Matterhorn Projects - Are we looking for the next Alfred Escher?

How can we help?

We might not have all the answers but we welcome all questions. Please reach out to us with media inquiries, questions about membership or non-political partnership, ideas or requests. We look forward to hearing from you in any of the official Swiss languages or English.

Newsletter

Get the latest digital thinking direct to your inbox. Join more than 14,000 fellow digital enthusiasts for our regular round-up of the latest news, project updates and ideas to inspire.

Download document

After subscribing to our newsletter you can download the document.

Submit your Matterhorn project now. Register here. The campaign closes this Friday, June 22, 2018.

Around 30 ideas submitted, how about yours?

A few weeks back, we launched the Matterhorn Project: We are looking for colossal ideas with the potential to transform Switzerland and the world in a sustainable manner!

We have already received around 30 great ideas. Some of the ideas even have some parallels to projects of Switzerland’s greatest innovator so far, Alfred Escher:

New educational institution
Like Escher found the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, we could found a new educational institution. The formation of an ETM Eidgenössische Technische Mittelschule (“Federal Middle School of Technology”) with a clear focus on STEM subjects would ideally prepare talented pupils for their digital future.

Swiss-wide network for commercial drones
Like Escher pushed forward with the railway network as well as the Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland, we could push launch a Swiss-wide network for commercial drones. Switzerland is already one of the leaders in the drone technology sphere and could push ahead as the first country to have commercial drones in the airspace.

Smart contract-based blockchain solution for the financial industry
Like Escher founded the Schweizerische Kredit Anstalt (today Credit Suisse) to finance the Gotthard, we could develop a smart contract-based blockchain solution for the future of the Swiss financial services industry, thereby building the fundament of future digital ecosystems across borders.

These are just three disruptive projects that could bring Switzerland and the world sustainably forward. Do you have further ideas for the Matterhorn Projects? Register here and submit your idea now until June 22, 2018. Or just check out, vote and comment on the already submitted ideas!

After June 22 the most promising ideas will be selected. The best idea(s) will be presented on stage on the 25th of October 2018 during the Digital Day. The support of the digitalswitzerland network to turn the idea into reality will follow after the announcement of the selected idea.

If you want to stay up to date on all things Matterhorn Projects, please subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter.

About us

Who we are

digitalswitzerland is a Swiss-wide, cross-industry initiative that aims to strengthen and anchor Switzerland as a global leader for digital innovation.

What we do

With more than 25 active projects on a variety of pressing or future challenges we inspire, initiate, co-create or lead future change.

How we do it

Digital transformation concerns us all. We include stakeholders from politics, business, research, academia and civil society in all language regions.