India and Switzerland have jointly initiated the Indo-Swiss Innovation Platform, aiming to strengthen their bilateral innovation collaboration. This platform intends to bring a more strategic dimension to the innovation relationship between Switzerland and India. They are seeking to deepen their collaboration on innovation and make it more structured.
The launch of this platform is marked by a pilot project focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Swiss Ambassador to India, Ralf Heckner, highlighted the growing convergence of innovation between the two countries, emphasizing Switzerland’s reputation as one of the world’s most innovative nations and India’s increasing innovation efforts. The Indo-Swiss Innovation Platform is expected to provide a strategic framework for advancing Switzerland’s innovation relationship with India and vice versa.
The platform’s launch includes an Indo-Swiss Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Innovation Dialogue, held in Bengaluru. Swissnex in India, in collaboration with the Universities of Geneva and Zurich, the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER Pune), organized this dialogue.
Swissnex in India, Consulate General of Switzerland, serves as the Swiss science and technology consulate in Bengaluru. Swissnex operates as a global network connecting education, research, and innovation.
The AMR Dialogue also marks the inauguration of the innovation platform. Through this platform, Swissnex in India, the Embassy of Switzerland in India, and the Swiss Business Hub aim to facilitate more partnerships and collaborations between the two nations.
The innovation platform will focus on specific areas where opportunities for deeper collaboration are evident and significant for both countries. Its primary goal is to address matters beyond initial discussions in a systematic manner, leading to tangible outcomes in the areas of health, sustainability, and digital transformation.
The Indo-Swiss Joint Research Programme, a bilateral funding instrument, will later invite proposals to directly support potential research collaborations discussed during the Dialogue.
Swiss Ambassador Ralf Heckner expressed the intention to combine a bottom-up approach with a top-down approach, bridging existing partnerships. He stated, “ We would like to keep the bottom-up approach but marry it with the top-down approach. We will build on existing partnerships. This platform idea, bringing in the best Indian and Swiss universities and research institutions together with the best and most innovative Swiss and Indian companies, and then aligning our governmental policies with it, this is a new kind of platform approach and doing innovation together.”
The initial pilot project on antimicrobial resistance will serve as a test case for the effectiveness of the platform idea. Depending on its success, the platform’s thematic reach will be expanded to cover areas such as health, sustainability, and digitization.
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There are approximately 320 Swiss businesses operating in India, with 30 of them housing research and development departments. Ambassador Heckner anticipates that if the innovation platform proves successful, it could be replicated in other countries where Switzerland seeks to establish more strategic innovation relationships
