A small country with big ideas: science, innovation and skills as drivers of Swiss economic success A lecture by Ambassador Markus Leitner

Despite its image as a country of chocolate, cheese and traditional banking, Switzerland is actually a leader in science and innovation. A small country without natural resources and dependent on exports, the Swiss economy can only survive if businesses outperform international competitors.

Markus Leitner, Ambassador of Switzerland to the United Kingdom, will explain how Switzerland creates a research environment based on excellence, how business translates this into commercial success, and what roles the national innovation and skills systems play in this process. He will also discuss the challenges of maintaining this status outside the EU and out of Horizon Europe and Erasmus.

Following the lecture, there will be an opportunity to ask questions during a Q&A chaired by Professor Tony Lang of the School of International Relations.

Markus Leitner was appointed Swiss ambassador to the United Kingdom in August 2021. He has worked in South Africa and Chile and is a former ambassador to Iran and Egypt.