The Stepping Stone Symposia are instruments under the Sino Swiss Science and Technology Cooperation (SSSTC) for promoting academic and industrial participation of the program. They are envisioned to be a series of conferences participated by the most outstanding scientists and relevant industries. These conferences will thus be the “stepping stones” for Sino Swiss cooperation in translational research. To achieve maximum benefit, each symposium will be one of a set of two symposia for a given thematic area: the first one in Switzerland, and the second one in China.
    The current conference on cancer research and neurodegenerative diseases is the first of the series. Young group leaders, post-doctoral fellows, and PhD students are strongly encouraged to submit abstracts and participate.
    Sino Swiss Science and Technology Cooperation (SSSTC)

    In the Swiss Federal Council’s resolution on the Promotion of Education, Research and Innovation (the “BFI Botschaft”) for the period 2008-2011, China is named as one of the priority countries for intensified bilateral scientific cooperation. Based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2003 between the Swiss State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER) and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the SSSTC began its pilot phase in 2004 with symposia and workshops. In 2007, further meetings between both governments confirmed the bilateral support to continue the SSSTC program from 2008 to 2011. In addition, based on an exchange of letters, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has become a major partner of the SSSTC in China.

     To date, 144 projects have been awarded to Swiss participants covering almost all Swiss universities. As a result, a steady stream of exchange scholars has been travelling to their partner institutions to work and to learn a different culture. These joint projects receive financial support from both Swiss and Chinese sources – an arrangement marking a new era of Sino Swiss cooperation. In April 2011, Swiss Federal Councilor D. Burkhalter met with Minister Wan Gang of the MOST. Both expressed their satisfaction with the SSSTC program and agreed to allocate earmarked funding to extend the program until 2016.