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Financing of the university system Switzerland
Several mechanisms play a role in the management and funding of the Swiss
university
system. The great diversity is partly the result of a historically conditioned
shared responsibility
between the Confederation and the cantons and partly a desired combination of
flight instruments that contribute to stability and sustainability of the Swiss
university system.
Financing of the Swiss university system:
• The federal government contributes financially to the running costs of the
cantonal universities
and the universities of applied sciences. The magnitude of this contribution is
largely dependent
the number of students enrolled. In addition, the Confederation contributes to
investment
financially and take part in projects of national interest. The legal basis is
the
The Federal Law on helping universities and cooperation in higher education and
federal universities
Act applied sciences, respectively.
• The financing of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH) for which
the Confederation
responsibility, is managed by a global budget. Its size and its goals are
certainly within
under a mandate of the performance between the federal government and ETHboard.
ETH-The government distributes funds autonomy on the basis of specific criteria
for
ETH different departments. Legal basis, the Federal Institutes of Technology
(ETH).
• The Swiss National Fund, the Commission on technology and innovation
the European Union on competitive financial support to research and innovation
projects
at Swiss universities, independent research institutes and individual projects.
The Swiss system of innovation in international comparison
Switzerland is among the major European countries based on the results of the
European Union
Scoreboard 2005 innovation in the field of innovation. In particular with regard
to enterprises
Expenditure on research and development (R & D) and innovation, and the number
patents per million inhabitants, Switzerland is among the first countries in
Europe. Switzerland
should not ignore the basis of innovation, ie education and public funding base
research. In these areas, Switzerland or the average performance below average
in the European Union
comparison.
The table of European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS)
The European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) is an instrument calibration adopted by
the European Council
Commission in 2000 under the Lisbon Strategy for growth and employment. The EIS
is
an objective comparative analysis of the performance of systems of innovation in
the EU Member States
countries, as well as in some other countries (Switzerland, Japan, USA, Romania,
Bulgaria, Turkey,
Iceland and Norway). Figure 1 gives an overview of the performance of
Switzerland and 15 key indicators.
Switzerland in comparison with the EU-25 according to the 15 main indicators of
innovation 2005
Based on results of the innovation system switzerland
In the field of innovation Switzerland is among the major Western countries
(along with Finland,
Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the USA and Japan). In 7 of 15 indicators analysed
Switzerland classified
above the average EU-25 and received posts in the following categories:
"innovative and
entrepreneurship "(1st place)," Implementation of innovation "(5th place) and"
intellectual property "(1st
instead).
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Rachel Grange, SER, Hallwylstrasse 4, 3003 Berne, Tel. +41 31 323 09 64,
rachel.grange @ sbf.admin.ch, www.sbf.admin.ch
Limited staff and financial resources for R & D
Highly qualified personnel and a solid basic research are the constituent
elements of a high-performance
innovation system. Regarding the academic staff, ie the number of people with an
advanced degree
in the scientific, technical or natural sciences, Switzerland is quite short.
Thanks to the high
achievements in the field of education, Switzerland always placed 7th in the
category
engines of innovation. Private companies to invest 2.2% of GDP in research and
development
Switzerland 4, which is placed behind Sweden (2.93%), Japan (2.65%) and Finland
(2.45%). The
public investment of only 0.67% of GDP, but leaves Switzerland box instead of 14
Category production of knowledge.
This weakness at the base of the Swiss system of innovation, which in turn
affects education and
funding research and development May also have implications for other innovative
sectors, such
by a shortage of skilled workers.
Performance and trends in international comparison
To compare with the development of national innovation systems over time, EIA
country
are divided into four groups according to two measures (see Figure 2): The
vertical coordinate
Traces of the index for the synthesis of innovation (ISI), which is based on
indicators described above.
The horizontal coordination represents the average growth of IBS in the past
three years. The
dots indicate the EU25 average. Countries above the horizontal line dotted
currently
stand out as performing above average. Country on the right side of the vertical
line dotted a show
SII that the average growth is higher than the average EU-25. Switzerland is
among the group of more
Innovative countries in Europe. Sweden is also among the best performing
countries, but shows a
Slower growth in regard to the ISI as Switzerland.
Index synthesis of innovation and growth averaged 2005
Rank International Universities
Rankings systems based on various quantitative and qualitative methods have
emerged in response to
increasing international competition between universities. Although this ranking
lists are often
criticism of the arbitrary nature of their choice of indicators, they are
regularly in the media
and education and research.
The Rectors' Conference of Swiss Universities (CRUS) and the State Secretariat
for Education and Research
(SER) have a Web site with the most important ranking lists: Grading the forum
Swiss universities
(http://www.universityrankings.ch/). This is the print version of online
information.
This begins with a detailed overview of how the Swiss universities rate in the
various lists of rankings
(Table 1) for the most recent years available. The annex contains a description
of these ranking lists, selection
criteria and indicators used in combination with more ranking.
The cost of education in Switzerland
The whole Swiss education system costs about CHF 25 billion public spending
2003. Switzerland spent $ 12000 per pupil (primary school to higher education),
which is
the highest of all OECD countries. In 2003 6% of GDP was invested switzerland
in education. In this context, Switzerland 4 behind other OECD countries.
The contrast between the high expenditure per pupil (1st place) and expenditure
as% of GDP (5th
Instead, around the OECD average) said that Switzerland was an expensive
education
fewer students than is the case in other OECD countries.
Reasons for the relatively high cost:
• The level of wages in Switzerland is very high in comparison with other OECD
countries. 85%
the cost of education in primary and secondary schools and 77% at university
level
wages. This partly explains the high cost of education.
• The Swiss system of education supports an infrastructure of high quality in
comparison with
other countries.
• Four linguistic regions and a decentralized system (especially primary
education)
May lead to higher costs, eg a small number of students per class.
• University studies take longer on average in Switzerland (about six years)
than in other countries.
Only Germany, Austria and Greece have students more time to their diploma.
Who pays for what?
• The municipalities are responsible for preschool education, the cantons are
responsible
primary and secondary education. The Confederation and the cantons as well as
costs of higher education.
Registration development of the exact numbers and Science
Sciences at Swiss universities
The development of students in disciplines of science and science
shows that the following trends: Reduction of science students in the total of
all students,
the concentration of students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH)
and dispersal
throughout the cantonal universities.
Between 1980 and 2005, the number of students in disciplines of science and
science
rose from 7'400 to 12'880 (in the majors license, Diplom, Bachelor and Master's
programmes, see.
Fig. 1). The number of students in those disciplines compared with the total
number of students has been
14% in 1980 and 2005. A look at the figures for this period is, however, shows
up
and downs and after a peak in 1985 a tendency to descend to the level of 1980.
Other
industrialized countries, even in the face of this trend of declining
enrolments. The relative increase
2004 can not be regarded as sustainable return of this trend.
Focusing on the Federal Institutes of Technology
Since 1980 students in sciences and natural sciences have focused on the Federal
Institutes
Technology in Zurich and Lausanne (Fig. 2). The number of students in technical
disciplines,
increased by 220% from 1650 to 5300 students in both EPF between 1980 and 2004.
The
corresponding increase in the cantonal universities by 33% for the same period.
The same
development can be observed under the doctoral students, although the difference
between the EFC
(150) and universities (+93%) is considerably smaller
Distribution of sub-Universities
Under condition on the first two developments (such as the relative decline of
the total and figures
-- The concentration in the ETH) is a breakdown of students in various
departments within the cantons
Universities (Fig. 3) 1. The field of geography (with the exception of human
geography) is an exception
that the majority of students are concentrated in the universities of Zurich and
Bern. In other
science and natural science, the average number of students in universities is
cantonal
low or very low in comparison with the ETH. For example, 70% of all students in
computer
ETH. In physics, both EPF have 66% of students, while the remaining 34% were
distributed
seven universities and since 2003 - after the transfer of physics at the
University of Lausanne
EPF Lausanne - in six universities.
Fig. 3: Distribution of students in the field of sciences and universities in
2005
In addition to the seven categories of disciplines in science and science in
Figure 3, the Federal Statistical Office
Bureau is working with an additional category: "detailed and overlapping fields
of science or others." This category includes a
significant number of students in different disciplines at various universities.
For example, in the ETH Zurich, 654 students
disciplines of environmental sciences and the physical environment has decreased
in this category in the winter semester 2004/05,
EPF Lausanne 215 students in life sciences and life sciences and technology at
the University of Lausanne 176
Forensic students.