A total of 671 Swiss patents in 17 technological fields were analysed for the comparison, which was commissioned by the Domain of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH DomainExternal link) and carried out by BAK Economics.
The results revealed that a third of the patents produced by the ETH Domain were world class. According to the authors, a ‘world class’ patent is one that is in the top 10% of internationally ranked patents in its field. Two main criteria for ranking the patents internationally were their technological impact (the number of citations of the patents by third parties) and their market coverage (the number of countries in which the patents were filed).
Swiss patent quality was especially strong in the areas of drones, security technology and photovoltaic energy. Only American institutions Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) did better than the ETH Domain overall.
External Content
The comparison also revealed that China has overtaken Europe in many technological domains when it comes to patents. This result is even more noteworthy given that China filed its first patents in these sectors less than ten years ago.
Switzerland’s ETH Domain institutions comprise two Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne (ETHZ and EPFL respectively); and four research institutes: the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag).
In total, they produced 206 patents, 505 industry collaborations and 48 spin-off companies in 2017.
More
More
In what fields are Swiss universities internationally competitive?
This content was published on
Can Switzerland really compete with the US and UK when it comes to subject areas sought after by international students?
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
This content was published on
The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
This content was published on
The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
OECD: Sluggish economic activity slowing growth in Switzerland
This content was published on
Sluggish economic activity at the start of the year is weighing on growth in Switzerland, with GDP expected to fall to 1.1% in 2024.
Report finds mistakes which led to Swiss government data breach
This content was published on
Mistakes were made by both the government and internet company Xplain in the case of a criminal cyber-attack on the Bern-based IT business.
Swiss government wants better gender balance in federal administration
This content was published on
New Swiss government personnel management targets say there must be even more female managers in the federal administration.
Swiss national science foundation funded over 5,000 projects in 2023
This content was published on
In 2023, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provided a total of CHF961 million worth of funding towards research projects.
Switzerland invites 160 delegations to June Ukraine peace talks
This content was published on
Russia is currently not among the delegations invited to talks aimed at helping bring about peace in the conflict between Moscow and Ukraine.
Survey: air travel most popular way to go on holidays for Swiss
This content was published on
Despite the climate crisis, flying is the most popular mode of transport for private travel – particularly among young, urban and high-income travellers.
Swiss government to use phone data to identify asylum seekers
This content was published on
From April 2025, authorities plan to be able to analyse data from mobile phones, computers and other data carriers to identify asylum seekers.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss no longer in top ten in world university ranking
This content was published on
The Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) remains the best university in continental Europe, despite slipping one place to 11th.
This content was published on
Choosing the right university is an important decision. Find the right fit with swissinfo.ch’s university rankings and fees visualisations.
A special relationship: The US military and Swiss universities
This content was published on
From aerial surveillance cameras to autonomous reconnaissance drones: Swiss universities are participating in projects funded by the US military.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.