Swiss SKA Days held at EPFL

The annual Swiss SKA days were held from 7-8 September, hosted by the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and bringing together national and international representatives of academia, industry and government.

In June, EPFL signed a Cooperation Agreement with SKAO which, alongside formalising Switzerland’s participation in the governance of the Observatory, enables Swiss partners to engage in procurement matters in the same way as SKAO Members.

EPFL chose to organise a hybrid meeting, welcoming around 50 participants in person and a similar number virtually. Alongside a talk by SKAO Council Chair Dr Catherine Cesarsky, there was a suite of SKAO presentations on the current status of the project, regional centres, software development, procurement rules and the latest political developments. These were accompanied by presentations and pitches from Swiss industry and other potential partners.

Having a small SKAO presence in person at the event, the first such international business travel by HQ based staff for 18 months, meant a series of fringe meetings could be held on procurement matters with Swiss and French colleagues present in Lausanne, and most importantly, with officials from the Swiss government to finalise negotiations on Swiss membership of the SKAO. These meetings were particularly useful, reminding us that physical interaction is in some cases irreplaceable.

by Dr Simon Berry and Thijs Geurts (SKAO)