rare earth elements | Rare earth elements (REE) are common in the earth’s crust, but in low concentrations. Their extraction is labor intensive and comes with a considerable environmental impact. Mostly used as chemical catalysts, rare earth elements are also indispensable for the energy transition and global electrification. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) looks at microbes to process rare earth elements. What could be the implications for Switzerland ..read more

In an increasingly complex world, traditional paradigms fail to adequately capture the nature of interdependencies. This applies in particular to technological innovations and their social and economic impact. We need to find a holistic approach that helps us improve our understanding and planning ..read more

Open access to research data promises to generate new knowledge more quickly. A comprehensible quality of the data is a central prerequisite for its use beyond the original purpose. On behalf of SWITCH, SATW surveyed experts in Switzerland as to which aspects and measures are particularly important in this respect ..read more

Why do some regions thrive economically and others not? In this article, SATW member Georges Kotrotsios takes a close look at some key competition factors for industrial ecosystems and warns about global imbalances if risks and benefits are unequally shared between the private and public sector.   ..read more

After months of preparation the SAMCE (Swiss Advanced Manufacturing Community Events) Initiative was officially launched with an online event taking place on 21 January at 3 pm sharp. It was the starting point of a series of events aiming at uniting the Swiss scientific community in the field of advanced manufacturing and at fostering and facilitating scientific exchange and collaboration. More than 140 scientists from various Swiss research institutions attended the launch event ..read more

The Swiss Biotech Association (SBA) and SATW have started a joint activity to develop industrial biotechnology. Interested parties are invited to participate ..read more

SATW-member Jürgen Schmidhuber gives some insights on how AI can tackle COVID-19 ..read more

We are familiar with the idea that technology is neutral, and that its impact depends only on how it is used. This traditional view has, however, become untenable. Because of its nature and its complex interplay with industry, the economy, and society, technology is no longer neutral. This change is being driven by the pervasiveness of data, which today are generated everywhere at an unpreceded pace because several technologies are currently reaching maturity.  ..read more

Rapidly growing its blended learning portfolio, the sitem-insel School keeps evolving according to its students’ needs. It clearly lives up to its mission – to convert scientific findings into clinical applications. We find out how the School coped with the challenges COVID-19 poured into the education system, how they develop blended learning programmes, their research and start-up activities ..read more

Excessive packaging, especially in combination with convenience food and littering, has become an issue, instigating social and political pressure and calling for near-term solutions. “Bioplastics” are one possible element eventually providing a way out of the plastic problem. However, to address the topic of biopolymers in the context of food packaging, we must understand first the needs of the food industry. This is a crucial aspect the SATW has been pursuing for some time. In addition, the SATW invited the “biopolymer” community to forward ideas without previously specifying the needs and p ..read more