MTEC News Archive

For almost 30 years, from 1964 to 1993, Hans Würgler served as Director of KOF Swiss Economic Institute. He played a leading role in the implementation of an econometric model for the Swiss economy as a whole, thereby advancing the modelling and forecasting of economic trends. He thus helped lay the foundation for modern-day economic structure analysis in Switzerland. He passed away on 21 July at the age of 94. Read his full obituary in German.

Mahsa Khoshnama grew up in Isfahan and earned Bachelor’s degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Sharif University in Tehran. She then decided to embark on a new path and came to D-MTEC to study economics. In autumn 2021 she will become the first Iranian to join the PhD programme in Economics at Princeton University. We took this opportunity to talk to her about her journey.

In October 2020, the Competence Centre for Rehabilitation Engineering & Science published its first research call “Changing Behaviours”. Out of the four promising proposals that were submitted, a board of experts awarded the grant to the project “User-​led innovation in online communities: An exploratory study of the design principles and the diffusion of affordable rehabilitation technology”, co-hosted at D-MTEC's Chair of Strategic Management and Innovation.

D-MTEC experts engage with issues that affect society, the economy and business. The D-MTEC Media Update provides links to recent articles, interviews and commentaries. Economic crises so far have impacted mainly exports, but covid is different. It hits the domestic market, services, and people with lower income jobs – in particular if they are self-employed, finds a recent study by KOF Swiss Economic Institute.

Professor Torbjørn Netland and his team (D-MTEC) have won the Bronze Award in the Virtual/Augmented Reality category of the 2020 Reimagine Education competition. Their project, FactoryVR, enables students to remotely explore production facilities.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. KOF Director Jan-​Egbert Sturm, states that Switzerland would have a lower income without the free movement of persons. Martin Gutmann, Managing Director Swiss School of Public Governance, disproves the idea that Trump wants to keep the white house by force, but sees the danger of crude intrigue.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Ursula Renold, Professor for Education Systems, sees vocational training in a better state than expected while Didier Sornette, Professor for Entrepreneurial Risks, critically reflects on the Swiss measures against covid.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Now is the time to talk about flex-ible work models, says Gudela Grote, Professor for Work and Organisational Psychology. Ursula Renold, Professor for Education Systems, states that 18% of companies would create additional apprenticeships if other companies could not afford them.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Ursula Renold, Professor for Education Systems, explains that youth unemployment is generally high during summer and will further increase during a recession. KOF Director Jan-Egbert Sturm backs suggestions to support corporate investments with corona loans.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. The Global Economic Barometer, co-developed by KOF Swiss Economic Institute shows that the global economy has passed its low point. KOF Director Jan-Egbert Sturm states that accelerating the economy comes next. In other news, D-MTEC researchers demonstrate in a case study that individual mobility data can serve as a predictor for crime.

New and emerging technologies are changing the way we pay – both on- and offline. Will we still use cash in fifty years? In a public session (webinar) hosted by the ETH Risk Center, international experts will discuss the current architecture of the monetary system, and how it might look in the future.  

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. During the last months, many parents have re-experienced the colourful aspects of childcare. In September, Switzerland will vote on a tax-relief for childcare. Too little, and in the wrong place, finds KOF researcher and Handelsblatt columnist Isabel Martínez.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Michael Ambühl and Daniela Scherer from the Chair of Negotiation and Conflict Management call for level-headedness in setting up the Swiss-EU framework agreement. Interviewed by Radio SRF 2, Ursula Renold, Professor for Education Systems, explains educational challenges triggered by the corona crisis.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Last week, the first mass-produced shields by the helpfulETH-initative have been delivered to hospitals. D-MTEC's Professor Torbjørn Netland helped to scale up production.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Petra Schmid, Professor for Organizational Behavior, states that power boosts individual character traits. Jan-​Egbert Sturm, Director of KOF Swiss Economic Institute, expects a slower recovery compared to the recent downturn of the Swiss economy.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Isabel Martínez points out that the current crisis has shed new light on pre-existing gender imbalances as new columnist of Handelszeitung. Lucas Bretschger urges to get ready for a fossil-free economy.

Ann-Kathrin Leiting has won the EFMD Case Writing Award 2019 for her teaching case on corporate entrepreneurship within Bosch, a German global high-tech manufacturer. She analysed how disruptive ideas emerge in a company rich in tradition, what hurdles new concepts have to overcome, and how corporate entrepreneurship can effect change in an established business culture.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Post-corona Switzerland will look different, but it is coming. Yet, some will struggle more than others, state our researchers.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. While the Swiss service sector is struggling, global biotech investments are soaring. And yet: the Financial Crisis Observatory (Didier Sornette) currently sees no major bubble in capital flows to promisors of a Covid-19 vaccine.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Jan-Egbert Sturm proposes, that the Swiss National Bank should support the unemployment fund, Michael Siegenthaler gives an update on the labour market, and Torbjørn Netland calls for cooperation in international supply chains.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. While the lockdown and other COVID-19 measures are still heavily discussed among experts also at our department, Massimo Filippini looks for common ground of the corona and climate crises. At the same time, the KOF Swiss Economic Institute dares dire prospects on the economic development.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Gudela Grote sees a fundamental restructuring as essential for mitigating the climate crisis, but fears that politicians want a return to the “old normal”. Didier Sornette joins a discussion on whether Switzerland is emerging from the lockdown too soon, and Michael Siegenthaler notes the role of chance in the troubles afflicting small businesses.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, the economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. This week: an impact assessment of coronavirus measures, tips on how to master home working, and some economic inventory-taking, including the health sector.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, the economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Stefan Feuerriegel and his team investigate how well coronavirus measures perform, compared to each other. In two commentaries, labour market specialist Michael Siegenthaler focuses on labour policies and warns about potential unemployment rise and enforced work.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, the economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Yngve Abrahamsen, economist at KOF Swiss Economic Institute, expects that Switzerland has to face a shortfall of tax revenues worth billions.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, the economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. Are short-time work and loans enough to deal with the corona crisis? Jan-Egbert Sturm, Head of KOF Swiss Economic Institute, proposes non-repayable financial support for SMEs. In other news, Robert Finger, Professor for Agricultural Economics and Policy, backs the Bernese initiative to promote organic farming.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, the economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. This week: résumé of three weeks economic hardship and social distancing, perspectives on working and living in a postcorona world, as well as a call on a global solution for the ventilator shortage.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, the economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. The coronavirus spread has given rise to major uncertainty about the present and the future. Dr Michael Siegenthaler (Head of the Labor Market Section at KOF) points out that the pandemic could trigger a financial crisis where economic long-term losses could be much greater than short-term costs of the aid programmes.

D-MTEC experts address issues of society, the economy, and business. The D-MTEC Media Update lists their recent articles, interviews, and commentaries. The coronavirus spread has given rise to major uncertainty about the present and the future. KOF Director Jan-Egbert Sturm and Professor for Macroeconomics Hans Gersbach propose a relief fund to help overcome the crisis. Petra Schmid (Professor for Organizational Behavior) gives advice on how we as individuals can cope in this situation.

Acute hypoglycaemia poses a risk for diabetic drivers, one which endangers not only their own lives, but also those of other drivers. Scientists from the D-MTEC are working with experts from the University of St. Gallen, LMU in Munich, and the Inselspital Bern to develop a reliable system for the early detection of acute low blood sugar.