Switzerland’s Largest AI Collaboration: Swiss {ai} Weeks Launch Across24 Cities, Bringing AI to the Heart of Society
- sara9231
- 16 hours ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 50 minutes ago
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing our lives – but how, exactly? What does it mean for our work, our education, our democracy, our everyday experience? And what does AI look like when it meets Swiss values? For Swiss {ai} Weeks, people and organizations are coming together as part of Switzerland’s largest AI movement to find answers to these questions.
Over 160 events on the responsible development and application of artificial intelligence are set to take place all across Switzerland from September 1 through October 5, 2025. Selected events will feature a newly developed Swiss AI language model. At vocational schools or in offices, hospitals, and community centers: Swiss {ai} Weeks transform AI technologies into a tangible experience with the chance to shape the future in 24 cities and online. This movement represents a joint effort of more than 150 partner organizations in science, business, public administration, and civil society.
Zurich, September 1, 2025 – Switzerland introduces artificial intelligence to everyday life: Swiss {ai} Weeks, the largest nationwide movement to shape the role of AI in public life, is opening new spaces for dialogue, learning, and innovation.
“With Swiss {ai} Weeks, artificial intelligence has made the leap from research labs straight into the middle of society. It’s all about understanding AI and shaping its future together, the Swiss way: transparent, open, and responsible,” says Christoph Birkholz at Panter AG, the project’s co-initiator.
Over 150 organizations from science, business, and society will host a diverse five-week program in collaboration with the Federal Government as well as EPFL AI Center, ETH AI Center, Gebert Rüf Stiftung, Impact Hub, SRG SSR, Swiss Re, Swisscom, and UBS. At venues throughout 24 different cities, the project applies scientific insights towards hands-on use cases in the real world. The program encompasses tech festivals, software workshops, and podium discussions on a range of subjects such as law, ethics, or strategy. Further offerings include beginner workshops for small and mid-size businesses as well as entry-level courses for anyone making first contact with AI.
A Program as Diverse as Switzerland
The lineup of 160 events illustrates just how broadly AI has already impacted everyday life in
Switzerland. The spectrum ranges from workshops, panels, and hackathons to educational offerings, citizen dialogue, and easily accessible online formats. This is where perspectives come together from all language regions, both online and on site: Experts in education and academia discuss the most important skills in an age of AI. Tourism professionals demonstrate how AI-powered city tours are enabling new forms of interactive travel. Journalists and citizens hone their ability to spot deep fakes and conduct fact checks in real time. And specialists explain how modern-day large language models work and why solutions like the Swiss AI language model are key to unlocking innovation and
strengthening digital sovereignty.
Swiss {ai} Weeks are designed for the public at large: the student in St. Gallen, the journalist in Aarau, the local politician in Porrentruy, or the entrepreneur in Lugano. They will all find an exciting program designed to better their understanding, use, and development of AI today.
Cooperation and Innovation “Made in Switzerland”
Swiss {ai} Weeks are a collective effort. More than 150 organizations in academia, industry, the public sector, and civil society are contributing their expertise. The program emphasizes open-source AItechnologies with strong benefits to society: A new Swiss-made AI language model trained on the “Alps” supercomputer in Lugano plays a central role at many of the hackathons. It empowers hackers to develop new solutions to concrete challenges at partners like AXA or the Federal Government, CSS, the Swiss Post, Swiss Re, Swisscom, UBS, Viseca, or VZ Vermögenszentrum.
“Artificial intelligence belongs in the middle of society. The Swiss {ai} Weeks combine cutting-edge research with real-world issues, encouraging dialogue and bringing people together from over twenty different localities – for innovation that benefits Switzerland and the world,” says Pascale Vonmont, CEO of Gebert Rüf Stiftung, the project’s main partner.
Swiss {ai} Weeks will host events at venues in Basel, Bern, Brugg-Windisch, Buchs, Cadro, Fribourg, Geneva, Horgen, Lausanne, Lenzburg, Lucerne, Lugano, Oberentfelden, Opfikon-Glattbrugg, Porrentruy, Rapperswil-Jona, Rotkreuz, Schlieren, Solothurn, St.Gallen, Wil (SG), Winterthur, Zug, Zurich, and beyond.
Partner organisations
Main Partners | Track/Hack Partners | Local Partners |
Gebert Rüf Stiftung SRG SSR Swiss Re Swisscom UBS | AXA CSS Helbling Group Swiss Post Ltd Swiss Confederation Viseca VZ VermögensZentrum | Bern: Bern Economic Development Agency, Canton of Bern, Stiftung Natur und Umwelt Geneva: City of Geneva, Federation of Enterprises of Western Switzerland Geneva Lenzburg: Finnova St.Gallen: Canton of St.Gallen Valais: Groupe Mutuel Vaud: Canton of Vaud, Innovaud Zurich: Office for Economy, Canton Zurich, ETH Entrepreneur Club, FRZ Flughafenregion Zürich, Greater Zurich Area, HWZ, Swiss Actuarial Association, Swiss Life, Wenger Vieli, Zühlke Group |
Co-Initiators and Partners
AI Bridge, AI for exoplanets, ALLPS, Amazee Labs, amazee.ai, Antegris, ARABESQUE,
Artifact, Association AI Swiss, avidia.ai, Axians, b2venture, bbv, BEGASOFT, Bern University
of Applied Sciences, Botalist, BRIGHTSIDE AI, BWO Systems AG, Camunda, CERN, CH
Open, CleverAI, Connect AI, CSP, Cuemarc, CV Summit, Datalets, Day One, Deep Impact,
Deep Tech Nation Switzerland, Digital Leverage, Digital Shift, Digital Winterthur, Dreamleap,Drupal Switzerland, ElevenLabs, EncoSphera, EPFL AI Center, EPFL AI Team, ETH AI Center, ETH Robotics Club, Feinheit, Festland, Founderful, Founderful Campus, FRZ Flughafenregion Zürich, GALLUS MEDIA, GenAI Zürich, Geneva Innovation Movement
Association, Graduate School of Applied Technology & Management, Graduate Institute
Geneva, Hugging Face, ICT4Peace Foundation, IDSIA, Impact Hub Bern, Impact Hub
Geneva, Impact Hub Switzerland, Impact Hub Zurich, Incratec, infinity.swiss, Innovation
Zurich, innoverse.ai, inovio, inpeek AG, KeySemantics, KI Edu Media, KI Power Swiss,
Kickstart Innovation, KImpact – Verband für künstliche Intelligenz, KMUmeetKI, Knipsbox,
LAC, LauzHack, LerNetz, Liip, Linkfloyd, MAZ, Merantix Capital, Moneycab, Monticone
Consulting, Open-X, Panoramai, Panter, PDF Tools, Quantum Analytics, Redalpine,
Rockstar Recruiting, SAPIENTROQ, Schubkraft Lernmedien, SICTIC, Smartfeld, START
Global, Startfeld, StiftungSchweiz, StratEdge, Supertext, Swico, Swiss Future Institute AG,
Swiss Institute for Disruptive Innovation, Swiss Made Software, SwissCognitive, Swisscom,
Swisscom Ventures, SwissDevJobs, SwissNLP, Switzerland Innovation Park Central,
Switzerland Innovation Park Ost, TD SYNNEX, Techgarage, Technopark Luzern, THE Port
association, Twelve Balloons, Übermorgen Ventures, Unic, VarGroup, Verein Energy Data
Innovation Hub, Wildcard Media, WORKSPACE & MORE, Z83 and others.
Quotes partners
Christoph Aeschlimann (Group CEO Swisscom AG)
“Discover your possibilities: The Swiss {ai} Weeks showcase what’s possible when we join
forces in Switzerland. We are committed to safe, trustworthy AI. Let’s shape the future
together – with Swiss AI that inspires."
Eliane Noverraz (Co-Director of Product and Innovation SRG SSR)
“The Swiss {ai} Weeks bring people together to actively shape the future of AI in
Switzerland. As SRG, we are a partner because we have always told the stories that show
the diversity of Switzerland – and because for us, innovation means strengthening dialogue
and trust in the digital world.“
Prof. Marcel Salathé (Co-Director EPFL AI Center)
“We’re very happy to see Swiss {ai} Weeks take shape - AI is the defining technology of our
time, and it’s important that everyone who wants to engage with it has plenty of opportunities
to do so.“
Melanie Gabriel (Co-Director ETH AI Center)
“Swiss {ai} Weeks offers a dynamic platform where teams from diverse backgrounds can
work directly with Switzerland's newly released open-source LLM. It's incredibly rewarding to
see that not only Corporates but also SMEs and NGOs find value through our LLMs for their
business cases. We are excited to meet the winners of the hackathons, who will have the
opportunity to showcase their AI innovations at the AI+X Summit on October 2nd.“
Mike Dargan (Group Chief Operations and Technology Officer, UBS)
“We are very pleased to partner with Swiss {ai} Weeks, where leading minds from business,
academia, and technology meet and exchange ideas. Open collaboration on novel solutions
is essential to harness the potential of artificial intelligence responsibly and to sustainably
strengthen the position of Switzerland as an innovation hub. In keeping with the long
tradition of innovation, I am looking forward to the AI Talk UBS is hosting, as well exploring
creative ideas from the hackathon teams.“
Pascale Vonmont (CEO Gebert Rüf Stiftung)
“Artificial intelligence belongs in the middle of society. The Swiss {ai} Weeks combine
cutting-edge research with real-world issues, encouraging dialogue and bringing people
together from over twenty different localities – for innovation that benefits Switzerland and
the world.“
Pravina Ladva (Group Chief Digital & Technology Officer Swiss Re)
“It is inspiring to see how Swiss {ai} Weeks is bringing so many together, united by the
shared ambition to shape the future of AI responsibly and transparently. Close collaboration
across sectors and knowledge transfer between experts are key to reap the full benefits of
this technology. We look forward to partnering with creative minds for our hackathon
challenge 'Building Resilience to Extreme Weather in Switzerland' to develop innovative
solutions for one of society’s most pressing challenges.“
Christoph Birkholz (Panter AG)
“With Swiss {ai} Weeks, artificial intelligence has made the leap from research labs straight
into the middle of society. It’s all about understanding AI and shaping its future together, the
Swiss way: transparent, open, and responsible.“
About Swiss {ai} Weeks
Swiss {ai} Weeks is a collaborative initiative to turn Switzerland’s groundbreaking AI
research into societal and economic impact. Through hackathons, expert events, public
engagement, and startup incubation, it connects researchers, developers, entrepreneurs,
and citizens around a shared goal: shaping ethical, open, and trustworthy use of AI. At the
heart of the effort is Switzerland’s first open-source Large Language Model – developed with
Swiss values in mind: transparency, responsibility, and multilinguality. Swiss {ai} Weeks
activates a collective push for responsible AI application: decentralised, hands-on, and built
for the common good.
The initiators of the Swiss {ai} Weeks include EPFL AI Center, ETH AI Center, Swisscom, Impact Hub Switzerland, Kickstart Innovation, Panter, and Wildcard Media. Here you will find our image material available for unrestricted use.
Media contact
Sabine Wildemann · Communications Swiss {ai} Weeks
media@swiss-ai-weeks.ch · +41 78 319 98 13 · www.swiss-ai-weeks.ch
