{"id":38366,"date":"2026-04-01T07:45:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T05:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/?p=38366"},"modified":"2026-04-01T11:30:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T09:30:58","slug":"top-stories-from-western-switzerland-march-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/top-stories-from-western-switzerland-march-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Stories from Western Switzerland (March 2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/foreign-direct-investment-2025-western-switzerland-confirms-its-attractiveness\/\">Foreign Direct Investment 2025: Western Switzerland Confirms Its Attractiveness<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2025, the Greater Geneva Bern area (GGBa), in close collaboration with the economic development agencies of Western Switzerland\u2019s cantons, supported the establishment of 91 foreign companies. These projects are expected to generate 740 jobs over the next three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"GGBa Annual Report 2025\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/b5BQ_bYBifw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/the-swiss-research-that-made-a-paralyzed-man-walk-again-a-conversation-with-jocelyne-bloch-and-gregoire-courtine\/\">The Swiss Research That Made a Paralyzed Man Walk Again (A Conversation with Jocelyne Bloch and Gr\u00e9goire Courtine)<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In this episode of Getting Serious, neuroscientist Gr\u00e9goire Courtine and neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch trace the journey from animal models to their first patient walking in 2017, and share their long-term vision of combining electrical stimulation with gene therapy to cure paralysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Swiss Research That Made a Paralyzed Man Walk Again (with Jocelyne Bloch and Gr\u00e9goire Courtine)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8rBEeFnRX5o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/mondelez-international-inaugurates-new-toblerone-production-line-in-bern\/\">Mondel\u0113z International inaugurates new Toblerone production line in Bern<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Mondel\u0113z International completed a CHF 65 million investment at its Bern Br\u00fcnnen facility, increasing Toblerone&#8217;s global production capacity by 20 to 30%. The upgrade cements Bern&#8217;s role as the brand&#8217;s worldwide center of excellence, supplying over 120 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/the-canton-of-fribourg-makes-its-mark-at-bioket-2026\/\">The canton of Fribourg makes its mark at BIOKET 2026<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Fribourg hosted the BIOKET international bioeconomy conference for its first-ever Swiss edition, reflecting the canton&#8217;s growing recognition as a European leader in bio-based innovation. Bioeconomy accounts for approximately 30% of Fribourg&#8217;s GDP and 28% of its employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bioeconomy and Industry 4.0 (Fribourg Growth Hub - 2\/8)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/N6QUc_VNpCU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/the-swiss-data-science-center-inaugurates-its-headquarters-at-biopole-in-lausanne\/\">The Swiss Data Science Center inaugurates its headquarters at Biop\u00f4le in Lausanne<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The Swiss Data Science Center opened its first independent home at Biop\u00f4le in Lausanne, supported by CHF 7.5 million from the canton of Vaud. The move brings 120 specialists closer to companies, hospitals, and research institutions, reinforcing Vaud&#8217;s position as a hub for applied AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/epfl-and-csem-set-world-record-for-triple-junction-solar-cell-efficiency\/\">EPFL and CSEM set world record for triple-junction solar cell efficiency<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers from EPFL&#8217;s PV-Lab and CSEM achieved a certified 30.02% power conversion efficiency for a triple-junction solar cell, surpassing the previous world record of 27.1%. The result, published in Nature, opens a pathway to affordable high-efficiency photovoltaics for terrestrial and space applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ggba.swiss\/en\/biomerieux-invests-in-plair-to-advance-environmental-monitoring-in-pharma\/\">bioM\u00e9rieux invests in Plair to advance environmental monitoring in pharma<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Global diagnostics leader bioM\u00e9rieux has invested over CHF 1 million in Geneva-based Plair, whose real-time microbial detection system addresses growing regulatory demands in pharmaceutical cleanroom monitoring. The partnership gives Plair access to bioM\u00e9rieux&#8217;s commercial presence in over 160 countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From a world solar efficiency record to Western Switzerland&#8217;s 2025 FDI results and a landmark bioeconomy conference, discover Western Switzerland\u2019s top stories from March 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":22339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[838],"tags":[913,893,936,894,966,958,890,918,963],"class_list":["post-38366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-environment","tag-agritech","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-energy","tag-financing","tag-fintech","tag-foodtech","tag-healthcare","tag-investment","tag-medical-devices"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Top Stories from Western Switzerland (March 2026) | GGBa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From a world solar efficiency record to Western Switzerland&#039;s 2025 FDI results, discover Western 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