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At the beginning of February 2024, ETH Zurich held a seminar specially designed for the newly elected members of the Swiss Federal Parliament. This event, previously known as the "Gerzensee Seminar", was organized by the Swiss School of Public Governance for the third time after 2015 and 2020 - this time at Hünigen Castle in Konolfingen. Further information on the key dates and the program can be found in the flyer (Download in German (PDF, 1.2 MB), Download en français (PDF, 1.2 MB), Download in italiano (PDF, 1.2 MB)).

The aim of the two-day seminar was to support the newly elected representatives in their work in parliament by providing them with background knowledge on key policy areas. To this end, there were a total of twelve presentations by renowned professors from various Swiss universities, in which scientific knowledge was imparted. The program was supplemented by an exchange of experiences with former members of the federal parliament from various political groups. The seminar also provided a platform for cross-party exchange.

You can read the article on ETH News about this year's seminar.

The program of the seminar included the following lectures:

Day 1

Introduction, Prof. Robert Perich, ETH Zurich

State policy

• Fundamentals of Swiss state policy, Prof. Andreas Kley, University of Zurich
• Migration policy, Prof. Dominik Hangartner, ETH Zurich

Fiscal policy

• Fiscal policy of the public sector, Prof. Nils Soguel, University of Lausanne
  Economy and taxes
• Macroeconomic fundamentals, Prof. Jan-Egbert Sturm, ETH Zurich

Environment, spatial planning and energy

• Energy and climate policy, Prof. Sonia Seneviratne, ETH Zurich

Science, education, and culture

• Education, research and innovation in Switzerland, Prof. Joël Mesot, ETH Zurich

Day 2

Foreign policy

• Fundamentals of Swiss Foreign Policy, Prof. Laurent Goetschel, University of Basel

Security policy

• International security: Swiss challenges, Prof. Andreas Wenger, ETH Zurich

Legal issues

• Private Law and Tech Law, Prof. Isabelle Wildhaber, University of St.Gallen (HSG)

Social security and health

• Insights from the COVID-19 pandemic for Swiss health policy and the exchange between science and politics, Prof. Tanja Stadler, ETH Zurich

Transportation and telecommunications

• Transport systems and mobility of the future, Prof. Michel Bierlaire, EPF Lausanne

Exchange of experiences with former members of the National Council and Council of States

• Marco Romano (TI), Die Mitte
• Christa Markwalder (BE), FDP
• Isabelle Chevalley (VD), GLP
• Regula Rytz (BE), Grüne
• Paul Rechsteiner (SG), SP
• Peter Keller (NW), SVP