Swiss Stories

AlpTransit © AlpTransit Gotthard AG

The Swiss construction project of the century – linking northern and southern Europe

Economics
138 years after the completion of the legendary Gotthard railway tunnel – already a masterpiece in 1882 – a new milestone has been reached on the historic Gotthard route. The opening of the Ceneri Base Tunnel on 4 September 2020 marks the completion of the construction project of the century – the New Rail Link through the Alps (NRLA), which forms the core of Europe's main north-south freight route extending from Rotterdam to Genoa. Following on from the Lötschberg and Gotthard base tunnels, this is the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle to complete the flat-track rail link through the Alps.
Data provided by the pedometer attached to the halter enables the behaviour of cows to be monitored on a tablet. ©Agroscope, Gabriela Brändle

Swiss Agriculture 4.0

Economics
Smart farming: digitalisation is about to revolutionise farming in Switzerland
capsules

Éric Favre - the Swiss inventor who put coffee into capsules

Economics
An aerodynamics engineer from the French-speaking Swiss canton of Vaud is the father of capsule coffee. His innovation completely changed the way we drink coffee and made Nespresso a planetary success.
Women in Digital © Marcus Veith

Female Startups founders made in Switzerland

Economics
Ever heard of Alisée de Tonnac, Abir Oreibi, Emilie Joly or Lea von Bidder? You should have. These Swiss women are the CEOs of businesses leading the way in tech research, entrepreneurship and promotion.
Elmar Mock © EPO

Elmar Mock - the man with an innate sense of invention

Economics
Elmar Mock
“It is through successive inventions, each one inspiring the next, that innovation contributes to human progress” says the Swiss engineer Elmar Mock. Portrait of a serial inventor, co-creator of the Swatch.
Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships the recipe for Swiss success

Economics
In Switzerland, vocational education and training (VET) is highly valued and allows young people to learn a trade by combining classroom study with in-company work. More and more countries are taking an interest in this model, which is an effective tool for combating unemployment.
Saffron from Mund AOP

The Swiss AOP products you never knew existed

Economics
Switzerland boasts 23 different agricultural products that have been awarded the coveted AOP label, which denotes their protected designation of origin (also known internationally as PDO; actual labels in Switzerland show AOP: appellation d’origine protégée in French). Some are already well known, such as Gruyère and Raclette cheese, but others less so, such as saffron from Mund and spiny cardoons from the canton of Geneva.