Start of 2025–2028 ERI funding period

It is clear that current plans to save around CHF 500 million per year in the ERI sector will pose challenges for stakeholders involved in vocational education and training, professional and higher education, research and innovation funding, and other areas. However, the Federal Council's austerity package, based on the report from the ‘Gaillard Expert Group’, also calls for cutbacks in earmarked spending. Most funding for the ERI sector is not earmarked, which diverts some of the cost-cutting pressure away from the ERI sector. The cutbacks would have been higher had they been implemented indiscriminately across all non-earmarked budget lines. This was the case with the 2025 budget, for example, when cutbacks in the ERI sector accounted for roughly 25% of the total savings push.

The Swiss education, higher education and research area is in a strong position today. This is also thanks to the significant financial resources that have been injected into it over the past few decades and used by stakeholders to great effect. Building on this solid foundation, we need to remain innovative and positively shape the future of ERI by setting appropriate funding priorities, even when conditions are less favourable.

While it is very difficult to predict the future, both in this specific context and in general, international competition will undoubtedly continue to intensify, particularly with regard to skilled workers, fundamental research and innovation. Creativity is therefore crucial, whether it be in the context of vocational education and training, professional development and higher education or in particularly innovation-relevant topics such as sustainable development, quantum science and technology, artificial intelligence, or the space sector.

In all of this, we shouldn't lose sight of the fundamental importance of education, research and innovation. By their very nature, they form the basis for a humane, peaceful and prosperous future. Given the current climate of geopolitical tensions, uncertainties and fake news, Switzerland's ERI stakeholders are more important now than ever.