Our second day of the preparatory seminar was about enabling accessibility. Digital transformation impacts all industries in India and Switzerland. We had the pleasure to welcome experts from the energy, MEM industry and from the digitalswitzerland initiative.

Digitalisation: How fit is Switzerland by Nicolas Bürer, digitalswitzerland
Nicolas Bürer from digitalswitzerland gave an interesting introduction into the digital future readiness of Switzerland. The initiative of digitalswitzerland aims to support Swiss companies and institutions to transform digitally. All industries are affected by the digital transformation, yet some like the healthcare industry are impacted the most. Interestingly, 65% of kids today will do jobs that have so far not been invented. To successfully transform digitally, companies must be agile to adapt fast to new innovation and disruptions. Switzerland is ranked as one of the most innovative locations. Unique about Switzerland is their decentralised innovation cluster. Various Swiss regions offer hubs for collaboration to create innovations such as robotics and AI technologies.

Renewable energy projects by Dr. Stefan Nowak, REPIC
Dr. Stefan Nowak from REPIC introduced us to the development of renewable energy in Switzerland and their projects in emerging economies. Switzerland agreed to the new energy strategy 2050 which aims to increase the renewable part of energy. India has likewise committed itself to ambitious renewable energy goals. By 2022, India targets to reach 175 GW clean energy capacity. REPIC conducts small-scale projects in emerging markets to enable the accessibility of energy sources (e.g solar electric vehicles, solar panels for start-up offices). It’s important to REPIC that their projects have the potential to be multiplied in other regions. Adapting energy technologies is crucial because finance and resources may not exist. REPIC encounters some challenges like lack of capital and knowledge. While it is beneficial to have the technology, it is utmost fundamental to have a clear strategy in place to leverage the project’s impact.

Harvesting Jet Stream Wind Energy by Michael Perlberger, Startup Brainwhere
Highly inspirational and passionate Michael Perlberger, founder of the startup Brainwhere introduced to us his startup business. Brainwhere intends to utilise jet stream wind flows to generate electricity. Michael sees market potential in India because energy transformation has become a national priority and pivotal for the high population growth and consumption needs. However, he addressed that it would require a long-term strategy and commitment if Brainwhere would invest in India. Michael is aware of their still many unanswered questions and obstacles, yet know-how and entrepreneurial spirit are there to bring Brainwhere’s technology forward.

Opportunities and Challenges for the SWISSMEM industry by Raoul Keller
Raoul Keller gave us an introduction to SWISSMEM’s mandate. SWISSMEM (Machine, Electric, and Metal industry) represents the interests of the MEM industry and advises the member companies in various matters. Raoul stressed on the importance to ratify a free trade agreement with India to boost MEM’s industry growth. The industry sees opportunities in digitalisation such as automation and robotics. A challenge of MEM companies include exchange rate risk that are uncontrollable. To conclude, the MEM industry must continue to invest in high quality engineers to remain valuable and innovative.

The Culture Divide: Switzerland & India by Nikhil Malik
Nikhil Malik is a longstanding Indian resistant of Switzerland who’s originally from Mumbai. Nikhil held an highly interactive speech about cultural differences between India and Switzerland. Nikhil told us about his personal experience, comparing Indian and Swiss lifestyles. He applied the Hofstede model with some practical examples to demonstrate the core differences.

Some key anecdotes from Nikhil’s talk:

  • In India, you’d never see a manager coming to work with a bike
  • India is quite a collective society whereas the Swiss tend to be more individualistic
  • Young Indians are always looking for new opportunities