In 2012, the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "FINRISK - Financial Valuation and Risk Management" will come to an end after running for more than 11 years. Research initiated by the NCCR will continue to a large degree under the auspices of the Swiss Finance Institute (SFI), a FINRISK product.
The National Centre of Competence in Research "Mobile Information and Communication Systems" (NCCR "MICS") has had a lasting effect on the Swiss information and communication sciences landscape. Based at EPF Lausanne, this NCCR will come to an end this autumn after twelve years of research.
The new edition of the 6-page "SNSFinfo print" with the latest institutional information of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has been published. The main topic of the October edition is "Mobility fellowships and grants for doctoral students: Innovations in 2013".
On 29 August 2012, a panel discussion will be held in German on the topic "Grosse wissenschaftliche Projekte: Wie weiter?" at the ETH in Zurich. The event is being organised by the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "Structural Biology", which is approaching its conclusion. Representatives from science, industry, Zurich University and the federal government will join Dieter Imboden from the SNSF for the panel.
The National Centre of Competence in Research "Intelligent Robots for Improving the Quality of Life" (NCCR "Robotics") has produced six videos giving an insight into its work. The videos also document the NCCR's participation in the Robotics Festival at the EPF Lausanne, which attracted 15,000 visitors this year, among them many children.
The first series of National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs) will soon reach the end of their twelve-year funding period. For this reason, the NCCRs are presenting overviews of their scientific achievements. However, their importance for the Swiss research landscape goes far beyond their results.
The new edition of the 6-page "SNSFinfo print" with the latest institutional information of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has been published. The June edition is devoted to the topic "Project funding: success rate is stable at around 40%".
In 2011, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) invested CHF 713 million in basic science, 1.8% less than in the record year 2010 (CHF 726 million). As in previous years, the SNSF was forced to reject many promis-ing projects.
Alongside measures to counteract the strength of the Swiss franc, the Swiss parliament earmarked CHF 10 million for innovation projects in the current National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs) in autumn 2011. The National Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation has now approved 34 projects out of 52 submitted proposals.
The National Centre of Competence "IM2" and the Idiap research institute recently launched the International Create Challenge. The aim of this competition is to promote the creation of start-ups in the area of information technology. Registration is possible till 30 May.
The new edition of the 6-page "SNSFinfo print" with the latest institutional information of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has been published. The March edition is devoted to the topic “Encouraging the mobility and early initiative of young researchers”.
The University of Geneva has founded a new inter-faculty institute called "iGE3 - Institute of Genetics and Genomics in Geneva". It offers a single organisational structure to 50 research groups and is expected to build bridges between basic and clinical research. The new institute emrges from the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "Genetics – Frontiers in Genetics – Genes, Chromosomes and Development", which will come to an end next year.
The SNSF received 63 pre-proposals in response to a call for proposals for the fourth series of National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs). The evaluation of the pre-proposals will be completed by the end of October 2012.
Researchers of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "SYNAPSY - The Synaptic Bases of Mental Diseases" are presenting their research work to families and young adults at the exhibition "Les doigts dans le cerveau" in Lausanne.
In mid-December, the publishing house Palgrave Macmillan will publish the first book of a new series entitled "Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century". The series was initiated by the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "Democracy".
While water alone has not yet been the cause of a major war, water issues can lead to diplomatic tensions. The upcoming North-South Forum, organised by National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "North-South – Research Partnerships for Mitigating Syndromes of Global Change" (Monday 28 November 2011 in Berne), brings together representatives from international NGOs, the natural and the social sciences, and the diplomatic sector to discuss the links between water and diplomacy, and explore the opportunities these links provide.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has issued a call for proposals for innovation projects within the scope of ongoing National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs). The call is part of the Swiss Confederation's package of measures for 2011. A total amount of 10 million Swiss francs has been made available for the projects. The deadline for the submission of project proposals is 15 February 2012.
The November study week of "Schweizer Jugend forscht" (Swiss Youth in Science) is dedicated to the humanities and social sciences: its topic is "(Un-) Freiheit" (Freedom/lack of freedom) and it takes place from 13 to 19 November. Young researchers of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "Democracy – Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century" are involved in the study week.
Researchers are sending out invitations for an exciting journey on 18 November: from the infinitely large to the infinitely small. Researchers from the National Centre of Competence (NCCR) "Nanosciences - Impact for life sciences, perennity, new information and communication technologies" will be on board.
What significance do images, visualisations and modes of illustration have for the understanding and construction of the world? What role do they play in determining concepts and representations? These are some of the questions raised at the annual conference of the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) "Iconic Criticism" in Basel (17 – 19 November 2011).
The new edition of the 6-page "SNSFinfo print" with the latest institutional information of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has been published. The October edition is devoted to the topic "Enlargement contribution: co-operation with researchers from Bulgaria and Romania".
The revolutions in the Arab world have surprised more than a few. However, the consequences and perspectives of these movements remain unclear. A conference on this topic will be held at the ETH Zurich in late October.
The National Centre of Competence (NCCR) "CO-ME - Computer Aided and Image Guided Medical Interventions" has founded the Swiss Institute for Computer Assisted Surgery (Sicas) in order to be able to maintain and develop its network even after the conclusion of the NCCR in 2013.
How did Santiago de Compostela become the most important Christian pilgrimage site? Historian Manuel Cecilia explains how some wondrous propaganda played an important part. In the context of the National Centre of Competence in Research "Mediality - Historical perspectives", he studies the use of images and text in the "Historia Compostellana".
As of 19 August, the Brain Bus, a mobile exhibition on brain research, will be heading towards Romandy on the next leg of its 2011 tour of Switzerland. This year, it focuses on the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "Synapsy - Synaptic Bases of Mental Diseases".
The Montreux Jazz Festival provides an ideal platform for the National Research Programme "Affective Sciences" (NRP "Affective Sciences") to present and explain its activities and the topics of its research. This year the NRP organised two workshops aiming for a dialogue between the affective sciences, music and sculpture.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is launching a fourth call for National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR). The available budget is sufficient for five or six new NCCRs.
A flying scooter, strawberry sweets and a humanoid robot... those were the objects at the centre of workshops run by NCCRs "IM2", "MaNEP" and "Affective Sciences" at the "Hérisson sous gazon" festival.
No other National Centre of Competence in Research can boast global connections as wide-ranging as NCCR North-South. In nine centres on four continents, researchers are analysing the problems of global change. The emerging results are characterised by great cultural and topical diversity, which presents a special challenge when it comes to bringing results to the attention of decision makers and experts.
In July the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) will launch the fourth call for National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR).
The new edition of the 6-page "SNSFinfo print" with the latest institutional information of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has been published. The June edition is devoted to the categorisation of scientific research, especially to “use-inspired basic research”.
In 2010, researchers submitted substantially more projects to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) than in previous years. A steep increase of 17% compared to 2009 means that competition for research funding has become very intense. With overall funding of 726 million Swiss francs, the SNSF supported more projects than ever before (+2.7 % compared to the previous year).
On Saturday, 18 June 2011, the festival for children "Hérisson sous gazon" will take place in Charrat (Valais). The three National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs) "IM2", "Affective Sciences" and "MaNEP" will participate with science workshops for children. Their topics being smells, robots and a levitating scooter.
A scientist and a politician meet on 5 May 2011 in one of a series of debates entitled "Who's got the say? Democracy today", jointly organised by the Schauspielhaus Zürich (the Zurich Theatre) and the German weekly newspaper "Die Zeit". The scientist is Hanspeter Kriesi, Director of the NCCR "Democracy - Challenges to democracy in the 21st Century", and he will be facing Markus Notter, a member of Zurich's governing council.
Researchers of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "IM2 - Interactive multimodal information management" have developed a software that automatically captures and analyses eye movements. This opens up new avenues for market research. The researchers are currently presenting the new software in Hannover at the world's largest trade fair.
Researchers of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "MICS - Mobile Information and Communication Systems" have developed a wireless sensor system to monitor the environment. They are currently presenting this system at the world's largest trade fair in Hannover.
In the context of federal measures to stabilise the economy, researchers of the EPFL have developed a robot which helps surgeons to perform operations on ears, noses and throats not only with more precision, but also much quicker. They are presenting a prototype of the robot at the world’s largest trade fair, which is currently taking place in Hannover.
Researchers of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "MaNEP - Materials with Novel Electronic Properties" have developed a high pressure system which allows the production of kilometre-long superconductive high performance wires. They are presenting the new system at the world’s largest trade fair, which is currently taking place in Hannover.
Researchers of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "MaNEP - Materials with Novel Electronic Properties" have further developed the method of spark erosion to coat conducting materials and to improve their properties. They are presenting the method at the world’s largest trade fair taking place at the moment in Hannover.
Researchers of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "MICS – Mobile Information and Communication Systems" have developed a sensor system to help determine free inner city parking spaces and to improve traffic flows. They are presenting the system at the world’s largest trade fair taking place at the moment in Hannover.