Eight people are sitting at two long tables on the stage, some of them looking at the camera and talking.

VPET system Vocational education and training Professional education Continuing education VPET policy VPET 2030 Basic skills VPET research Swiss education landscape ERI policy Equal opportunities Lifelong learning Reports and evaluations Events

Basic skills of adults in Switzerland rated above average

Adults in Switzerland have above-average literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills compared to other countries. This was one of the findings from the OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), which were presented on 10 December 2024. Sabine Scheiben, head of the SERI's Continuing Education Unit, explains the federal government's efforts to encourage the adult acquisition of basic skills.

21/01/2025 Annina Eymann

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Opinions Higher education Higher education policy Funding bodies

National Competence Centre for Scientific Integrity strengthens Switzerland’s reputation in higher education

The state, which guarantees academic freedom and ensures its funding, must be able to rely on academic integrity being upheld at Switzerland’s universities. These institutions can be relied on to fulfil their responsibility. Nevertheless, the planned National Competence Centre for Scientific Integrity offers added value for Switzerland as a location for higher education and research.

17/12/2024 Silvia Studinger

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Research facilities Research and innovation policy Higher education Scholarships International cooperation

Insight into research and innovation in Kenia and Tanzania

In November 2024, State Secretary Martina Hirayama led a scientific delegation to Kenya and Tanzania. The trip provided an opportunity to reinforce research and innovation cooperation with these two countries.

06/12/2024 Dércio Afonso da Silva, …

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Photographic portrait of psycholinguist Pascal Gygax in a lecture hall.

Marcel Benoist Swiss Science Prize Higher education Science and society

Pascal Gygax, the psycholinguist aiming to demasculinise society through language

For the past twenty years, the psycholinguist Pascal Gygax has studied the links between language and gender representations. He has shown how the predominance of the grammatical masculine form in languages influences, consciously or not, our way of seeing the world. In November 2024, he was awarded the Marcel Benoist Swiss Science Prize for his research.

19/11/2024 Aurélia Robert-Tissot, …

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