Friday, 04 September 2020 / Published in Blog, Fäctli, SLX Videos

7 Interesting Facts About Switzerland

Switzerland! The name brings with it imagery of snow-peaked Alps, delicious chocolates, cheese, and watches. But this tiny country is much more than these things.

1. An Excellent Quality of Life

It is one of the countries with the highest quality of life across the world, as per Social Progress Index 2019. Work-life balance is given high priority and people engage in work-related and relaxing hobbies in equal measure. It is common to see Swiss work from 7 am – 4 pm. After that, they go out sailing or jogging.

2. Switzerland is Costly!

Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries to live in as per the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey. But along with the cost of living, the average salary is also very high.

It is also famous for its amazing coffee. In fact, coffee is sold at excruciatingly high prices in Switzerland. Zurich, for instance, has the most expensive coffee in the world.

3. Swiss System of education and apprenticeship

Swiss universities are known for their globally top-ranked STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) courses. Besides, they are much more affordable to those in the US and UK.

How well do you know Switzerland? Take this quiz and find out!

To begin with, Switzerland has a well-structured and free public schooling system. Education in Switzerland is divided into elementary school (mandatory for all Swiss children), secondary school, apprenticeship (Vocational Education and Training), and university levels. Switzerland is home to two high-ranking universities. These are ETH Zurich and EPFL, as per the QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2019.

Under the VET system, 15-year old Swiss kids enter the workforce, even before finishing their schooling. To know how, watch our video here. If you like the video, do not forget to hit the bell icon to subscribe to our channel.

Under the Swiss VET system, for an apprenticeship, young students can choose from over 250 different professions. The apprenticeships take around two to four years. During which, the students get trained in a profession of their choice. The number of apprenticeships available depends on the labour market demand for the job profile. However, there are apprenticeships available for different kinds of professions from handicrafts to office jobs. After their apprenticeship, students can join a full-time job or continue with their education. The VET system readies students for jobs and plugs the gap between the job market demand and the availability of skilled labour.

4. Equality for All

The Swiss are known to be charitable people. Sparing a thought for the less privileged, the Swiss know that not all kids around the world are lucky enough to have access to quality education in public schools. Watch our video on SDG4: Quality Education and why it continues to elude children worldwide.

Hit the red bell for more such videos on our YouTube channel. S L X Learning is a Switzerland-based online learning hub. The online learning hub hosts courses and learning content tailored for different types of learners.

5. Switzerland and its Pharmaceutical Industry

At the heart of Switzerland lies its chemical and pharmaceutical industry. The pharma hub in the country is mostly centered in the city of Basel.

Also, it is home to Roche, the world’s second-largest and Novartis, the third-largest pharma company by revenue. As in 2016, over 250 small, medium, and large pharma companies are based across Switzerland. Moreover, the industry employed over 46,800 people in 2018 and contributed to 38% of the country’s exports.

With more number of patents filed per a million people, Switzerland has a high number of patents filed across the pharma industry.

Pharma industry is the most research-intensive industry in Switzerland with 6.5 billion Swiss francs worth of expenditure in R&D. Also, in 2018, Swiss pharma industry accounted for 5.4 percent of the country’s GDP.

6. Online Learning Hubs of Switzerland

What makes Switzerland an innovation leader is several factors. For instance, the well-structured education system, close coordination between the industry and the universities, qualified and trained workforce, and innovation-friendly regulations.

Digital learning methods have been in use for a while now to bring innovation to Swiss classrooms. Besides, in 2017, the Swiss government -and the cantons (states) that are responsible for public schools – embraced their Digital Switzerland programme. The programme provided guidelines for the government to work with the private sector, academia, civil society, and politics to shape the digital transformation process.

SLX Learning, an e-learning hub, and a blended learning platform. In addition, we are a key contributor to Digitization in Switzerland. It makes e-learning simpler and more accessible on its platform and three community platforms.

For instance, blogs on SLX provide deep insights into varied topics like sustainability, travel, and culture, keeping up with digitization, growing markets, and businesses around the world. Read some of them here and subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated on new insights:

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If you prefer video content, visit the e-learning platform of SLX Learning and our community hubs. Nano-courses provide nugget-sized information. These are easy for learners to understand. There are also deep-dive courses for those seeking a detailed knowledge of subjects. We also interview top industry experts and key policymakers in Switzerland and India.

Head over to SLX Learning and its community platforms to learn about anything from business analytics, to entrepreneurship, to sustainability, to doing business in emerging markets.

7. Switzerland & Sustainability

Fairly high on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index Among 193 countries, Switzerland was ranked 15th in the SDG Index 2020 in its progress towards achieving the 17 SDGs. Besides providing its residents with a high quality of life, higher employment rates, and good education, Switzerland also scores high on working towards the SDG 2030.

Watch: What gave rise to the Sustainable Development Goals?

As per the SDG Index 2020, Switzerland ranks high. In fact, it scores well on the goals of eradicating poverty, good health and well-being, and affordable and clean energy. Besides, it ranks decently on building sustainable cities and communities, industry, innovation and infrastructure, and decent work and economic growth. However, it must take long strides in achieving goals like climate action, reducing inequalities, and responsible consumption and production.

SLX Learning is an online learning hub based in Switzerland. We believe in the transformative power of technology that fuels innovation but are also passionate about our planet. We educate learners in online courses with a focus to consume and live responsibly. Also, check out our customized courses for all types of learners here.

Sustainable living is not a modern phenomenon. In fact, it has been entrenched in cultures across the country. But with the fast-paced lives today and changing lifestyles, we have moved from conservation to overconsumption.

Swiss people living across towns and villages have a rich tradition of recycling and reusing old garments and household items. It is called Vide Grenier or Kleiderborse. Watch this video to know more about the Swiss tradition that is steeped in sustainable values of RRR.

We live in a time of increasing inequalities. Also, there is an increased stress on the ecology. Together we can overcome these challenges and build a more equitable world for all living species.

Embark with SLX Learning on our journey as we aim to make digital transformation easier for us and, our planet. Sign up for our courses here.