Swissuniversities (stylised as swᴉssunᴉversᴉtᴉes) is the umbrella organization of universities and colleges in Switzerland.[1]
Swissuniversities has 38 member institutions,[2] including the two federal institutes of technology, ten cantonal universities, ten (state-run and private)[3] universities of applied sciences,[4] and sixteen universities of teacher education.
History
The Higher Education Act of 2011 called for the creation of a unified organization for Swiss higher education institutions. This led to the merger of the previous organizations, that is CRUS (universities), KFH (universities of applied sciences), and COHEP (universities of teacher education). Swissuniversities was founded in 2012 and officially began operations on January 1, 2015 when the Higher Education Act went into effect.[5][6]
Organization
Swissuniversities has the following governing bodies:
Plenary Assembly
Three chambers representing universities, universities of applied sciences, and universities of teacher education.[6]
Executive Board
Delegations and delegates
Networks and representatives
Secretary General's Office
Responsibilities
The main purpose of Swissuniversities is to deepen and promote cooperation and a common voice among higher education institutions in Switzerland.[6] It acts as a common body for every type of Swiss universities and colleges representing their interests at national and international level. Swissuniversities can take on mandates from the federal government as well as lead programs and projects.
Swissuniversities has the following key responsibilities:
providing input to the Swiss Conference of Higher Education and making proposals on behalf of higher education institutions;
representing the interests of Swiss universities and colleges at national and international levels;
taking on mandates from the federal government and leading programs and projects (such as digitalization,[7]open access and data management[8])
operating the Swiss ENIC office for recognition of domestic and foreign academic credentials;
handling applications and admissions for medical studies in Switzerland;
managing, on behalf of the Swiss Confederation, foreign government grants for a study period abroad offered to Swiss students and/or researchers by approximately 30 countries.[9]
Swissuniversities works closely with the Swiss Conference of Higher Education, the main political body for higher education in Switzerland.
^ abcKeller, Alice. "Nationale Förderprogramme und -strukturen in der Schweiz". In Keller, Alice; Uhl, Susanne (eds.). Bibliotheken der Schweiz: Innovation durch Kooperation - Festschrift für Susanna Bliggenstorfer anlässlich ihres Rücktrittes als Direktorin der Zentralbibliothek Zürich (in German). De Gruyter. p. 70. JSTORj.ctvbkk4c8.8.
