Swiss tech universities boost economy by more than 13 bln USD: report

GENEVA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland's federal technology institutes account for 100,000 jobs and 13 billion Swiss francs (13.87 billion U.S. dollars) in added value to the economy, representing a fivefold return on investment, according to a new report released on Tuesday.

According to the report, released by British consulting firm BiGGAR, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) have long been acknowledged as vital components of the Swiss image and economy.

The entire ETH domain now employs around 21,000 staff and has an annual budget of 3.5 billion Swiss francs (3.74 billion U.S. dollars). However, the estimated gross added value to the economy is almost four times as much, at 13.3 billion (14.2 billion U.S. dollars), the report says, adding that another 98,000 jobs in Switzerland depend on the EPF domain, which means that each staff position is responsible for the creation of five more.

The study points to the various international firms that have set up their offices close to the universities in order to take advantage of the highly-trained graduates, including Google and Disney in Zurich, for example, which have employed 2,000 people and are planning to expand; and Intel and Texas Instruments in Lausanne.

New business ideas and start-ups are also encouraged by the innovative ecosystems of the universities; one in seven new innovative businesses in Switzerland is a spin-off from ETH Zurich or EPFL, the report says. Enditem