The Leading House South Asia promotes and fosters research and innovation cooperation between Switzerland and nine countries in South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Iran.

2025-2028 mandate period

For the current mandate period, we have set ourselves the goal to make an impact by supporting projects that incorporate the following three cornerstones:

Address global challenges holistically

Topics such as climate change, improvements in public health, and sustainable development demand collaborative efforts that go beyond the realm of science alone. These challenges require input from policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society to ensure that scientific solutions are implementable, socially acceptable, and scalable. 

Co-creation between different fields encourages the breaking down of silos while also fostering open-mindedness, and enhancing cross-disciplinary learning. It also allows for diverse perspectives, methodologies, and expertise to be integrated. This leads to innovative solutions, a more holistic understanding of complex challenges, and faster problem-solving and is more likely to produce practical and relevant real-world applications.

Bridge the gap between knowledge and action

Interdisciplinary approaches can better bridge the gap between knowledge and action, ensuring that scientific discoveries evolve into practical solutions that address pressing needs. 

By combining expertise from various scientific disciplines with real-world insights from the worlds of industry, government, and communities, collaborative science not only deepens understanding, but also accelerates the development of impactful innovations that enhance quality of life, support sustainable practices, and drive societal progress.

Focus on building long-lasting relationships and trust

Collaboration in science across different disciplines and the involvement of diverse stakeholders helps build trust, even amid strained political relations. Shared scientific goals and challenges, such as addressing environmental issues and water scarcity, provide common ground for scientists, policymakers, and industries to work together.

By bundling expertise from various fields and sectors, such collaborations foster mutual understanding and create resilient and sustainable partnerships that transcend political borders.

Get to know the other Leading Houses

In addition to the Leading House South Asia, there are four other Swiss Leading Houses:

• Asia: ETH Zurich
• Latin America: University of St.Gallen
• Middle East and North Africa: HES-SO
• Sub-Saharan Africa: University of Basel