incentives.
Leaving for a foreign country, changing your specialty, going from public to private sector (or the opposite), represent in Switzerland a risk in the pursue of a successful career. However, this behavior should be encouraged, since it improves the circulation of ideas and promotes innovation. Administrative or financial incentives would allow reducing the risks and making such carrier changes more attractive.
1) The Swiss-List is a group of young Swiss scientists active in the San Francisco bay area and the Silicon Valley.
2) The members of the Swiss-List committee
that produced this document are:
Marc-Olivier André | UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory | [an error occurred while processing this directive]andre@physics.berkeley.edu |
Hans-Jürg Jost | NASA Ames Research Center | [an error occurred while processing this directive]hjost@mail.arc.nasa.gov |
Laurent Miéville | Stanford University and Conductus, Inc. | [an error occurred while processing this directive]mieville@stanford.edu |
Laurent Piguet | Fourth Planet, Inc. | [an error occurred while processing this directive]piguet@fourthplanet.com |
Laurent Vuilleumier | Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory | [an error occurred while processing this directive]l_vuilleumier@lbl.gov |
This document was made possible thanks to ideas that were brought by Swiss-List members who are not mentioned here, but whose contributions were important. We wish to thank here all contributors.
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