Employees 250 | Website www.sbfi.admin.ch | |
 | ||
Minister responsible Johann Schneider-Ammann, Federal Councillor Parent agency Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research Jurisdiction Federal administration of Switzerland | ||
The Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI; SBFI) was formed on 20 December 2012 as part of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, by merging the State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER; SBF), formerly part of the Federal Department of Home Affairs, and the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET; BBT).
The SERI has 250 employees and a budget of about four billion Swiss francs per year. It is headed by state secretary Mauro Dell'Ambrogio (born in 1953), who had succeeded Charles Kleiber as head of SER in 2007.
Mauro Dell'Ambrogio is a member of the "ultra-liberal" wing of PLR in the canton of Ticino. He was appointed as head of the merged state secretariat after Johann Schneider-Ammann's failed attempt to appoint Roman Boutellier.
The State Secretariat is responsible for the ETH Domain, and it coordinates the Swiss cantonal universities, the recognition of cantonal or foreign diplomas and Swiss participation in international projects in education. It is also responsible for the finances of the Swiss National Science Foundation and for Swiss participation in international research projects.