For the fourth consecutive year, Switzerland has been named the world’s most innovative country by the Global Innovation Index, but what’s the secret sauce driving this small country to its place on top of the global innovation charts?

A huge driver of Switzerland’s success is the country’s dual vocational education and training system. The Swiss model gives young people a wide range of options early in their career and accompanies them all the way through their professional training. The result? Low unemployment rates, a great skill-mix in the workforce and close collaboration between industries and educational institutions. In short: A fertile breeding ground for diversity and innovation.

UZH Alumni Boston and swissnex Boston invite you to join Prof. Uschi Backes-Gellner, Professor of Business and Personnel Economics at the Institute for Business Administration and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Zurich, for an exploration of the success story that is the Swiss vocational system.

EVENT PROGRAM

6:00 pm Doors open
6:30 pm Welcome Remarks by UZH Alumni
6:35 pm Keynote by Prof. Uschi Backes-Gellner and Q&A
7:15 pm Networking Reception

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Uschi Backes-Gellner
Vice-Dean, Faculty of Economics, UZH
Prof. Uschi Backes-Gellner is a Professor of Business and Personnel Economics at the Institute for Business Administration and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Zurich. She is a member of the German Expert Committee EFI, the Swiss Federal Committee on Vocational Education and Training and co-founder of the Colloquium on Personnel Economics. Her research focuses on personnel, education and innovation economics.