SWITCH

Their core work

SWITCH is Switzerland's national research and education network (NREN), providing high-performance internet connectivity and digital infrastructure to universities, research institutions, and the broader academic community. They operate and develop the networking backbone that connects Swiss researchers to European and global research networks, particularly through the GÉANT consortium. Beyond connectivity, they work on cloud storage, data sharing platforms, and secure communication services that enable scientific collaboration across borders.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

SWITCH's early H2020 involvement (2015–2017) centered on foundational research networking through GÉANT and expanding global reach — the BELLA-S1 project focused on transatlantic submarine cable connectivity linking Europe to Latin America. By 2019–2023, their focus shifted toward secure, trust-based multi-domain networking and open science infrastructure, notably joining CS3MESH4EOSC to build interoperable cloud storage for EOSC. The trajectory shows a clear move from physical connectivity infrastructure toward software-defined services, security, and open science data sharing.

SWITCH is moving from pure network transport toward cloud-native research services and EOSC integration, making them increasingly relevant for projects needing secure data sharing infrastructure.

How they like to work

SWITCH operates exclusively as a participant, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a national infrastructure provider contributing specialized networking expertise to large-scale European initiatives. They work in very large consortia (51 unique partners across 40 countries), predominantly within the GÉANT ecosystem. This makes them a reliable, low-friction partner who understands large consortium dynamics, but prospective collaborators should expect a contributor role rather than project leadership from them.

SWITCH has collaborated with 51 unique partners across 40 countries, reflecting their position within the GÉANT network — one of the largest research infrastructure consortia in Europe. Their reach extends beyond Europe to Latin America through the BELLA initiative.

What sets them apart

SWITCH is one of Europe's established NRENs, giving it direct operational control over Switzerland's research network backbone — not just theoretical knowledge but hands-on infrastructure management. Their dual involvement in both physical connectivity (submarine cables via BELLA) and software services (EOSC cloud mesh) makes them a rare partner who understands the full stack from fiber optics to application-layer data sharing. For consortium builders, they bring Swiss reliability, a massive existing partner network, and direct integration paths into GÉANT and EOSC.

Highlights from their portfolio

• GN4-2
  Largest single EC contribution to SWITCH (EUR 828,581) and the longest-running GÉANT phase in their portfolio, spanning 2016–2020.
• BELLA-S1
  Intercontinental scope — building a submarine cable between Europe and Latin America, far beyond typical European networking projects.
• CS3MESH4EOSC
  Represents SWITCH's strategic pivot toward open science cloud infrastructure, connecting storage and applications across the European Open Science Cloud.