For fear of a knowledge drain Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology reject dozens of foreign students
The Department of Defense is investing more than ever in Swiss universities - and is planning a massive increase by 2030. At the same time, universities are tightening their security checks for foreign students.
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- The Federal Department of Defense (DDPS) has increased its investment in research projects at ETHs and universities of applied sciences from CHF 4.9 million to over CHF 9.85 million since 2016 and wants to further increase this proportion by 2030.
- The aim is to invest up to two percent of the army's budget in research and development.
- ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne are carrying out stricter security checks on foreign applications in order to prevent a drain of knowledge with military potential.
- Numerous applications from sanctioned countries were rejected.
According to "NZZ am Sonntag", the Department of Defense (DDPS) is increasingly participating in research projects at universities - at the two Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne as well as at universities of applied sciences. According to the newspaper, this is confirmed by previously unpublished figures from the Federal Office of Armaments (Armasuisse).
In 2016, Armasuisse invested a mere 4.9 million Swiss francs in such research; this year, according to "NZZ am Sonntag", the figure is already over 9.85 million Swiss francs. This is a record figure to date and represents a doubling of expenditure in just a few years.
However, the potential is far from exhausted. According to the newspaper, by 2030, two percent of the army budget should flow into Swiss research and development - today this proportion is less than one percent. The Federal Council set this target in the armaments policy strategy that it adopted in June.
New security checks for students
According to the "NZZ am Sonntag", ETH Zurich has also rejected 80 applications from abroad since the introduction of systematic security checks. The checks concern Master's students, doctoral students and employees from countries sanctioned by Switzerland, the EU or the USA.
A total of around 1250 dossiers were checked. 38 applications from China, 13 from Iran, 11 from Russia, 5 from Pakistan and 13 from other countries were rejected. The aim is to prevent knowledge with potential military use from falling into the wrong hands, Silvia Nast, head of the export control office, told the newspaper.
ETH Lausanne has also introduced new security checks and rejected 48 applications this year for reasons of "knowledge security". Swissuniversities now wants to develop national criteria for such procedures, the "NZZ am Sonntag" continued.
