RIYADH: Swiss State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation Martina Hirayama was in Saudi Arabia leading a science mission to strengthen partnerships and explore opportunities for further collaboration in innovation.
The Swiss delegation met Murhaf bin Mohammed Al-Madani, assistant minister of education for development and transformation; Pierre Magistretti, vice president for research at KAUST; Dr. Munir bin Mahmoud El-Desouki, KACST president; Dr. Mohammed Al-Otaibi, general supervisor at the Saudi Research Development and Innovation Authority; Axel Pierru, vice president of knowledge and analysis, KAPSARC; and a team from the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, according to the Swiss Embassy in Riyadh.
In an interview with Arab News, Hirayama said: “The Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, are investing heavily in artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, biotechnology, digitalization, fintech and renewable energies — areas in which Switzerland is also conducting cutting-edge research.
“The mission to Saudi Arabia aims to explore potential areas of cooperation between Swiss and Saudi researchers,” she added.
Hirayama added that in Switzerland, a bottom-up approach, autonomy of actors, a focus on excellence and competition, and international openness are basic principles of research and innovation policy. The federal government sees itself as an enabler, she said. This also applies to international cooperation, where it falls on actors to use the instruments available to them to set up transnational research projects and networks.
Commenting on existing instruments for international cooperation between both scientific communities, Hirayama said: “The Swiss government supports Swiss-Saudi joint research projects through its Leading House for the Middle East and North Africa region, the University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland.
“Under the Leading House model, the Swiss government mandates selected Swiss higher education institutions to establish strategic cooperation instruments that provide seed funding and support innovative pilot projects with regions with a significant scientific and technological potential,” she added.
Between 2019 and 2024, the Swiss National Science Foundation provided funding for projects led by Swiss researchers that included collaboration with Saudi Arabia, she said.
Switzerland’s education, research and innovation landscape is internationally known for its excellence and unique characteristics, the state secretary added. The system offers two strong educational pathways: Vocational education and training, and academic studies. Two-thirds of young people in Switzerland choose vocational education and training as their next step after completing compulsory education.
There are about 250 VET programs to choose from, enabling people to enter the labor market as skilled workers with a range of career prospects. VET also makes a significant contribution to Switzerland’s innovation capacity. The close link to the labor market creates a workforce that is highly skilled and adaptable to the ever-changing demands of the global economy.
On the other hand, Switzerland’s universities offer a broad range of study programs and research activities. Swiss institutions are often at the forefront of global research and innovation. They offer world-class infrastructure and enable cutting-edge research.
The importance that Switzerland attaches to research and innovation is reflected in an investment of more than 3 percent of its gross domestic product in R&D, amounting to about 25 billion Swiss francs ($29.8 billion) annually.
The high-level scientific delegation led by Hirayama included Torsten Schwede, president of the National Research Council, Laure Ognois, head of international cooperation at the Swiss National Science Foundation; Dr. Virginia Richter, rector of the University of Bern; and Yasmine Chatila Zwahlen, Swiss ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
