SwissTalents promotes scientific ties to Switzerland

Highly-talented Swiss scientists living abroad are being invited to join an Internet site designed specifically to strengthen ties between them and Switzerland.

Highly-talented Swiss scientists living abroad are being invited to join an Internet site designed specifically to strengthen ties between them and Switzerland.

Called SwissTalents, the site is the brainchild of Christian Simm, scientific adviser at the Swiss consulate in San Francisco. “The number of highly-qualified Swiss who live and work abroad is impressive,” Simm said.

A few months after its inauguration, SwissTalents has more than 1,250 members, the majority living in North America.

Members do not necessarily have to be Swiss. However, they must have strong ties to Switzerland, have worked or studied there for at least one year and are interested in co-operating in the area of Swiss science and technology.

SwissTalents not only enables users to search for people with specific competencies, but also gives possibilities for making contact, creating networks or quite simply discussing a particular theme.

The venture is being supported by the Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne, as well as by private companies including Swissair, Swisscom, Nestlé and UBS.

The Swiss State Secretary for Science, Charles Kleiber, says that scientists who live and work abroad understand different cultures and mentalities. They compare methodologies, strategies and ethics.

He says members of SwissTalents may be asked to agree to share their experiences with others, to allow others to learn from their experience and to give help with their network of contacts.

“In return, we would like to offer to interested parties better information on science and technology in Switzerland, a vital forum, the opportunity to participate in shaping our future, and easier networking with fellow scientists from home and abroad,” said Kleiber.

swissinfo with agencies