The University of Melbourne has hosted a Swiss delegation of 28 government, research, and industry leaders to explore collaborative opportunities between Australia and Switzerland.
University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Emma Johnston hosted the delegation, led by Switzerland's State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation Professor Martina Hirayama, which included an event with 60 invited Melbourne-based leaders and a tour of Melbourne's biomedical and innovation precincts.
University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Mark Cassidy said Switzerland invests heavily in research and development (R&D) – about 3.4% GDP compared with Australia's 1.68% GDP – and the University is Switzerland's top Australian research partner by co-publications.
"Switzerland is in the University's top 10 most active countries of co-publications globally, which is very impressive given it relative size to other global leaders in R&D," Professor Cassidy said.
"Our research with Swiss universities, companies and institutions is pushing forward the boundaries of knowledge and making a difference in the lives of Australian and Swiss citizens.
"We are committed to expanding our established international partnerships and building new research collaborations to drive innovation, address shared challenges and deliver enduring global impact."
The University announced its first two teams to participate in the University of Basel's Superpella start-up accelerator program, which culminates in exposure at the prestigious Sachs HealthTech and BioTech Forums in October 2025. The selected teams are CymphonyBio, developing tools for precise disease models, and Chromos Labs, creating an ultra-high-resolution imaging system for neuroscience research.
The delegation spoke with University leaders about accelerating innovation through global partnerships:
- Stronger participation in available research funding opportunities – highlighting new opportunities afforded through Switzerland's Leading House Asia Pacific Funding Instruments.
- Collaboration through research training, including developing joint PhD programs with university partners and creating internship and industry-embedded PhDs opportunities with Swiss industry.
- Forming new pathways to crosslink our innovation ecosystems - exposing both collaborative ideas and entrepreneurs in our programs to investment opportunities available in Switzerland.
The delegation toured Melbourne Connect and the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct, including the Doherty Institute, Jumar Bioincubator and CSL.
