Author: switzerlandtimes.ch
Switzerland has two Federal universities. ETH Zurich, famous for educating Einstein, and the far newer EPF Lausanne. This year ETH Zurich remained the highest ranking university in continental Europe, according to Times Higher Education. Ranked 11th globally, ETH Zurich was the highest ranked university in Europe beyond the UK. In Europe including the UK it was ranked fourth behind Oxford (1st globally), Cambridge (3rd) and Imperial College London (10th). EPF Zurich rose to 11th place in 2023 from 15th in 2022. ETHZ is ranked highly for physical sciences (9th globally) and engineering and technology (9th). More detail on ETHZ’s ranking…
On 18 June 2023, Swiss voters voted on three federal initiatives on whether to tax large companies at minimum rate of 15%, adopt a package of incentives to reduce emissions and extend Covid-19 laws until mid 2024. Voting this weekend saw all three initiatives accepted. Majorities were in favour of higher (in most cantons) company taxes (78.45%), the government’s climate protection plan (59.07%) and extending Covid-19 laws (61.94%). The votes showed relatively small differences between French- and German-speaking voters, a linguistic divide known as the Rösti Graben (rösti is a grated potato dish associated with Switzerland’s German speakers and Graben means ditch…
The government of the canton of Ticino is strongly opposed to tolls for the Gotthard road tunnel, reported RTS this week. The idea of charging a toll for the highly congested Gotthard tunnel linking Ticino, which lies south of the Alps, to the rest of Switzerland, has been discussed for some time. In a public poll run at the end of June 2023, 69% of those surveyed said they believed a toll was needed, compared to 28% who were opposed to one. However, this week, the cantonal government of Ticino wrote a letter to the Federal Council arguing that a…
Becoming a Swiss citizen is a lengthy and sometimes arduous process. For those with an EU passport 10 years of residency is required before applying. In addition, there are language requirements, general knowledge tests, proof of not having received welfare recently and of having paid taxes, along with typically significant fees, depending on the canton. Some of the naturalisation process is managed at the federal level, with key elements done at municipal and cantonal levels. This means some cantons and municipalities are more difficult than others. The elements of the process that trip people up tend to be at the…
A recently published survey shows 23% of employees in Switzerland reported a risk to safety or health due to their work in 2021, compared to a European average of 34%. In 2021, 23% of employees in Switzerland identified a risk to safety or health due to their work. The rate across Europe this was significantly higher at 34%. Key areas of concern in Switzerland were work related strain on the musculoskeletal system (55%) and stress from a high work pace (59%). Although, the proportion of employees with health complaints such as muscle pain in the shoulders, back pain and headaches…
ALL YEAR ROUND The Alps are synonymous with skiing but alpine geothermal springs and spas are sometimes overlooked. If the thought of lugging skis, poles and person to the ski lift to spend a day risking life and limb on snow isn’t appealing, or the sun has gone into hiding, then why not head to a mountain spa instead? For inspiration, here are our five favourites in French-speaking Switzerland or Suisse romande. No. 1 Bains de la Gruyère This is the newest of the spas on our list so it is still shiny and fresh. The setting is amazing and…
On 10 November 2022, Switzerland and the UK, two nations outside the EU, signed an agreement deepening the relationship between the two nations’ research and innovation communities. The agreement was signed by UK Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, George Freeman MP, alongside Federal Councillor Parmelin, Head of Switzerland’s Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, at a ceremony in London. According to the UK government, the two nations together have 10 or Europe’s top 20 research universities. In addition, Switzerland has a number of world class research laboratories and companies such as Roche and Novartis, and…
On 18 June 2023, citizens of Geneva voted on whether to boost the rate of wealth tax applied to assets above CHF 3 million over the next decade – an extra CHF 44 to 49 per 1,000 would be levied on wealth above CHF 3 million for 10 years. 55.12% of voters rejected the idea. Only the four communes of Geneva (51.65% yes), Carouge (51.56%), Vernier (52.37%) and Avully (52.46%) had majorities in favour of the plan. The other 41 communes voted against it. The idea dates from the pandemic when government budgets were stretched and the canton was struggling…
At 37% of the total, one-person households are now the most common way to live in Switzerland, according to recently published data by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The data from 2022, show that 37% of households contained one person, followed by the 32% that contained two, 13% that contained three, 12% with four and 5% with five or more. This does of course not mean that 37% of the population lived alone. Households of five or more members might have make up a relatively small proportion of total households (5%), but they contain five or more individuals living with…
Switzerland’s Gotthard tunnel is a key link between northern and southern Switzerland. During the summer holiday season it becomes a major traffic choke point. On Sunday 16 July 2023, traffic queues north of the tunnel stretched as far as 15 kilometres, according to SRF. The waiting time to get to the tunnel was as long as two and a half hours according to the TCS traffic service. Queues and waiting times were not as long on the southern side. There, the queue reached 5 kilometres with waiting times as long as 50 minutes. The Gotthard Road Tunnel runs between Göschenen…