Swiss Stories

Swiss Family Robinson

The Swiss Family Robinson

History
The Swiss Family Robinson – father, mother and four sons – survive a shipwreck on the high seas. Stranded on a desert island, the family tame their new environment and make it their home. Sound familiar? This 18th century classic inspired by Robinson Crusoe became even more popular abroad than it is in Switzerland. Find out why.

by Lea Huszno

SapoCycle makes new bars of soap out of used hotel soaps.

The miracle of soap

Environment
Today more than ever, we are all too aware how important it is to have proper hand hygiene. Disinfectant has been sold out for weeks. The tried and trusted method of cleaning with soap is therefore making a comeback. Soap truly works miracles against viruses and bacteria. Washing your hands regularly and thoroughly can greatly slow down the spread of a virus, such as the novel coronavirus. SapoCycle is a Swiss non-profit organisation, which not only works to improve levels of hygiene, but also makes an important contribution to environmental protection and social integration.
Eagle

Setting up wind turbines with the help of eagles

Environment
Thanks to biologists from the University of Bern, golden eagles are becoming invaluable co-workers in the development of wind farms in the Swiss Alps. The large birds are equipped with GPS tags to transmit data that can limit their risk of colliding with the future turbines.

by Lea Huszno

senseFly Drone © senseFly

Swiss drones are flying high

Economics
Swiss industry is at the forefront of unmanned aerial vehicles for commercial use. Here are some examples of highly innovative Swiss firms.
Moderna

Moderna, the coronavirus vaccine made in Switzerland

Science & Education
The Moderna vaccine against COVID-19 was one of the first vaccines available worldwide. All doses supplied to Europe are manufactured by Swiss firm Lonza. Read more…

by Lea Huszno

The tunnel of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

CERN, in search of the secrets of the universe

Science & Education
The physicists of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, near Geneva, probe the fundamental building blocks of matter. This is the third instalment of our series of articles on Swiss universities and research institutes.
The EnviCoPal team presenting its water filters to trainers during a visit to Palestine. © Cewas

Entrepreneurial innovation in the water sector

Environment
Social entrepreneurship offers an innovative approach to tackling the lack of universal access to drinking water and high-quality sanitation services. Social enterprises are economic entities that mainly pursue social and environmental goals. Their innovation potential has been recognised around the world for several years now.