Peter Bell and Doug Häggström (co-chairs of the board)
After launching the organisation in October 2024, the year of 2025 has been the first full year of existence for the Australian-Swiss Academic & Innovation Network and our first year of incorporation as a Swiss Verein; we're off to a flying start!
2025: Year in Focus
ASAIN's membership base has grown to nearly 300 people, with many active participants becoming familiar faces. ASAIN events have brought crowds of up to 70 people, often travelling from all over Switzerland. Our events have varied from small meet-and-greet apéros (Postdoc Mobility and More, Aussie Students Abroad) to guest speaker programs on exciting and interesting topics such as Forensic Science (Traces of Innovation), Opthalmology (Bridging Science and Sight), and how academics and big business alike are working to manage Climate Risk and the effects of global warming to come (Data to Solutions). Finally, in December we closed the year with a very special all-day excursion: a behind-the-scenes tour of the Jungfraujoch High Altitude Research Laboratory (Getting High on Science), led by the Director of the Institute herself, Dr Eliza Harris. There seems to be an Aussie under every rock and it makes us all proud to see one of our own at the very top of Swiss research 🏔️🏔️!
All of this has only been possible by the hard work of our 2025 ASAIN Board - all volunteers! Say hello if you meet them: Jen, Maartje, Martin, Paige, John, Ash, Eva, and Christian. Thank you to each and every one of you, but especially to Paige Howell and Maartje Bastings, who have stepped back for 2026. Paige to focus on the pointy end of her PhD, and Maartje to embark on a sabbatical in Melbourne - all the best with these projects, we really have been grateful to work with you.
Two more organisations who have been significant in ASAIN's first-year success are the Swiss-Australian Academic Network (SAAN), and the Australian Embassy in Bern. SAAN established the model on which ASAIN was built, and we're grateful for their ongoing collaboration, especially Prof. Rob Medcalf (Monash University), Tristan Piguet (Swiss Embassy in Australia), and Dr Arianna Oddo (University of Melbourne). The Australian Embassy in Bern are ASAIN's first corporate member and have gone above and beyond to help us with invaluable contacts, ideas, and generally as a sounding board for ASAIN strategy - special thanks to Dylan Walsh and Lily Brouwer-French!
Finally, thank you to our Patrons: the Honourable Liz Day, Ambassador of Australia to Switzerland and Lichtenstein, and Dr. Bob Bishop, President of the ICES Foundation. Your support is invaluable, we are happy to have such a wealth of experience available to help guide ASAIN and broaden the network. We are honoured by the enthusiasm you bring, and your belief in the ASAIN cause.
2026: The Year to Come
Firstly, a warm welcome to Madeleine Venables, who has joined the ASAIN board after the AGM in November! Madeleine is a rheumatologist at the University Hospital in Zurich and will be jumping onboard to help manage the ASAIN Newsletter - keep your eye on your inbox.
With a handful of events already in the pipeline, we're already planning our calendar celebrating Aus-Swiss connections - watch this space!
Ask: What you can do for ASAIN
ASAIN exists for its members, but what can members do for ASAIN?
Keep reading our emails. Come to ASAIN events. Share them with your friends and colleagues.
ASAIN is a network - keep in touch! ASAIN is here for you, and we are very happy to help showcase our members, promote new research, and to share your story. Tag us on LinkedIn or send us your suggestions for a blog post or an event:
- Stories from a sabbatical.
- Students on exchange.
- Exciting new research.
- Visiting experts.
- What can ASAIN do for you?
ASAIN's most valuable asset is word of mouth.
It certainly isn't our acronym (no Google, I didn't mean "Asian").
Whether you are in Switzerland, Australia, or elsewhere, we hope you have had a wonderful Christmas🎄. Regardless of if you celebrate the event or not, it's a unique and magical time of year where even Swiss bureaucracy goes on holiday!
Cheers,
Peter, Doug, and the ASAIN board.