How Switzerland Stays an Innovation Leader: Inside Its Universities, Apprenticeships and International Talent
PIVOT 公式チャンネル
This video report from PIVOT follows reporter Mariko Sato through a series of visits in Switzerland, asking one central question: how does a small country with no major bloc membership keep ranking at the top of global innovation tables? The interviewees include a university space center head, a representative of the federal innovation agency Innosuisse, a vocational education expert, a robotics startup, a pharmaceutical plant that trains apprentices, a speaker at the UN's European headquarters in Geneva, and a tourism association using climate data. Their answers overlap: strong public education, tight links between research and industry, a vocational system that underpins the labor market, and a high degree of international openness.
A space center at ETH and the case for "doing even better"
The first stop is a space center at ETH Zurich, where the head of the center shows an exhibition. He says that across most dimensions of innovation, such as research output and patents, Switzerland "is really doing well." Asked exactly where it ranks, he admits he doesn't know the precise figures, but says that compared with international players it is "very much in the top third or the top quarter."
His reason for building the center, though, is that he believes Switzerland can do even better. He wants to take Swiss research and put it into space, whether in quantum technology, artificial intelligence, or novel small devices. He also points to a non-technical asset. Switzerland is neutral, not part of any big bloc and not even part of the European Union. Because of that, he argues, many discussions that matter to the world can be held in Switzerland, and the country can convene them.
Asked why he came back to Switzerland, he says he believes in the power of public education, noting that ETH is a public university. He also believes in Switzerland's ability to educate top innovative people who benefit both the country and the world. He describes feeling he had an "open bill": Switzerland paid for his entire education, but he never worked in the country afterward. Returning was a way to "pay forward" and open doors for others.
He describes the students as drawn by the excitement of space and by the chance to play a role in a sector that, in his words, grows much faster than the economy overall. By his estimate, a little over 50%, perhaps around 60%, of the students are Swiss. The rest come from all over the world, including the United States. He considers the presence of the best students, and the experience of working alongside classmates from many places, one of the key strengths of a university like ETH.
Innosuisse: competitive funding as a bridge between academia and industry
A representative of Innosuisse explains that the agency's purpose is to promote innovation for the benefit of Swiss society and the economy. Its main instrument is a collaborative one. It funds innovation projects run jointly by an academic partner and a company. Innosuisse pays for the research portion, but the results have to be brought to market by the company, and the company is the one that applies for the funding.
When the reporter suggests this covers the last stages of research before industrial application, the representative agrees, then adds a nuance. Innosuisse can also support deep-tech ideas before all the research has been fine-tuned. What matters is that the idea is very promising and the expected outcomes are clear. The agency evaluates the level of innovation, the quality of the submitted project, and the value it would add on the market.
Competition is central to the model. Funding goes only to the best applications, so everyone has to compete. In the representative's view, this competitive funding raises the quality of innovation across the whole Swiss landscape. Projects are also collaborative by default. A company and a research organization must work together and apply jointly if they want Innosuisse money.
Why Switzerland ranks first: research, "hidden champions" and necessity
Asked whether this mechanism explains Switzerland's strength, the representative says many factors contribute. She notes that Switzerland has been ranked number one by the Global Innovation Index for 15 years in a row. She attributes this first to research quality. This comes from the two federal technical universities, EPFL and ETH, and from a wider network of successful research organizations that attract top talent.
The second factor she names is a strong economic base. Switzerland has high-tech large companies and also many small and medium-sized enterprises that are often called "hidden champions." They are hidden in the sense that they are not well known globally, she explains, yet they play an essential part in global value chains. She frames this as a matter of necessity. Switzerland is a small country with "no choice" but to be competitive, so its companies constantly try to stay at the top of innovation. The third factor is bringing these actors together and transferring knowledge from research organizations to companies. Organizations like Innosuisse create those links.
Openness, migration background and foreign founders
The reporter asks whether this is also why talented people come to live in Switzerland. The representative says the reputation of the research organizations plays a part, but so does openness to collaboration, both nationally and internationally. She says Switzerland likes to collaborate "with the best." These collaborations lead to regular exchanges, and professors, researchers and students are also open to studying abroad. She believes this increases the likelihood that people will choose to settle in the country.
She cites her own background. She is originally Canadian and has been a "proud Swiss" for 15 or perhaps 20 years. She says she recently looked at the makeup of the population and found that roughly 40% of people in Switzerland have a migration background, whether first- or second-generation immigrants or dual citizens. She sees this as a source of international openness and says she is "convinced that diversity helps innovation." Different backgrounds, she argues, make people think more outside the box, and she notes this applies beyond gender diversity. She adds that more than 50% of startup founders supported by Innosuisse come from abroad, and that they help the economy progress. From the agency's perspective, attracting talent clearly benefits the country.
The vocational system: from medieval guilds to a 1930 law
The report then visits a vocational school, starting at a mechanics department where programs last between two and four years depending on the profession. A vocational education expert explains the history of Switzerland's VET (vocational education and training) system. It is the oldest part of the Swiss education system and dates back to the Middle Ages, when the guilds ran it rather than the government. In 1930 the first federal law on vocational education was passed. This brought the old system into the formal education system, while the economy and firms kept a strong say.
She believes the strength of the whole Swiss economy partly comes from this system, because the majority of people in Switzerland go through apprenticeships. She calls it the foundation of the labor market. It is where the economy gets its skilled workers. She also stresses that the economy itself is responsible for keeping the system running, by offering apprenticeship places.
Choosing a path at 15
The reporter asks whether it is a heavy burden to decide on an occupation at 15. The expert answers "yes and no." In her canton, and she notes this differs by canton, students choose among roughly 250 occupations or the Gymnasium (the academic track) or another kind of school. It is both an education choice and an occupation choice, made at 15, which means students have to start thinking about it well before that. She calls the process "very intensive" but says schools run many career orientation classes to prepare students.
On what keeps Switzerland competitive, she argues the apprenticeship system must be maintained because it trains the labor force and does not close off other paths. Apprentices can go on to become masters in their trade. With extra courses, they can earn bachelor's degrees at universities of applied sciences, or even go to a university.
She also connects the system directly to innovation. When an engineer talks to the people carrying out his plans or assembling the machine he designed, it makes a difference whether he knows the trade himself. If he has only learned it theoretically, practitioners may conclude that his plans "don't add up" and can't be used. For her, the mix of practitioners, people with applied education from universities of applied sciences, and university graduates is "very, very important" for the innovation system.
A robotics startup: English in the office, immigrants on the team
At the robotics startup MESH, a team member says the company is "quite international." The working language is English rather than German, and more than half the team is international. Many are immigrants, some of whom have lived in Switzerland for years without yet having a Swiss passport.
Asked whether Switzerland welcomes highly skilled people, he says this is nothing new and has been happening for decades, though he acknowledges it is "always a political discussion." He describes a long history of immigration. In earlier times many people came for construction work. Today many highly qualified people work in tech companies and hospitals. People come from abroad, he says, because there is strong demand for them.
On why Swiss industry is so strong, he offers what he calls a partly personal view. First, the universities and education system are excellent. Tuition fees are "negligible," though living expenses are not small. Anyone with a Matura (the Swiss upper-secondary leaving certificate) is allowed to start studying at ETH, with no entrance exam, which he thinks is "really great." Second, he points to an entrepreneurial spirit and a tradition of invention. He adds that he is "not sure that's true," but believes Switzerland may be a record holder in patents. Third, he names immigration. Switzerland has always attracted great talent from abroad, and those people pushed things forward, developed new things and brought a lot of value to the country.
Takeda's Neuchâtel plant: apprentices inside the production teams
At Takeda's plant in Neuchâtel, a site representative says 14 apprentices are currently in training. The site has hosted apprentices since 2003. At first they were mainly quality control technicians. In 2019 the site began expanding the number of apprentices and the range of fields, adding manufacturing, supply chain, and digital and technology roles.
The apprenticeship lasts two years, and apprentices are roughly 15 to 19 years old. Training alternates between school and the workplace. Apprentices spend one or two days a week at school learning the theory, such as how equipment works, and then apply it on site in the following days. The representative stresses that they are fully part of the teams. They are onboarded and trained on the job by experienced staff.
An apprentice's view: "When we are too young, you don't know exactly what you want to do"
An apprentice at the plant offers a more personal account of the choice at 15. They started at 17, not 15, after spending an extra year deciding. They admit that before that they didn't know what they wanted to do. At first they wanted to become a fitness trainer and did several internships in that field. In the end they decided they weren't sure they wanted it as a job, changed course, and consider themselves lucky to have found this apprenticeship as a technologist.
They say most of their friends went to the Gymnasium precisely because they didn't know what they wanted to do in the future, so they chose to continue studying. A few friends are doing apprenticeships, for example as electricians. The apprentice says they could have gone to the Gymnasium too, but chose to discover the professional world, and describes the system as "very flexible."
Geneva: a broader hub than New York
At the UN's European headquarters in Geneva, a speaker explains how Geneva differs from the UN headquarters in New York. Geneva covers a much wider range of topics, the speaker says, because it hosts many international organizations, not only the UN. As an illustration, the speaker notes that the largest number of international staff in Geneva work at CERN, in particle physics. The speaker also says Geneva hosts more international conferences than New York. These draw specialists, diplomats, ministers, prime ministers and heads of state, making Geneva "a global hub for governance on many different topics."
The conversation then turns to an AI-related summit. The speaker sees two benefits for Switzerland. Internationally, it shows the world Swiss expertise in AI and the research Swiss universities can offer. Nationally, it brings all the relevant actors together to reflect on the subject and its possible developments. The speaker says Switzerland would like to "anchor" something in Geneva after the summit, so that the discussion stays in Geneva over the longer term and reinforces its role in multilateral governance.
On regulation, the speaker describes the Swiss approach as "as much regulation as necessary but as little as possible." The aim is to let companies develop, innovate and move forward while ensuring AI is trustworthy, because, in the speaker's words, "it all starts with trust." Regulation is the state's role in building that trust. The Swiss way, the speaker explains, is to review the different fields and existing laws to see what must change to enable trustworthy use of AI, including transparency and data protection among other aspects.
Snow Compass: open climate data for ski resorts
The final segment features Snow Compass, presented by a representative of a tourism association. It is a web-based tool built on a database, developed with scientists and a marketing organization, and funded by the government. Users can look up projected conditions for natural snow cover and for artificial snowmaking in a given region, such as the area where the interview took place. The data is open, so anyone can use it.
The representative calls the tool the association's response to climate change: bringing science into tourism marketing and giving destinations some orientation, since "nobody can deny that climate change is happening." Asked how climate change affects winter resorts, the representative says it clearly has an impact but no single message applies to all of Switzerland, because it differs by region. In general, the winter season is getting shorter. Resorts have to invest more in snowmaking or other installations, or shift toward other seasons such as summer. Each destination chooses its own strategy, and Snow Compass helps answer questions such as how quickly a resort needs to shift toward summer, or how successful it can still be in winter.
The projections cover the next 25 years. The representative emphasizes that they are based on scientific data. The tool is "not inventing anything" but extrapolating from what the database shows today. It goes no further than 25 years "because further than that nobody knows." Asked why the project was needed, the representative says the sector has faced climate change for decades and wanted a reliable, data-based foundation for talking about the future, not just predictions. The goal is for everyone to look at the same scientifically grounded data, so that people are not arguing about the data itself and instead have shared orientation about what the future may hold.
Go.
Great talents coming to Switzerland that also pushed things, developed new things, and also brought a lot of value to the country.
As you know, we've been ranked number one in innovation for 15 years in a row now by the Global Innovation Index. We have very high-tech companies, not only large companies, but also smaller companies. So, SMEs that we often call hidden champions.
For us, it is important to have as much regulation as necessary, but as little as possible.
Switzerland can convene many discussions that are really important for the world.
Thank you.
Did.
Foreance.
Italia.
Forchech.
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Foreign! Foreign!
Einstein.
Hi, I'm...
Nice to meet you. So, this is your...
It's...
Exhibition.
So basically, in all dimensions, Switzerland is on—just looking at innovation, if you look at research, you look at patents, Switzerland is really doing well.
Okay.
So where they are with everything, I don't know exactly, but certainly, if you compare international players, they're very much in the top third or the top quarter.
What really needs to happen, though, and what we believe is important, that's why we built the center, is we can do even better. I think we can take technology, take research and put it into space, whether that's in quantum technology, whether that's in artificial intelligence, whether that is in novel kind of small devices. We want to go to space with them, and I think Switzerland can do a great job.
In addition, because Switzerland is, with its position of neutrality, not being part of any big blocs, not even part of the European Union, there's a number of discussions that can be had in Switzerland that are really important. So Switzerland can convene many discussions that are really important for the world.
So why did you come back to Switzerland?
So I believe in the power of public education. This is a public university where we're at. I also believe in the power of Switzerland to educate the top innovative people that can be beneficial both to Switzerland and the world. I was educated here, and frankly, I felt I had an open bill, in a sense that Switzerland paid for my entire education and I never worked there. So one of the benefits for me was to be able to pay forward, open doors for others.
And then now you're the head of the space center here. How are the students? Are they from Switzerland or from many other countries, and what's their vision to come to this center?
I think what the students are seeing is the excitement of space, and they understand the opportunity for them to have a role in it. And they're correct. It's a really exciting place that grows much faster than the economy overall. So it's a huge set of opportunities that come from it.
What we have is a little bit over 50%, perhaps 60% or so, are Swiss students, but there's also international students that come here. I think that's a real strength of a university like ETH, that the best students come here. Frankly, we have Americans, we have people from all over the world, from various places that come here and get to know their fellow students and work together with them. So the students are excellent and one of the key strengths of this place.
Thank you.
Collaboration.
No collaboration.
Fore!
Foreign! Foreign!
So it's a very basic question, but what does Innosuisse do?
We're there to promote innovation in the benefit of society and the economy in Switzerland. In a nutshell, we do that through different instruments.
The main instrument that we have is a collaborative instrument that brings together academia and industry, in that we fund an innovation project that's a collaboration between both. And we basically fund the research portion of the project, but it needs to be then implemented in the market through a company that applies for the funding. That's the main instrument that we use to do this innovation promotion and bring innovation to the market.
So it means the last part of the research, I mean the research, what they found, should be applied to industry. So that's why you need a bridge.
Exactly, it's the last stages. So we can also support a deep tech idea without having already all of the fine-tuning of the research done. What's important for us is to have a very promising idea and that the outcomes are already clear. And so we measure, for example, the level of innovation, the quality of the project that's submitted to us, and the value add it will have on the market. That's key for us to support such an innovation project.
I see. So the company or the researcher apply for the fund to Innosuisse.
The company needs to apply. Exactly. And we only grant funding to the best ones. So this is what enables the highest quality of the innovation projects that are funded by Innosuisse, is that we make sure that everyone fights competitively.
Yeah. So they need to compete.
Exactly. And they only get funding if they're amongst the best. So throughout the entire innovation landscape, it increases the level of the quality of the innovation through this competitive funding.
Is that the reason that Switzerland is strong? Is that one of the aspects to make Switzerland strong?
Yeah, I think there are many aspects that create this success. So as you know, we've been ranked number one in innovation for 15 years in a row now by the Global Innovation Index. And that's because, of course, the quality of the research that comes out of the country is top class, through the two technical universities that many know, EPFL and ETH, but also through all of its wider research network, which comprises many very successful research organizations. They attract top talent, and so they're one portion of this success.
But also the economic base is extremely strong. We have very high-tech companies, not only large companies, but also smaller companies. So, SMEs that we often call hidden champions because...
Hidden.
They are hidden in the sense that they're not very well known globally, but they play an essential part in global value chains. And Switzerland has no choice. It's a small country and it needs to be competitive. So it has companies that are always seeking to remain top innovative.
And I think that the innovation also comes from putting all of these actors together and doing actual transfer from the research organizations to the companies. And an organization like Innosuisse will actually bring these links. So these innovation projects are by default a collaboration between a company and a research organization. If they want to have our funding, they need to work together and apply, as I mentioned earlier, on a competitive basis. So we only support the best. So all of these different support instruments increase the overall level of innovation in the country through these mechanisms.
Is that the reason to attract highly talented people living in Switzerland, coming to Switzerland?
The reputation of the research organizations definitely has something to do with the fact that people will want to study here, but not only. I think that there are a lot of collaborations. So we're very open to collaborations. That's maybe something that's important as well, that explains the success of the innovation landscape in Switzerland, is we're open to collaborations nationally, but also internationally, and we always like to collaborate with the best.
And through these collaborations then come natural exchanges. So our professor base or researchers or students will also be open to studying abroad. And all of these regular exchanges, I think, also increase the likelihood that people will want to establish here.
I also have an international background. I'm a proud Swiss since many years, 15 years or more, maybe 20 years. But I'm originally Canadian. And recently I was also looking at the base of Switzerland. How different is that to the rest of the population? And actually, approximately 40% of the base of the Swiss population has a migration background. So either they're first-generation, second-generation immigrants, or they have dual citizenship. And I think that this is something that also brings a certain international openness to the country.
So the diversity is very high, and I'm convinced that diversity helps innovation. That's something that we've seen not only gender-wise, for example, but the different backgrounds make people think a little bit more outside the box. There's more than 50% of our startup founders, for example, that come from abroad, and they help to really make our economy progress. So from our perspective, it's very important. Attracting talent is definitely benefiting the country.
Absolutely.
Okay.
Yeah.
And this place is for mechanics.
Yeah. Here we are really just at the mechanic department. Here we have different professions. We have a profession which goes two years up to four. And they start basically... Yeah, we can move in.
Fore.
Speech.
Fore.
Speech.
So, can I ask when and how and why this VET/PET system started in Switzerland?
Well, actually, it goes back to the Middle Ages. So it's the oldest part of our education system, but back then it was a system run by the guilds. So it was not a governmentally run system. In 1930 we had the first law for vocational education. So this old system was integrated into the formal education system, still with a lot of say by the economy and the firms.
Do you think the strength of Switzerland is coming from this system?
Yes, in part I think the strength of the whole Swiss economy is coming from this system, because the majority of people go through apprenticeships in Switzerland. So it's kind of the foundation of our whole labor market. It's where our economy gets its skilled workers, and it's also the economy itself who is in charge, by offering apprenticeship places, to make sure that the system runs and is successful.
But from a student's perspective, is it a big kind of pressure to think about their occupation at the age of 15?
Yes and no. Of course, if you have 250 occupations, and for instance in our canton, again this differs by canton, but in our canton you also have to decide about those 250 occupations or Gymnasium or a different kind of school. So it's both an education choice, it's an occupation choice. And you have to do it at age 15, but that means you have to think about it...
Yeah, before.
Before. So this is very intensive, but you do a lot of occupational orientation classes in school in order to prepare this.
And then it's a lot of questions. What do you think is the key for Switzerland to be as strong, as competitive to other countries, like now?
Well, I think we need to keep this apprenticeship system because it trains. It's a foundation for our labor market. Then people can go on and become masters in that trade. They can get bachelor's at the universities of applied sciences. With some extra courses, they can even go to the university. And it's very important for our whole innovation system also.
If an engineer talks to the people that are executing his plans or assembling the machine that he constructed, it makes a difference if he knows the trade himself. If he can speak to the people because he's done the same thing, or whether he has done that theoretically and the practitioner thinks, oh yes, these plans, you can't work with them because they don't add up. So also in innovation, it's very important to have these connections between the practitioners, the people that have a very practical theoretical education in university of applied sciences, and those from university. And this mix is very, very important.
Very...
Nice to meet you. Thanks for having us.
Sure. Welcome.
Start.
Labor shortage.
So this is done in collaboration with...
People who's working in the company, they're all from Switzerland or...?
No, we're quite international. We speak English in the company also.
Okay. Not in German.
No. I personally speak German, but we are, I would say, more than half the team is international.
I see. So they are, we can call immigrants from the...?
Yeah. Many of them are immigrants, right? Some, of course, have been living here for many years and don't have a Swiss passport yet, but yes, many of them are immigrants.
So Switzerland are welcoming highly educated, highly talented...
Yes. I think there's nothing new. That has been happening for decades, right? Of course, it's always a political discussion, but we have a long history of immigration in Switzerland, and bring people either for construction, like in the old days, to Switzerland, or then also today it's a lot of highly qualified people working in tech companies, but also in hospitals. So there's lots of people coming from abroad because there's a big demand here.
Okay, and why is Switzerland so strong in industry? Swiss franc is very strong as well, and why is Switzerland so strong? Many aspects.
Yeah, I think in one regard, that's maybe also just personally, but I think the universities and education system is really strong and really good. To study here, the student fees are negligible, very small. Then of course living expenses are not so small, but the fees to study is really low. And in that regard, everybody's allowed to start studying at ETH who has Matura. Everybody. There's no entrance exams or something. So I think that's really great and brings also just a really good educational system.
But then I think there's also some entrepreneurial spirit. I think that there has always been inventions in Switzerland. There's a tradition of inventions, and I think we're also, I'm not sure that's true, but record holder in the amount of patents here. So there's a lot of invention and entrepreneurial spirit as well.
But then I would also say immigration to some extent, right? We always had also great talents coming to Switzerland that also pushed things, developed new things, and also brought a lot of value to the country.
I still wonder why we grow apart.
Yes. So, can I ask how many apprentices are working at this factory?
Currently, we have 14 apprentices on the site in training.
14.
14. Yeah. This is obviously a very anient process we have implemented on the site since 2003 with the first apprenticeships. So they were more employed in the quality control. So they were technicians for quality control in 2003.
Then we wanted to extend the number of apprentices on the site, but as well where they can work with us and learn their new work. So we started as well again in 2019 by extending the numbers of apprentices, but as well to ask for apprentices in manufacturing, in supply...
Chain or in digital and technology as well.
How long do they do apprenticeship here?
So the apprenticeship training lasts two years.
Two years. Okay. So how's the age range, like 15, 16?
Yeah. About 15 to 19.
15 to 19. So they go to school for one or two days and then working here.
Yeah. It's an alternance between the theory at school, where they are learning the theory, how the equipment is working, and then after they are applying that directly when they are coming on site the week after or some days after within the teams. So they are really part of the teams here, and they are onboarded and they are trained on the job by the teams, the experienced people in the teams.
Was it difficult to choose your path because you were too young, 15? How can you—
Yeah. I started when I was 17 years old. So one year passed.
Okay.
But before, I didn't know what I was going to do. When we are too young, you don't know exactly what you want to do. For example, at first I would like to do a trainer at a fitness center. So I do many stages. I would like to do the trainer of fitness. I didn't like it at the final. I was like, I don't know if I would do that as a job.
So I changed the path that I would go, and I was lucky to find this apprenticeship as a technologist. Most of my friends are at the gymnasium because they don't know what to do in the future. So they decided to pursue their studies. But I have a few friends that do an apprenticeship, like electrician and veterinarian. Mostly my friends study because they don't know what to do.
For example, I took one year of school to only think what I would do for a job because I could go to the gymnasium, but I chose, like I said before, to discover the professional world. And this is very flexible.
That's why.
And can you tell us the difference between New York and Geneva? The UN has headquarters in New York, but what's the different function?
Okay, I think here we are working really on different topics, much more than in New York, because you have a variety of international organizations. You don't have only the UN. And in terms, for instance, of staff working here in Geneva, the biggest number of staff are working for CERN, so particle physics. So that gives you an idea of the different topics that are being discussed here. So it's much broader.
We like to say that we have, for instance, more international conferences than in New York. So we are attracting a lot of people, specialists, diplomats, and also ministers, prime ministers, heads of state. So I think that's one of the elements which is different from New York, in the sense that we are really a global hub for governance on many different topics.
The benefit for Switzerland, I think, is on the one hand to show to the world what we can do in terms of AI, what is our expertise, in terms also of leading university research that we can offer. Also for us, a good way on a more national basis to have all actors reflecting together on that subject and on the possible developments. And for us, we would like really to anchor something in Geneva after the summit. We think it's—
After the summit?
After the summit. We think that it would be important to, Geneva being a hub in multilateral governance, I think it will be interesting to see that the discussion remains in Geneva also on the longer term.
For us, it is important to have as much regulation as necessary, but as little as possible. Meaning we want the companies to be able to develop and innovate and move forward, but we also want to have trustworthy AI because we think it all starts with trust. And that's the part of the regulation, and the state has to regulate.
And the Swiss way is really to look into all the different fields and the different laws and see what we have to change in order to be able to offer a trustworthy use of AI. And it's about transparency, data protection, and many different other aspects. So we are looking into it from that point of view.
Thank you.
Compass. It's called Snow Compass, and it's a web-based tool with a database underlying it. And we did that with the scientists and with marketing organizations. And it's a project that is funded by the government. And within this tool you can find out what will be the conditions for the natural snow coverage, but also for snowmaking. And it's open data, so everybody can use it.
And we're here in Gstaad, and you can click in and then check out what will be the conditions for the Gstaad region considering natural snow or snowmaking. And this is just the answer of our association towards climate change, to science into the marketing, right? We wanted to give them some kind of orientation because nobody can deny that climate change is happening.
So how does that climate change impact the winter resort area? It does have an impact. You cannot make one general message on the whole Switzerland. It differs from every region. The winter season gets shorter. You have to invest more in snowmaking or in other installations, or you have to shift towards other seasons, like to the summer, etc. Every destination chooses their own strategy, and Snow Compass is helping to give them orientation. How fast do I have to shift towards summer, or how successful will I be in winter to use Compass, the system?
Do you anticipate just this year's snow, or five years, ten years, longer?
Yeah, we have a perspective of the next 25 years. It's all based on scientific data. It's not inventing anything, but it's an extrapolation of what the database says today. But it's an orientation towards the next 25 years, not further than that, because further than that nobody knows.
Can I ask why you needed to start this?
Because we were facing climate change for some decades now, and we try to give some scientific databases so we have a reliable foundation to talk about the future. We wanted data-based information, not just a prediction, but with the data that is scientifically proved, and everybody can look at the same things. And so we don't have discussion about scientific data, but we have some orientation what the future will bring.
I don't.
What should I say this?
Amazon gift.
Oh yeah.
Oh, down.
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