16 new projects to encourage dialogue between research and society

Philosophical musings to the tune of music, an interactive approach to artificial intelligence, an exhibition on food value chains and much more: the SNSF is financing 16 projects of the 9th Agora call.

Of the 39 submitted projects, the SNSF selected 16 for funding; this corresponds to a success rate of 41%. The overall funding amounts to 3.1 million francs. Of the approved projects, 31% are in the humanities and social sciences, 25% in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering, and 44% in biology and medicine.

One of the funded projects is by Philipp Blum of the University of Lucerne. He invites participants to philosophise to the tune of Swiss music in a series of social, political and ethical debates. In another project, Michael Liebling of the research institute IDIAP will collaborate with researchers and science explainers to create interactive modules that illustrate key aspects of artificial intelligence. Johann Six of ETH Zurich will develop an interactive exhibition on food value chains in collaboration with secondary school students and researchers.

Agora map

The majority of the funded projects propose an event somewhere in Switzerland. A map on the SNSF website increases their visibility and offers an overview of past, present and future events. It is also an inspiration and first point of contact for researchers who are thinking about initiating an Agora project.

1 September 2020

The next deadline for the submission of Agora project proposals with a budget of up to 200,000 francs is on 1 September 2020. Projects with a budget of up to 50,000 francs can be submitted at any time.