Swiss universities’ fears over Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+

University leaders have written to the Swiss Federal Government after it emerged the country may not be able to participate in Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+. They have expressed concern about the European Commission’s decision to suspend Switzerland from the research and student exchange programmes after a national vote to reintroduce immigration quotas.

In the open letter, their anxiety was also reflected by federal councillors Didier Burkhalter, Simonetta Sommaruga and Johann Schneider-Amman. The letter called on the government to do everything in its power to find a solution allowing Switzerland to participate in the EU programmes.

Speaking to the media, the presidents of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and ETH Zurich, the Conference of Rectors of Swiss Universities (CRUS) and the Board of the Swiss National Science Foundation referred to the progression of Swiss research in the past decade. International rankings and an attractive research environment to entice top researchers are witness to this, as is the prestigious ‘FET flagship’ grant obtained for the Human Brain Project.

EPFL president Patrick Aebischer said: “Being excluded from these programmes means… our scientists could no longer compete for ERC grants. Yet at present this source of funding makes up a third of competitive grant money in our school.”

The university leaders are also concerned that the suspension of their participation in these programmes will lead to them being unable to attract top scientific talent to their institutions. Aebischer added: “Scientists with ERC grants, or those who are competing for them, will no longer be interested in joining our faculty.”

Aebischer is also worried about timeframes. Grant proposal submission deadlines fall between 25 March and 31 October. He has asked his faculty members to continue submitting grant proposals within the required deadlines and said he hoped that a solution for unblocking funding would be reached soon.