“Science funding cuts directly affect young students and researchers”

In an effort to ease pressure on the federal budget over the coming years, the Swiss Federal Council has proposed significant reductions. external page This week, it adopted a budget relief programme called EP 27 for the years 2027 to 2029. With proposed annual cuts of nearly external page 500 million Swiss francs a year, the education, research and innovation (ERI) sector is heavily affected by these cost-saving measures. This proposal directly impacts universities, research institutions, and funding bodies such as the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and Innosuisse.

For the ETH Domain ¨C which includes ETH Zurich, EPFL, PSI, WSL, Eawag and Empa ¨C the budget relief programme entails direct annual reductions of 78 million Swiss francs for the years 2027 to 2029. The Swiss Parliament is now beginning deliberations on EP27.

In response to these planned federal budget cuts, the Swiss student association VSS and the swisswide mid-level academic staff association Actionuni, representing doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, call for a national demonstration on 1 October 2025. The demonstration will take place in two parts: regional events will take place in the morning, including one in Zurich at Helvetiaplatz, followed by a central rally in Bern at Bundesplatz in the afternoon (see the box below for details). The demonstration is organised ahead of the parliamentary debate on the proposed budget relief programme.

At ETH Zurich, the student union VSETH and the mid-level academic staff association AVETH are actively involved in organising the demonstrations. Their concerns focus on the planned increase in tuition and, more broadly, how budget cuts affect the daily work and career prospects of students, doctoral candidates, and researchers. Among the key organisers are the co-presidents of AVETH: Lucie Kralickova from Berend Snijder¡¯s Molecular Systems Biology (D-BIOL) and Arturo Winters from Jan Vermant¡¯s soft Matter group (D-MATL).

What concerns you about the planned cuts in the ERI sector?
Arturo Winters: Reliable, long-term funding is the foundation of scientific progress and innovation. Switzerland¡¯s strength in research and education is built on this stability, which allows institutions like ETH Zurich to plan ahead and support high-quality research. The federal government's austerity measures are placing significant strain on education, research, and innovation. external page This year alone, 200 million Swiss francs have been cut, and from next year an additional 100 million Swiss Francs is proposed annually. Yet, in addition to this, the EP27 adds further cuts external page 78 million Swiss francs a year, that is approximately 3 per cent of the ETH domain budget. Such measures increase pressure on our work and limits flexibility for long-term research planning within the ETH Domain.

Lucie Kralickova: In practical terms, reduced financial flexibility means fewer funds to extend researchers¡¯ contracts or invest in urgently needed infrastructure. The stability that has allowed Switzerland to attract talented researchers from around the world and produce excellent science is now being limited. But beyond the immediate impacts, what concerns me most is what these cuts signal about the prioritisation of education, research, and innovation. At a time when science and evidence-based decision-making face increasing global challenges, maintaining stable support is essential.

What motivates you to campaign against the planned cuts and for stable research funding?

Lucie Kralickova: Discussions about funding for education, research, and innovation often focus on institutions and structures, overlooking the people directly affected. Yet the planned cuts to science funding will directly affect students, doctoral candidates, and young researchers, impacting daily work, career prospects, and wellbeing. That is why we feel compelled to speak up and advocate for stable funding. This ensures that science can continue to thrive and that researchers can carry out their work under fair and secure conditions.

Arturo Winters: Federal funding has traditionally been generous and has played a key role in building the international reputation of Swiss science. It enables institutions like ETH Zurich and the Swiss National Science Foundation to provide meaningful support to early-career researchers, fostering both our professional and personal development. Currently, funding programmes for doctoral students and early-career researchers are reduced and significantly fewer applications are approved, therefore it¡¯s not just an abstract system that suffers. Real people, students and researchers whose work drives future innovation, are impacted.

How will the proposed budget cuts affect early-career researchers at ETH?
Arturo Winters: Most doctoral students and early-career researchers work on fixed-term contracts, which already create professional and personal uncertainty. The planned budget cuts would reduce the flexibility to extend contracts or fund new positions, putting additional strain on people whose work drives scientific progress. 

Lucie Kralickova: Budget cuts in science tend to hit the most vulnerable the hardest. Early-career researchers often balance teaching, lab work, publications, grant applications, and supervision simultaneously. With fewer resources and staff, this workload will only increase, affecting both wellbeing and the long-term quality of research.