International Art Residencies: A Panel Discussion
A summary by Donna Dodson:
On May 2, 2012, swissnex Boston/the Consulate of Switzerland hosted a panel discussion on International Art Residencies to discuss the opportunities that are available around the globe. The panel featured Kiki Thompson, Co-Founder of the Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park Residency, as well as Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein, Boston sculptors and Verbier Residency veterans. The panel was moderated by Caitlin Strokosch, Executive Director at Alliance of Artists Communities and included Mary Sherman, Director of TransCultural Exchange, Franklin Einspruch, painter, writer and arts critic, Lynne Allen, Director, School of Visual Arts at Boston University and Antoni Muntadas, visiting Professor of the Practice at MIT. These artists gathered in front of a crowd of over 100 people to exchange thoughts about the value of international residencies in the arts and how such experiences can leverage their work at home.
Andreas Rufer opened the program with a brief introduction to Swissnex Boston and its mission to support the arts, education, technology and innovation in Boston. Through the generous support of Swissnex, Kiki Thompson flew in from Switzerland to kick off the discussion with a video presentation of the Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park Residency in Verbier Switzerland. The Verbier 3-D Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, founded by New York-based artist Madeleine Paternot and Verbier-based sculptor Kiki Thompson. Its mission is to promote contemporary art and culture, to focus on nature and community and to provide educational workshops.
In the Verbier 3-D Foundation residency seven international artists were invited to the Swiss Alps for five weeks to create monumental works of art that were site specific to the Sculpture Park. Each artist was asked to teach a class to the students in the community and to lead tours through the studio and discuss their work while in residence to demystify the art making process. The curatorial premise for the 2011 edition of Verbier 3-D was set by Paul Goodwin, in his capacity as an independent curator as a new approach to monumentalism. All sculptures in the Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park are for sale with the 3-D Foundation and the artists splitting the profits.
Andy Moerlein and Donna Dodson participated in the Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park Residency in 2011. Andy Moerlein built a pair of welded steel, Styrofoam and cement sculptures: Uprooted and Upended: A Ghost Print that celebrated the topography of the mountains and the force of natural events. Donna Dodson built a solo piece: Baby Bringer, a 12 ft tall Styrofoam and cement stork headed pregnant female figure celebrating the recent population boom in Verbier and subverting the popular myth that storks bring babies in their beaks. In 2010, the artists built a collaborative piece for the International Sculpture Symposium in Nashua NH. Moose Myth was a 20 ft tall sapling structure of a moose headed male figure of the iconic state animal. When asked about the impact of the artists on their host communities, Andy and Donna recalled an encounter with Sohn the tailor in Nashua. He brought lunch one day for the artists and invited them back to his shop that was filled with angel sculptures that he crafted after hours. ‘I think Michelangelo got breasts all wrong,” he confided one afternoon, proving once again that art is a universal language.
Mary Sherman discussed the way that her experiences in residencies have expanded her art practice. By taking advantage of the opportunity to experiment and collaborate, she has been able to create art works with other interdisciplinary artists and try new materials. One of her primary reasons for going on residencies is to learn about the world, and she makes a point of exploring the communities and countries that she visits to bring this knowledge home with her.
Franklin Einspruch discussed the value of solitude in the residencies that he has participated in at home and abroad. He may not have found comfort in the cultural seclusion at the artist’s village in Taipei Taiwan, or the geographic isolation on Cranberry Island Maine. Yet, the artist did admit that without an audience around, it’s safer to develop new work since no one was there to witness or inform/influence it. Franklin stressed the importance of deciding if the situation of the residency would be right for the artist who was choosing to participate in it.
Lynne Allen has participated in many residencies that offer printmaking facilities since that is her medium of choice. She stressed the need to grow as an artist in order to be able to grow as an educator and give back to her students. By building her art vocabulary in residencies and making new connections, she has had the opportunity to win a Fulbright Grant for international study and travel abroad.
Antoni Muntadas discussed the concentration that is necessary to develop his work. This is primarily what he seeks out and finds in international art residencies. In addition to participating in many notable residencies, he has also presented work in such prestigious international events as the VI and X editions of Documenta Kassel (1977, 1997), the Whitney Biennial of American Art (1991), the 51st Venice Biennial (2005) and those in São Paulo, Lyon, Taipei, Gwangju and Havana.
Caitlin Strokosch, kept the conversation flowing amongst the panelists and fielded many interesting questions from the audience about residencies. One area her organization is trying to improve is opportunities and support for artists with families and children. Almost universally, artists report that the benefit of their residency experiences is the creative community with other artists. As a final note, she closed with the observation that international art residencies provide new avenues for being able to turn dreams into actual works of art.
Luisa Splett performs at the Art Soirée 2012
For the third time in a row, swissnex Boston invited the swissnex community to the Art Soirée 2012 featuring young Swiss pianist Luisa Splett. Besides bridging knowledge in science, technology, entrepreneurship and innovation, swissnex’ mission is to foster ties in the Arts between the two countries. The Art Soirée is the perfect platform to give young Swiss artists the opportunity to perform abroad and to connect with likeminded artists and art schools.
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After a short introduction by Deputy Consul Andreas Rufer, Luisa Splett performed Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata A Op. 110 and Robert Schumann’s Fantasy C-Major and supplemented with a piece by Debussy. The Winterthur born pianist has become a very talented and renowned musician who launched her piano career at the age of five and gave her first solo performance at the age of seven. One of the highlights of her career was a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York last year. Luisa is currently completing her PhD at the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, where her dissertation work is focused on the Swiss pianist Emil Frey and his creative efforts in Russia during the early part of the 20th century.
After the wonderfully performed recital, a lively networking reception brought together the pianist and the audience, during which many business cards were exchanged.
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Thank you Luisa and guests for a pleasant evening!
Connecting ConnectUS to the Innovative city of Boston
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April 4th and 5th, swissnex Boston had the pleasure of introducing ConnectUS to the innovations of Boston. 21 students and faculty from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland joined us in touring MIT, Harvard Graduate School of Design, CIC and many more.
During these two days, we all watched the students’ eyes light up with joy and amazement at the historic city of Boston’s innovations. With the help of people, like Christina Inge(VP of Social Media for the American Marketing Association), Imran Nassrulam (Head Strategic Alliances, T1D First), James Broglio(MIT Alumni Network Director) , Christoph Dumelin(Post Doc) , Aron Blasli (MIT PhD candidate), and Daia Stutz (MA candidate), these two days were a learning experience for all of us.
The Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), showed the students how helpful the community of Cambridge is when it comes to startup companies. Seeing a startup by the name of Ginger.io emphasized to the students just how important hard work, passion and dedication is when it comes to starting your own company. After a snack break or two, we learned about how important it is to use social networking platforms correctly, and what the innovations in the local health care sector have to offer America.
Even though we only had two days to show the students just how important networking and innovating is to the Boston area, connecting them to events like the Venture Café certainly helped to paint the picture.
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swissnex hosts Aid 4 Health Negotiation Workshop
The third annual Aid for Health exercise kicked off with its first of two events on the 30th of March: the Negotiation Workshop! Andreas Rufer and his team at swissnex generously donated their space in Cambridge once again to host the inimitable master negotiator, Dr. Larry Susskind, along with twenty-three students across Boston and Cambridge graduate schools (including the three Harvard graduate student organizers of A4H).
The participants began arriving around noon and munched on the fresh sandwiches, quiche, and chocolates that had been thoughtfully provided by swissnex (thanks!) while the room and format for the workshop was being readied. A few minutes after 1 p.m., the workshop was underway, following thank yous and introductory remarks by Andreas and the A4H organizers.
Dr. Susskind immediately started his workshop by introducing his eager 'earers to the four phases of the Mutual Gains Approach to Negotiation: Preparation, Creating Value, Distributing Value, and the Follow-Through. He emphasized that a focus on one's interests, not positions, was key to the Preparation stage and that knowing one's BATNA ("best alternative to a negotiated agreement") is imperative in understanding the hierarchy of potential outcomes and which of those, despite being the least favorable, would still be acceptable. Regarding Creating Value, he spoke to how creativity drives this phase. It's up to the two parties to invent options and bat around ideas before dialoguing about how to distribute it. Once that has occurred and substantially, it's time to talk about Distributing the Value. This is the stage where the parties choose which option(s) to pursue, and it may behoove them both to weigh the options using objective standards (e.g., ones that are acceptable to both parties as a reasonable way of decision-making). The final phase, the Follow-Through, if done properly (e.g., instituting monitoring arrangements) and according to the standards set by Dr. Susskind, will result in an agreeable relationship between both parties and hopefully continued amity in the future.
His talk lasted approximately one hour, at which point he asked the participants to pair up and tackle a case he had brought to distribute so as to practice his teachings and their own creativity. One half of each pair was given a green form with his/her "hidden" interests, and the other half was given a red form with differing "hidden" interests.
What was noted was the lengthy preparation time that was given to the participants--over half an hour, at least, and it was fascinating to see two groups of people emerge: one group of same-colored paper camped in the conference room of swissnex and discussed their priorities, while the other group settled in the slightly sunken seating space to collaborate with their peers.
After this period of preparation, the pairs were ready to negotiate, and as mobile flies in the room, Andreas and the organizers enjoyed seeing the fervor and animation taking place in the paired negotiations.
Approximately another hour later, the participants and Dr. Susskind gathered together and debriefed the negotiation. Most pairs had easily negotiated certain items (that were non-negotiable, according to the case), and some had come up with outside-the-box ideas, which was a delightful manifestation of Dr. Susskind's grand point on Creating Value.
There was no time to explore a second case, and it was patently obvious by the one-on-one discussions with Susskind that ensued following the close of the workshop that today was a hit. Thanks again to Andreas, Elizabeth, Dr. Susskind of course, and everyone at swissnex for guaranteeing this success!
Blog written by Aparna Chandrasekhar, Harvard Public School of Health
Swisslink Fondue Night
Last Thursday, March 29th, SwissLink Boston has gathered once again the Swiss community at our office for an evening marked by one of the most well-known Swiss food-specialties, the Fondue. In case you are wondering what it is, think cheese, lots and lots of melted cheese. It is very similar to the Chocolate Fondue, just replace the communal pot with a “Caquelon”, the chocolate with cheese the fruits with bread and add white wine or peppermint tea.
Over 50 people have joined us for the Swisslink Fondue Night. Helvetiq, through Hadi Barkat, helped us not to eat too much cheese at once and entertained the pauses with their game on the Swiss general culture, Cantuun. The winner of the game was the Swiss Parliament member Mr. Andrea Caroni.
The closing hour was pushed to later than 11PM, when the last Fondue fans left, showing that it was a very successful event.
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Art meets Science through “Connectomes”
The MIT Alumni Association and swissnex Boston, in collaboration with the MIT Club of Boston and ETH New England Chapter, sponsored an event that took us into the inner workings of the brain as illuminated in the recently published book by MIT Professor Sebastian Seung, Connectome: How the Way We are Wired Makes Us Who We Are. Joining him was Swiss scientist Benjamin Bollmann who has created striking photographic images of the brain’s neural networks.
What emerged from their presentations was not only the stunning complexity of the task of mapping out the connectome but the beauty of the mind’s substrate as captured in Benjamin’s images.
This event marked the first time that the MIT Alumni Association and swissnex Boston pooled their resources, and it proved to be a natural fit for the sister institutions of MIT and ETH. It was held in the Broad Institute auditorium to a completely sold out crowd of over 250 attendees. The program began with a lecture and was followed by food and wine in the lobby. There were many lively conversations going on and when the program ended at 9:00 pm the lobby was still buzzing as many people continued their discussions.
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To learn more about Sebastian and his work we invite you to watch his TED Talk and to visit http://connectomethebook.com/ and to see some of Benjamin’s photos and to listen to the sound of a neuron visit: http://connectomethebook.com/?page_id=58#all
La Francophonie en Nouvelle-Angleterre
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Networking breakfast of the French-speaking scientific community: “Why should I join a startup?” the opinion of an open-source Venture Capitalist
As part of the annual celebrations of the Francophonie in New England, swissnex Boston and the partners of “Le Café des Sciences” were thrilled to engage in a discussion with Fred Destin, venture capitalist at Atlas Venture and active blogger on new trends in entrepreneurship. As the special guest of the networking breakfast for the French-speaking, scientific community of the Boston area, Fred Destin presented his vision of the start-up in today’s economy, which should be understood as a “world of chaotic complexity”. The start-up – in spite of the high probability of failure – is a perfect business model to deal with this chaotic environment, which requires rethinking of the traditional boundaries of a firm. In a behavioral approach, Fred Destin also describes entrepreneurship as a way to get to a level of self-development impossible to reach in a big corporation where motivation is based on incentive and not on inspiration. In other words, start-ups are a firm model, which provide an impact while fulfilling a purpose… or when uncertainty is a factor, fun and self-accomplishment! Check out Fred’s presentation here.
A networking breakfast organized around the topic of entrepreneurship was a unique occasion to ask the Francophile science-oriented institutions of the Boston area to pitch their activities. Watch the video below to get an overview of the services they provide (Office of S&T of the Consulate General of France, YEI, FACCNE & FACCNE YP, Quebec Government, , MIT France, swissnex Boston, Hubtech 21)
Francophone world presented to high-school students
swissnex also partnered with the Consulate General of France to enhance French curriculum in the high schools of the Boston area. Two morning events gathered around 600 students and their French teachers at the Boston Public Library around one clear objective: having fun while learning more about French-speaking regions of the world. The students were asked to fill out a quiz before enjoying short humorous films from Quebec, Switzerland and France.
The events also aimed at showcasing study opportunities for American students in Francophone countries. swissnex Boston and the Consulate General of France want to warmly thank Swiss Learning, the Association of Swiss Boarding Schools for supporting the event by generously providing a set of great prizes for the winners of the quiz.
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Japanese delegation visits swissnex Boston
The team at swissnex Boston was delighted to host Dr. Tamotsu Niki and Dr. Mutsumi Sugiyama from the Tokyo University of Science along with Mr. Mitsu Yamamoto from the Japan Technology Group for a small gathering of technical experts from Japan. The visitors came to Boston to meet with their peers and discuss possible collaborations around technologies developed at Tokyo University of Science. Dr. Sugiyama showed a glass material he created with an embedded solar cell which could be utilized as a better sustainable material in smart houses.
On the Swiss side, Nico Lauer of OSEC presented the clean tech approach in New England regarding bilateral projects with local community. This very special delegation visit was an example of international execution of environmental initiatives spanning from Asia to Europe and North America.
An Evening of German Literature
Catalin Florescu, winner of the 2011 Swiss Book Prize- the most prestigious prize in Literature in Switzerland, spoke about his life and work on Tuesday, March 6, at swissnex Boston.
Florescu was born in Romania during the communist period and fled the country twice with his parents, eventually making Switzerland his country of residence. Catalin, who studied psychology at the University of Zurich, told his story and the connections between his life and his novels and explained his way of doing research for his writing. The author of The Blind Masseur, Zaira, and other novels and articles, then read excerpts from his latest novel, Jacob Decides To Love, in German.
For the English speaking audience, former swissnex team member Denzil Mohammed read the same text in English. Catalin amazed the audience with his open, creative and humorous mind.
After an intensive two hours discussion, the guests had the opportunity to continue discussing their ideas and opinions about the story of Jacob with Catalin and other guests, while enjoying some nice refreshments.
swissnex Boston is thankful to Catalin Florescu for having accepted their invitation to come to Cambridge for this Evening of German Literature! swissnex Boston wishes him all the best and good success for his next novel for which he is currently doing research in the Big Apple!An Evening of German Literature
Discussion with Debiopharm
Is “licensing and development” a new business model in the pharmaceutical industry?
In the pharmaceutical industry, everyone knows how long it takes to bring a new molecule to the market after its discovery. To accelerate this process, some companies have decided to focus their business model on the in-licensing of promising molecules to further develop them before licensing them out for commercialization. Lausanne-headquartered biopharmaceutical group, Debiopharm has built its success around this very specific model.
On the occasion of a visit to the Boston area to consolidate some business partnerships, CSO Andres McAllister explained to a pool of local executives of early-stage pharmaceutical companies and tech transfer experts the comparative advantages of a development-based model, especially in oncology.
According to Dr. McAllister, the added value for biotech companies or Universities of partnering are the acceleration in the development of their flagship molecules while mitigating the risks and maximizing the opportunity to register a drug or to monetize their discoveries.
Business Development & Licensing Director David Deperthes also stressed the importance of a systematic screening and evaluation process before licensing-in to insure a higher rate of success after development.
More info about Debiopharm Group’s business model HERE.
By the way, it was great to reconnect with David Deperthes, participant in the Venture Leaders Bootcamp 2002 who decided to join Debiopharm after a successful entrepreneurial career in Biotech.
Third edition of the swissnex café: Thanks for making it a success!
It happened again on Feb 29th, from 8am-8pm: 87 Nespresso capsules, 52 Kagi-Fret chocolate bars, 2 gallons of milk, 5 quiches, 70 customers, countless conversations….
Little over 6 months has passed since the last swissnex Café. With the winter behind us, we felt it was again time to open our Swiss house to engage people around cups of coffee.
We like to talk, but, above all, we like to listen what you have to say! That’s where this all idea of having swissnex as open as possible came in! Let us know what you thought; tell us what to you want to see and experience for the next swissnex Café!
Don’t hesitate to send us your feedbacks to Sophie.
Stay tuned for the next swissnex café in April 17th!
HLS International Fair
On Saturday night, February 18, 2012, Harvard Law School held an International Fair in the recently built Wasserstein building. The event gave the International Law students the chance to present their culture to classmates and the public. The culinary variety at the different tables was astonishing and left no one hungry. After trying Sushi from Japan, Chorizo from Spain and Dodo (fried plantains) from Nigeria there were quizzes and dance performances, which made the night instructive and unforgettable.
The Swiss table, sponsored by swissnex Boston, offered Swiss cheese, sandwiches and “Basler Läckerli”. For those who tend to have a hard time distinguishing between Sweden and Switzerland, the Swiss students prepared a special quiz in which the winner received an original Swiss army knife.
The swissnex team was amazed by the cultural variety and enthusiasm with which the students presented their home country and was glad to be part of such a great event.
Expert Roundtable: Alzheimer’s Disease therapeutics and diagnostics
On February 16th, a small group of experts gathered for a stimulating discussion on the latest scientific research on Alzheimer’s disease. The discussion included a videoconference, with participants from Swiss Re’s international offices (London, Zurich, and the United States). Nicola Oliver, from Swiss Re in London, acted as the moderator for the event.
After two interesting presentations by Gad Marshall (Brigham and Women’s Hospital) and Jorge Sepulcre (Massachusetts General Hospital), the global audience had the opportunity to ask questions on the subject of brain imaging and early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
The concentrated crowd of Alzheimer’s experts, consisting of post-docs, PhD students, and industry personnel, continued to talk about their opinions over breakfast provided by the Swiss Bäkers. This event was part of a collaborative series with the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue and swissnex Boston and another great opportunity for both parties to connect the dots.
Think Swiss Promotion @ Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
On February 9th, 2012, swissnex Boston hosted an informational luncheon, catered by swissbäkers, at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Attracting more than 25 people to the Murray room, the luncheon highlighted the collaboration of the Fletcher School with the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and the University of Geneva (IHEID). The swissnex team was kindly supported by Annatina Aerne and Gustav Meibauer of the HSG for a more personal insight into living and studying in St. Gallen. The Fletcher students got a concrete picture of the HSG’s Master’s in International Affairs and Governance (MIA). Whereas on the IHEID side the wide range of academic programs available for American Students where highlighted – from International Law and Political Sciences to Development Studies.
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To our delight, many of the young academics stayed after the presentation for a lively exchange and showed real interest in the ThinkSwiss scholarship program. ThinkSwiss is the official program of the Swiss confederation, which promotes exchanges and sharing knowledge between the U.S. and Switzerland.
swissnex Boston is confident in the partnership of the Fletcher School and the Swiss Universities and foresees many more successful events to come.
EPFL Alumni have their U.S East Coast Branch
Good news for the alumni of the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). A3, the EPFL alumni association, just opened a new branch of the network for former students living on the U.S. East Coast. Headquartered in New York, this new chapter intends to connect alumni, facilitate networking and improve the branding of EPFL in strategic hubs like Washington DC, New York City and the Boston area.
President of the chapter, Allan Estivalet and his committee officially lauched the new structure on February 3 in New York City in the presence of more than 60 local alumni and Nicolas Henchoz, director of the EPFL-ECAL Lab, who updated the audience on the latest developments of the School in Lausanne. The event was hosted by Ambassador François Barras, Consul General of Switzerland in New York City, at the Swiss Residence in Manhattan.
As a long-term partner of EPFL, swissnex Boston is thrilled with the opening of the new branch, which will strengthen the presence of the School in New England.
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For more information about the chapter click HERE.
Zimoun at Brown University
An evening of art, sound and technology was presented to a full auditorium at the David Winton Bell Gallery of Brown University in Providence on February 4, 2012, by Swiss sound and installation artist Zimoun. Zimoun is one of five artists featuring their installations in “Nostalgia Machines” at Brown university from November 19, 2011, - February, 19, 2012. After giving a talk to interested students and faculty members about his past works, Zimoun presented two sound installations to the broad audience, with the second one in complete darkness!
Zimoun is a sound and installation artist based in Switzerland. He often multiplies a single motorized component to haunting audio and visual effect. He has exhibited and performed extensively worldwide since 2000. His work for this exhibition creates a sound much like falling rain. The sculpture is abstract, the rain has no narrative referent, but we associate it with scenes of loss—looking back—in film genres such as noir and melodrama, as well as in lyrics of popular music. He is represented by Bitforms Gallery New York.
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For more information about Nostalgia Machines please visit the David Winton Bell Gallery.
swissnex Boston was proud to be a part of this event where art and science met and expresses its gratitude to Brown university for hosting this extraordinary exhibition and live performance.
Towards Zero Emission Architecture
Inspired by the title of the 1970s movie “Five easy pieces“, Prof. Marc Angélil, Dean of the Department of Architecture of the ETH Zurich, presented five of his most difficult projects with humor and perspicacity. At the core of all these building is the ambition to thrive towards a zero-emission architecture. Among the projects presented was the Midfield Terminal at the Zurich International Airport, for which the architecture competition asked for the most progressive environmentally designed airport terminal in Europe. The proposal presented by a consortium led by Prof. Angélil convinced the authorities by proposing features such as Photovoltaic panels incorporated into glazed louver shade screens on the accessible rooftop, and geothermal heating and cooling with imbedded tubes in the 250 structural foundation piles. In fact, those geothermal features were part of all five projects. Like roots, the buildings are anchored with geothermal tubes for which, as in the case of the housing project B35, boreholes of almost 400m have been dug.
The audience was visibly captured by Prof. Angélil’s lecture, and an interesting debate followed. Contrary to the current sustainability-discourse that advocates for very well insulated buildings, the ETH professor defended the view that, like living organisms, buildings need to breath and ought to be porous. As long as alternative clean-energy sources are used, such as solar panels and geothermal heating, and CO2-emissions are limited to one ton, it would not matter how much energy one consumes.
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Finally, after an engaged Q&A session, swissnex guests continued their discussions over Swiss food and wine.
This event was organized together with the ETH Alumni New England Chapter. If you are an ETH alumni and would like to sign up for alumni activities in the Boston area, click here.
Meet Andi Sonderegger...
As of today (Feb 1st) we will have a new ETH Intern joining our team! And not to be confused with the 5 other Andreas that work/worked at swissnex, he will go by Andi. Let's learn more about him...
Name: Andi Sonderegger
Hometown: Zurich, Switzerland
Languages spoken: German, English, Spanish, French
First time to US?: No, I have attended a language School in San Diego, CA in 2004.
Before swissnex: MSc in Exercise Physiology at ETH Zurich, Brand Coach for adidas, Teaching Assistant, Personal trainer, Soccer coach…
Favorite Sports/Hobbies: Soccer, Tennis, Graphic Design, Collecting Music...
What he wants to do here: Learn about a lot of different fields of science and culture and work with a young and dynamic team
When asked about his quirks... I love to cook and I’m very bossy in the kitchen.
So come over to swissnex Boston and hopefully Andi will help improve your soccer skills while cooking you something delicious!
Uni Basel & Boston: Where Science meets Art
On January 19, 2012, swissnex Boston hosted the first University of Basel Alumni evening in Boston, welcoming many former Basler students from the area. Both cities, Basel and Boston, are hot spots for art and life science. With this in mind, the evening centered around connecting the two topics.The speaker of the event was Martin Oeggerli, who holds a doctorate degree in molecular biology from the University of Basel.
Oeggerli cannot be seen as a regular photographer, because his objects are invisible to the naked eye, creating images with the help of a scanning electron microscope. Therefore he opens a whole new perspective on various organisms.
After hearing his great and impressive speech, the audience had the chance to meet other alumni and create new contacts far from Basel. We hope it isn’t the first and last University of Basel Alumni evening and we are looking forward to further Basler networking possibilities.
Thank you for coming and turning this event into a highlight. -University of Basel
Canton Fribourg explores opportunities in the Boston area
Canton Fribourg has bet on innovation for its long term economic development policy. As part of that strategy, a delegation led by Beat Vonlanthen, Minister of Economic Affairs of the Canton and representatives of the University and the College of Engineering and Architecture visited the Boston area. On their agenda: discussing best practices with local practitioners of the innovation ecosystem.
The delegation arrived with a focus on improving the concept of the future zero-carbon technology park that will be built on the site of the Cardinal brewery in downtown Fribourg. To create the best park and position Fribourg at the forefront of innovation in sustainable architecture, the delegation was very interested in discovering the local institutions and companies’ best practices. What are the success models of incubators? How to incentivize all the players of an innovation ecosystem to collaborate? How to enhance Fribourg’s innovation assets around a new branding strategy? These were just a handful of questions during the delegation’s visits to the Cambridge Innovation Center, the Gateway Park in Worcester, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard, MassChallenge, the MOITI and the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems.
Another objective of the visit was to deepen the academic presence of the Fribourg colleges and universities in Massachusetts. To this end, the delegates of the University of Fribourg and the College of Engineering visited the campus of the Worcester Polytechnics Institute to expand an already existing collaboration between WPI and the School of Business Administration-Fribourg.
Last but not least, their visit was an unique occasion for swissnex Boston to gather more than thirty alumni from the University of Fribourg or people having spent some time in the Fribourg area for the first Fribourgissima night in Boston. Created under the aegis of the Chamber of commerce Fribourg and the State Fribourg, Fribourgissima aims to connect a large network of people from Fribourg or active in the canton at some point in their life and now living around Switzerland and all over the world.
ENET Tweetup: “Landing your first customer” at swissnex Boston
On January 18, I had the pleasure of organizing the inaugural tweetup for ENET, the IEEE Boston Entrepreneurs’ Network, hosted here at the Swiss Consulate. ENET has been helping tech startups in the Boston area for over 20 years with education, networking, and innovative programs. As the startup ecosystem has shifted over the past few years from the 128 belt to Cambridge, ENET has moved with it, maintaining a strong base in the suburbs with meetings in Waltham, but adding programming in the city, where so many of the hottest startups are based. We’ve added tweetups to our more formal panel discussions, and swissnex Boston was gracious enough to provide the venue for our first one.
An energized crowd gathered on a cold January evening last week to kick off the tweetup season to hear Suzanne McDonald, founder of Designated Editor, on everybody’s favorite topic: how to acquire your vital first customers. Suzanne presented on practical, doable ways for startups to market their products, touching comprehensively on content marketing, SEO, social media, and product strategy. Audience members came prepared with their questions, which Suzanne answered with her characteristic humor and insight. Networking before and after the talk brought together senior professionals from so many worlds, including software, hardware, arts, nonprofits, and media. Students and recent grads on their first startup swapped stories with people on their third exits. It was an exhilarating evening of learning and connections.
Christina J. Inge
Vice-Chair, Alliances & Director of PR and Marketing
ENet: The IEEE Boston Entrepreneurs' Network
A showcase of Swiss Career Opportunities
Do research in Switzerland
Switzerland has a worldwide reputation for doing top-notch research, attracting the best talents and offering state-of-the-art infrastructure. Researchers not only find a complementary environment for their work, but also benefit from the high living standard and the cultural diversity in Switzerland. Hence, it is not surprising that many researchers, especially many Europeans, are looking for opportunities to go (or return) to Switzerland.
With this in mind, Katja Wirth of EUresearch was invited to swissnex Boston to provide those researchers interested in academic careers in Switzerland with an overview of the tools available to researchers abroad. Following the “technical” details of funding instruments, Evelin Geiser, a Swiss MIT post-doc, shared her view on the cultural differences of doing research in Switzerland and the USA.
The 20 graduate students and post-docs learned that there are primarily two funding agencies that offer interest programs to attract young talents from abroad. First, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the only research granting council in Switzerland, recently launched the Ambizione program. This program provides 40 – 50 per year grants for up to three years to Swiss researchers abroad, or foreign junior researchers who wish to conduct as a research associate and independent research project at a Swiss university.
For short time stays, SNSF also offers the International Shorts Visits program that supports foreign researchers who come to Switzerland for one week to three month to initiate, or consolidate, collaborations with Swiss colleagues.
Second, Ms. Wirth also pointed to the funding opportunities of the European Union, highlighting two specific programs. On the one hand, there is the ERC Starting Independent Researchers Grant that provides support for individual researchers from all disciplines, focuses on interdisciplinary and adopts a bottom-up approach. On the other hand, the International Incoming Fellowship (IFF) of the Marie Curie Actions targets researchers with PhD, of any nationality and with at least four years of full-time research experience. The next call for grants will be published in March 2012.
Swiss Life Sciences Night
This past Friday, swissnex Boston kicked off the second annual Swiss Life Sciences Night. In conjunction with Roche, EU Research, Uni Zurich, Uni Basel, EPFL and ETH, swissnex’s Cambridge office was transformed into a lively, interactive career and academic fair.
The event drew in a diverse mix of students, mostly postdoctoral and master, studying and working at local universities and institutions. Armed with informational pamphlets and impressive resumes, the students were eager to discover the current possibilities in Switzerland:
“I am interested in Switzerland because I think it’s a very good country and I’ve heard there’s a lot of companies and a lot of good universities to continue my research there,” explained Anna, PhD candidate in chemistry.
“[I would] like to return to Switzerland. Love the country, the people and the life standard. I think the science is great there; they have a lot of opportunities,” Sandra, postdoctoral candidate at Dana Farber.
Along with the companies' and universities' presentations, the Swiss Life Sciences event featured a Job Board, filled with various opportunities and postings available in Switzerland from MyScience.ch.
swissnex Boston would like to thank Roche, EU Research, Uni Zurich, Uni Basel, EPFL and ETH for a successful Swiss Life Sciences night. We hope that this event has helped many students discover the next step in their career. For more information on any of the schools or organizations mentioned in this post feel free to email Sebasiten Hug, swissnex Boston Project Leader.
Attracting brains to Europe: The MIT European Career Fair
The 16th MIT-European Career Fair took place on January 21 – 23, 2012, attracting several thousand young talents from all over North America looking for opportunities in industry and academia in Europe. What started as a grassroots initiative evolved over the years to a platform, not only for European employers and universities, but also for the European Commission. This fact was highlighted this year by the visit of the EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Ms. Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, who gave the keynote speech at the Destination Europe- Conference, which was held the day before the fair. This conference, organized by the European Commission, featured other high-level speakers, such as ERC Secretary General Donald B Dingwell, and Nobel Prize Winner Tim Hunt. Its main message was that Europe continues to invest in research and innovation even in times of austerity and, thus, it is serious in its ambition to compete for the best scientific talent worldwide. While the conference conveyed an important political message, the MIT European Career Fair allowed for face-to-face interactions with students and researchers.
Like the previous fairs, swissnex Boston was present with its own booth, surrounded by a strong Swiss presence, including multinational companies such as Roche, ABB, ETH Zurich, EPFL, University of Basel, EUresearch and the Life Science Zurich- who participated for the first time! The most prominent guest at the swissnex Boston booth was EU Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn, who expressed her hope to visit Switzerland’s top research facilities soon. Whether it was about open academic positions, living costs, research funding opportunities or working at swissnex Boston, many others seized the opportunity to speak to the swissnex Boston team.
The MIT-ECF weekend clearly illustrated the fact that young talents are more mobile than ever; one must not speak of brain gain or brain drain, but of brain circulation. Switzerland, in this respect, is a country with a strong reputation for excellent research and a high living standard.
French organizations partner to raise money for Haitian community
More than 120 guests gathered at swissnex to network with the French community and bring their support to starting a French class for the Haitian community. Thanks to their generosity, a new class will be open starting in 2012. The event was a wonderful show of collaborative work among several organizations.
A small team from Boston Accueil worked with Chef Bernard Ploteau to create an exquisite series of hors d’oeuvres and desserts. To add to the excitement, guests were invited to participate in a raffle, and one lucky person won a bottle of champagne!
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swissnex cared for the logistics and the organization while the main partner, EFGB (Ecole Francaise of Greater Boston) reached out to various groups and brought a wonderful audience together.
For more information on the Boston Accueil or the Ecole Francaise of Greater Boston, please visit their websites at: http://www.bostonaccueil.org/BA/BA.php and http://www.efgboston.org/
