The Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme continues on a positive note
The second year of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme in the field of applied research has reached a successful conclusion. Launched at the beginning of 2025, the second call for projects resulted in the approval of 16 funding applications, involving 16 Swiss companies and seven research institutions.
Implemented by Innosuisse, in collaboration with the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) in Poland, two successive calls for projects have led to a strengthening of partnerships between the two countries in the field of applied research. According to Raphaela Kübler, Project Manager at Innosuisse, “the second call for projects has confirmed, once again, the dynamic ties between Switzerland and Poland.”
A sharp increase in participation
With 143 eligible projects out of 146 submissions, the number of proposals increased by 47% compared with the 2024 call for projects.
In order to strengthen the programme’s focus on applied research, the 2025 call for projects required each consortium to include at least one Swiss and one Polish partner from the private sector. Furthermore, the share of the overall budget financed by the private sector has been increased with a view to encouraging companies to participate in the programme.
The fields of engineering and technology remained predominant, particularly electrical engineering, computer science and materials engineering. However, there is a growing interest in technological solutions to societal challenges, and this trend can be seen in the 16 projects finally selected.
All projects will soon enter their implementation phase, which will last 24, 30 or 36 months, and are scheduled for completion by 2029 at the latest.
Bilateral cooperation is expected to continue
Although no new calls for projects are planned in the current framework of the Switzerland-Poland cooperation programme, bilateral cooperation is constantly strengthening.
Flagship events are held annually by the embassies of both countries as well as by the Swiss, Polish and Central European chambers of commerce, which helps maintain an active dialogue between economic and scientific stakeholders.
In June 2025, the relevant ministries of Switzerland and Poland signed a Memorandum of Understanding to bolster the partnerships between their higher education, research and innovation communities, as well as between their funding agencies.
Innosuisse and the NCBR also reaffirmed their commitment to work together within the Eureka and Eurostars international programmes. It should be noted that Switzerland holds the presidency of Eureka for the 2025–2026 period, which it will hand over to Poland for 2027–2028.
Both countries are also active participants in the Taftie network, which promotes strategic exchanges and the sharing of best practices between national innovation agencies.