Switzerland launches six National Centres of Competence in Research to "strengthen cutting-edge research"

Switzerland will launch six new National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs) to "strengthen cutting-edge research", the country announced on 30/01/2026.

The NCCRs will receive financial support of CHF 98.7 million (€107,29 m) between 2026 and 2029. They have been selected by the government, in collaboration with the Swiss National Science Foundation, from over 75 proposals "to strengthen Swiss research and innovation in strategically important areas such as medicine, quantum technologies and climate".

The project will be in collaboration with Swiss higher education institutions, as the NCCRs will be based at the Universities of Basel, Bern, Lausanne and Zurich, the Federal Institutes of Technology in Lausanne and Zurich, and the Paul Scherrer Institute.

Several other higher education institutions and research institutes will also be involved and provide additional funding, matching federal funds. "This will enable the available expertise in the respective fields to be pooled together and directed towards new research objectives," said the Swiss State Secretariat for Education…