Budget cuts ‘unprecedented setback for Swiss science’

Proposed yearly cuts to education, research and innovation funding of more than SFr460 million (£405 million) would “have serious consequences for the economy and society”, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has said.

Among the cost-cutting measures put forward by the federal council is a reduction in SNSF funding of SFr400 million between 2026 and 2028, which the research funder said would “mark an unprecedented setback for Swiss science”.

At a time when the SNSF is forced to reject “numerous innovative research ideas” because of insufficient funding, the organisation said, the cuts “would result in the rejection of 700 more excellent research projects whose outcomes are crucial for the economy, society and administration”.

The SNSF would be unable to support about 2,000 positions at universities and research institutes, with early career researchers particularly impacted, the funder said, adding: “For the first time in its history, the SNSF might also have to cut funding for ongoing research projects and suspend successful funding schemes for years.”

Other proposed reductions include a yearly cut of more than SFr30 million to Innosuisse, the Swiss innovation agency, which could see “more than 60 innovative projects in areas such as digitisation and social or ecological sustainability” lose support.

Universities also face cuts, with the ETH Domain – comprising the universities ETH Zurich and EPFL alongside four research institutes – expected to lose SFr78 million a year. While the federal council has stated that the reductions should be counteracted by an increase in tuition fees, the ETH Domain said in a statement that it would “have to almost triple the fees for Swiss students” to do so.

In a joint statement released by Swissuniversities, the ETH Board, SNSF and Innosuisse, among others, the organisations said that universities “will not be able to cope” with the anticipated 18 per cent increase in student numbers over the next decade should planned cuts to higher education be enacted, and subsequently “will not be able to meet the economy’s need for skilled workers”.

Calling on the government to abandon the planned budget cuts, the SNSF stated that “Europe's innovative strength is already declining, and the effects are also felt in Switzerland”.

“The country's competitiveness primarily centres on artificial intelligence, quantum technology and digitalisation, but it also needs to tackle challenges such as climate change, energy supply and demographic developments,” the funder said. “Switzerland must therefore boost its innovative strength by making substantial investments in the ERI sector, especially in research.”

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com