The Canton of Bern is the only Swiss canton with a university, an associated university hospital and two universities of applied sciences across four campuses. It is also home to a Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) research center, a Switzerland Innovation Park campus and a Haute Ecole Arc campus.
Research
The University of Bern is a world-class research center of major social and scientific significance. It is an ideal environment for high-level inter-, trans- and multidisciplinary research in areas such as health and medicine.
The research that takes place at the Canton of Bern’s universities of applied sciences and the ETH Empa Thun research center is application-oriented and is carried out in coordination with local businesses.
Dual / vocational education and training
The dual system of vocational education and training in Switzerland is unique and offers apprenticeships in around 230 professions. Apprentices get hands-on experience in the workplace and learn the theoretical side of the job at business school. With more than 90,000 people in industry in the Canton of Bern, apprenticeships are an important source of skilled workers for us.
Innovative synergies with cooperation partners
The Bern Innovation Platforms facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology at the interface between research and industry. They include the Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne with the Swiss Smart Factory, sitem-insel AG (the national center for translational medicine and entrepreneurship) and the ETH Empa Thun Research Center. Their collaborations with business and industry produce a constant stream of new success stories: