News

Boosting competences in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

The Swiss Acedemies of Arts and Sciences take part in organising a conference during the WORLDDIDAC Basel / Didacta Schweiz on 23 and 24 October 2012 in Basel. You are cordially invited to take part in an Internet discussion that is already open. Opinions from this discussion regarding the skills shortage in the STEM (or, in German, MINT) areas will be taken as input for the upcoming conference.

Link to the Internet discussion

Swiss Life Sciences Festival 7-13 May 2012

The festival Swiss Life Sciences takes place from 7 to 13 May 2012 in Basel, Berne, Davos, Geneva, Lausanne, Wädenswil und Zurich. If you want to experiment in a lab yourself, ask questions to experts and take part in discussions: the festival offers public events and the possibility to experience research in biology, medicine and genetics.

Further information

ScienceComm'12: Call for Abstracts is open

The Congress ScienceComm links players in science communication of Switzerland. On 27 and 28 September 2012, there are presentations, workshops, a science Biergarten and a market place. We invite you to submit your abstracts until 7 May 2012 in the following categories:



•    Health and Medicine
•    Environment
•    Children and adolescents

Please find further information as pdf and on www.sciencecomm.ch

Technology Assessment in the service of a pluralistic political system

Every two years, the Network Technology Assessment (NTA), organization of the German speaking institutions active in the field of Technology Assessment, holds a conference in order to share information, identify research topics, initiate co-operations and reflect upon the role and significance of TA in science and society. This year’s conference coincides with the jubilee of TA-SWISS, looking back and celebrating 20 years of TA-experience in Switzerland.


Call for Abstracts (pdf)
www.netzwerk-ta.net

Benefits and value of medical interventions

«Methods of assessing the benefits and value of medical interventions»: This study was done on behalf of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences by PD Dr Matthias Schwenkglenk and Dr Florian Gutzwiller from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Medicine at the University of Basel. The study describes the methods for evaluating medical interventions and their application in different countries along with their advantages and disadvantages. It summarises the possible value of such methods for application in Switzerland. The study was presented on 29 March 2012 during a public conference in Berne.

«Medical Humanities in Switzerland»

Since the Bologna Accords, the humanities are being integrated into medical education at Swiss universities and colleges. The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences now published a survey on the implementation of Medical Humanities in Switzerland; the publication also contains a brief overview on the socio-medical research in Switzerland.
Download of the publication (pdf, in German)

The energy turnaround is not so much a technical, but a societal challenge

In their position statement, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences welcome the «Federal concept of energy research 2013-2016». However, research questions in the social sciences and humanities should be dealt with more profoundly. Generally speaking, the human factor is missed out in most study areas presented in the concept. In many domains it is known on the technical level which behaviour would be target-aimed. Yet, the main problem is to convince people to act accordingly.
Press release (in German)
Position statement (in German)

New web platform for school teachers

The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences have founded educa.MINT, a web platform offering teachers help and orientation with the vast number of materials and events that are available for teaching children of any age in the MINT subject areas (mathematics, informatics, natural sciences, technics).
www.educamint.ch
Press release (pdf, in German)

Medical Humanities

Physicians need to be able to write and interpret case histories. Dealing with texts and narrations is one of the areas in which students of medicine can benefit from exchange with humanists. The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences have organised three interdisciplinary workshops on the topic «Intimacy and Intrusion», in which the protection of intimacy in the context of disease was discussed. The collaboration of medical scientists and humanists remains a highly complex venture, as is stated in the report on the workshops; it contravenes professional specialisation, puts one's own view into perspective, and thus helps expanding the personal horizon.

Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences express their scepticism regarding the Federal Law on the electronic health record

In 2007, the Federal Government and Cantons adopted the "Strategy eHealth Switzerland". eHealth designates the use of electronic data processing in the health system, hoping that this will lead to an improvement of processes and interconnection among all participants. The strategy also foresees the elaboration of a legal basis for the introduction, dissemination and further development of an electronic health record. The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences express their scepticism on a draft of a relevant bill.

The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences welcome the draft of the Strategy Biodiversity Switzerland

The swiss-academies are pleased that the present draft is supported by latest scientific principles. To maintain biodiversity and the services of the ecosystems in Switzerland in the long-term, however, some of the goals and action fields still require adjustments. The Academies emphasise, furthermore, that making available sufficient personnel and financial resources will be decisive during the implemention of the strategy to achieve the set goals.

The Big Six - Spotlight on the EU-Flagship-Initiative

«Large, ambitious research initiatives with visionary objectives» – this is how the European Commission describes future flagship projects. Two of these large research networks are expected to start in 2013 and will be financed by up to EUR 100 million per year for a period of at least ten years.
The final decisions are planned for the second half of 2012. Currently six projects are still in the running. Switzerland is very involved in this process as three of the projects are headed by a researcher working in Switzerland and Swiss researchers are prominent participants in two of the other projects. The Swiss Academy of Sciences has decided to use this opportunity to start an information series: What are the objectives of the projects? How are they structured? How should they be integrated in existing research activities?
Further information

Statement of the swiss-academies on the amendment of the Meteorology Act (in German)

The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences welcome the proposed transformation of the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSchweiz) into a Federal Insitute with greater room for manoeuvre. They point out the key role of the Insitute in meteorological and climatological research in Switzerland. Therefore, the academies propose an adjustment of the bill in order to sustainably guarantee scope and quality of the performances and services of this Institute.

Pre-implementation Genetic Diagnosis: The Academies consider the law draft a step in the right direction

The swiss-academies welcome the repeal of the ban on Pre-implementation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), which the amendment of the Reproductive Medicine Act, presented in June 2011, foresees. There are considerable improvements identifiable versus the first draft in 2009. Moreover, the proposed amendment of Article 119 of the Federal Constitution is significant; the relevant framework conditions to implement PGD in Switzerland are thereby accomplished.

Report «Renewable energies in Alpine protected areas»
Conflicting interests and need for action in the view of protected areas

Based on interviews with 21 alpine protected areas, the report “Renewable energies in Alpine protected areas” shows the conflicts between the protection and the use regarding the production of renewable energies as well as possible strategies. The study has been elaborated by the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SAS) with the support of the Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC) and has been funded by the Federal Office for the Environment.
The report can be downloaded at:
www.parkforschung.ch/d/publikationen/

Scholarships for Politics and Science 2012: three subjects, three universities

In early September, the Foundation Scholarships for Politics and Science again awarded three bursaries to young resesarchers. During 2012, a biochemist, a political scientist and a law student will work for the National Council and the Council of States and thereby gain experiences in politics.

The 2011 Balzan Prize winners

The names of the 2011 Balzan Prize winners were proclaimed in a public announcement:

• Peter Brown (Ireland), Princeton University (USA), for Ancient History (The Graeco-Roman World)
• Bronislaw Baczko (Poland), University of Geneva (Switzerland), for Enlightenment Studies
• Russell Lande (USA), Imperial College, London (UK), for Theoretical Biology or Bioinformatics
• Joseph Silk (UK/USA), John Hopkins University, Baltimore (USA), for The Early Universe (From the Planck Time to the First Galaxies)

Recommendations on the Swiss educational system

Socially disadvantaged children fare worse when passing in a higher school level compared to children from a privileged milieu. The question on what the future Swiss educational system should look like was was the focus of the event "Future education Switzerland: from selection to inegration", organised by the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences in Berne on 16-17 June. The question on the goal is decisive. What competences shall be taught at school? The participants agreed that the ability and joy to learn have priority.

Further information

Good «Spatial Concept Switzerland» needs to become more effective

The Swiss Academies welcome the strategic direction of the «Spatial Concept Switzerland». In its consultation response to the Federal Council they declare, however, that the assertions on diversity, energy production and settlement renewal, on the development of education and research sites as well as on the functions of spaces outside the metropolitan areas need to be specified. Also, in the view of the Academies, the instruments and competences regarding the implementation of the spatial concept are not effective enough.

Young people underestimate the market value of their data traces

Young people are no techno freaks, even though they use the Internet intensely. They know the rules for safe surfing. However, they are not aware that their data traces are marketed specifically. This is the conclusion of a report by TA-SWISS (Centre for Technology Assessment) , evaluating conversations with some 100 young people.

International Committee: facilitated access for researchers to plants and other genetic resources

At a workshop of the Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the conduct of Science (CFRS) of the International Council for Science (ICSU) last Friday in Berne, it was asserted that researchers need access to plants and other genetic resources for non-commercial research.

Exceeding impact of "multi-locals" in alpine areas

The press release is available in German and French.

Position statement of the swiss-academies on the Green Paper: Towards a Common Strategic Framework for EU Research and Innovation funding

The position paper of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences on the upcoming EU Framework Programme «Common Strategic Framework for Research and Innovation (CSFRI)» emphasises the following points: necessity of excellence and basic scientific research, foresight as part of policy advice, support the process from applied research to innovation by including SME, importance of human and social sciences, need for future-oriented promotion of young researchers and support for Open Access.

ScienceComm’11
30 September and 1 October 2011, Biel/Bienne

The conference "Science­Comm'11", organised by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences and the association Science et Cité, for the first time unites all Swiss players in the area of science communication beyond the language borders.
Further information

Renewable energies

It is a long-term challenge to convert our energy system into renewable energy sources. This can only succeed if all actors, from research to the consumers, co-operate actively, and it requires prompt and decisive action. This emanates from a recent SATW study.

Masterplan Cleantech Switzerland

The Swiss Academies took position on the Masterplan Cleantech Switzerland.

Recommendations: Scientific policy advice

Irrespective of whether it concerns genetically modified plants, climate change or juvenile violence – politicians rely on evidence-based scientific information allowing them to the take decisions. In Switzerland, too, the need for policy advice is on the increase; accordingly, scientists bear a great responsibility when they speak out on politically sensitive areas. Against this background, the Swiss Academies have published recommendations on "Scientific policy advice" and shall make a contribution to quality assurance.

Is nano sustainable? Brochure of the Swiss Academies on the sustainability of nanotechnology

The grand challenges of our times, such as climate change or limited resources, require a sustainable development to the benefit of all humans. The particular attributes of nanomaterials allow new possibilities. Sustainability and nanotechnologies complement each other formidably; yet, caution is equally necessary in handling nano. This emanates from a new brochure by the Swiss Academies.

Consultation on the European Landscape Convention

Consultation on the modification of the Swiss Energy Bill

Heinz Gutscher new President of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences

As per 1 January 2011, Prof. Dr Heinz Gutscher has taken over the Presidency of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences. He follows Prof. Dr Peter Suter, who held office from 2009 to 2010.