Swiss {ai} Weeks bring artificial intelligence to 24 cities across Switzerland

Over 150 partner organizations launch Swiss {ai} Weeks, a nationwide initiative with 160 events highlighting AI innovation, ethics, and societal impact.

Switzerland is placing artificial intelligence (AI) at the heart of public dialogue with the launch of Swiss {ai} Weeks, a nationwide series of events running from September 1 to October 5, 2025. The initiative brings together 150 partner organizations from academia, industry, government, and civil society to showcase AI’s potential and encourage responsible adoption. More than 160 events will take place across 24 cities, making the series one of the largest AI outreach programs ever organized in Switzerland.

The program illustrates how deeply AI is shaping everyday life. Activities include hackathons, workshops, expert panels, and citizen dialogues, as well as easily accessible online formats. Journalists and citizens will learn how to spot deep fakes, educators will explore skills needed in an age of AI, and researchers will explain how modern large language models function. The focus is on bridging expertise with societal engagement in a transparent and inclusive way.

Apertus, Switzerland’s open-source LLM

A major highlight is the integration of Apertus, the fully open multilingual large language model released in August 2025 by EPFL, ETH Zurich, and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS). Trained on the Alps supercomputer in Lugano, Apertus is among the few open LLMs of its scale worldwide and supports more than 1,000 languages, including underrepresented ones such as Swiss German and Romansh.

During Swiss {ai} Weeks, Apertus will power hackathons hosted by partners such as Swisscom, AXA, Swiss Re, the Federal Government, and UBS. Participants will use the model to address real-world challenges, from financial services to healthcare. By providing open access to its architecture, weights, and training data, Apertus embodies Switzerland’s vision of AI as a public infrastructure designed for transparency, sovereignty, and innovation.

Western Switzerland’s AI ecosystem

The event series builds on Western Switzerland’s reputation as a global hub for AI research and application. Institutions such as EPFL’s AI Center and the Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (CAIM) in Bern have long been at the forefront of breakthroughs in speech recognition, machine learning, and medical AI.

This dynamic ecosystem is reinforced by the Swiss AI Initiative, co-led by EPFL and ETH Zurich, which has made Switzerland a global leader in the development of large-scale, trustworthy foundation models. Its flagship achievement to date is Apertus. With over 800 researchers involved and access to 20 million GPU hours annually, the initiative represents one of the world’s largest open-science efforts dedicated to AI.

Geneva also plays an important role in Switzerland’s AI landscape. The University of Geneva conducts research in areas such as natural language processing and machine learning, while the Geneva School of Business Administration (HEG) supports applied AI projects with SMEs. The city hosts international organizations such as the ITU, which leads global discussions on AI ethics and governance through initiatives like AI for Good.

Other notable centers in Western Switzerland further illustrate the region’s strength. The Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Complex Systems (iCoSys) at the School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg focuses on distributed computing and Industry 4.0 applications. The Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) in Neuchâtel contributes to digital technologies with applied research in AI and microelectronics. Together, these institutions create a vibrant network where academic excellence, industry collaboration, and start-up innovation converge.

AI for society and the economy

“Artificial intelligence belongs in the middle of society,” said Pascale Vonmont, CEO of Gebert Rüf Stiftung, the project’s main partner. “Swiss {ai} Weeks combine cutting-edge research with real-world issues, encouraging dialogue and innovation that benefits both Switzerland and the world.”

“With Swiss {ai} Weeks, AI has made the leap from research labs into everyday life,” added Christoph Birkholz of Panter AG, co-initiator of the project. “It’s about shaping the future of AI the Swiss way: transparent, open, and responsible.”