As part of our series of interviews with local personalities in the digital, we had the pleasure of meeting Anthony Corbaz, Director of Members and Regions at digitalswitzerland.
Created in 2015, this national initiative plays a central role in Switzerland's digital transformation, connecting businesses, governments and academic players around a shared vision: to make Switzerland a world leader in in digitalization.
Working with a wide range of partners, digitalswitzerland orchestrates numerous initiatives to stimulate technological innovation across the country and strengthen Switzerland's competitiveness in an increasingly digitalized world.
During this exchange, Anthony shared with us his vision for digitalswitzerland's "Strategy 2025", his action plan to support Swiss companies in their transition and his outlook for the future.
What is your action plan for digitalswitzerland's "Strategy 2025"?
We want to and will remain faithful and dedicated to our mission of digitally transforming Switzerland. This is our vision and our strategy, and will probably be our mission for the next year. We will continue to implement this mission through programs and activities as we do now.
Our motto is really to create impact. I think that in our 2025 strategy, we're going to continue and even amplify our orchestration role. Some players are doing more and more in areas that affect the digitization of the country, such as the government, the army, companies and academies. We're trying to position ourselves a bit in the middle as an orchestrator or integrator, so that everyone starts moving in the same direction.
Our mission, since we were founded in 2015, has been to determine how Switzerland can maintain its competitiveness and innovation in the age of digitalization, as it has always done.
How can digitalswitzerland help Swiss companies in their digital transformation process?
We work with our members on initiatives that get to the heart of digitalization. For example, with HerHack. There are currently only 16% women in STEM professions in Switzerland. To avoid a technical gap by 2030, it's vital that we work to help and interest them. Our hackathon, challenge and networking concepts make these careers more interesting for them.
To support the digitization of the country, we are carrying out concrete initiatives with members in the interests of the country. The reason we're working on Digital Health is because it's important to our members. The electronic patient record is one thing, but there are lots of other things going on around the digital ecosystem in Swiss healthcare. We're trying to ensure that the system plays a role.
The second way in which we can support Swiss companies is by creating and strengthening the network that enables us to interact with our members and between our members. We've launched our portal, a platform with groups on topics such as digital health. This enables everyone to connect with each other and interact. We don't offer services, we're not a service agency for our members, but our members can have business relationships with each other.
The third thing is the digitization of small and medium-sized businesses, often through regional activities. We've done a lot with start-ups and scale-ups, but we're increasingly turning our attention to SMEs. They say: "I've got my roadmap and I've got to do something. There are so many potential partners within digitalswitzerland". That's how we're trying to affect transformation: through our activities, our initiatives and the connections we can create.
As Head of Western Switzerland, what specific initiatives have you implemented to promote digitalization in French-speaking Switzerland (Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, Sion...)?
When I joined a year ago, I met all the members and prospects. I felt that there was a great deal of support for digitalswitzerland from our members on activities, but also a view that Romandie needed a region and a dynamism at a local level, but also in terms of integrating members into more national activities.
I've set up a working group called "Digital Action, Romandie Beating". This group will have permanent members, the 7 largest and most active in French-speaking Switzerland. These gatherings are working meetings on themes that we choose, for example data enhancement or artificial intelligence. The idea is to take these themes, which are common to all members, and make them the focus of our work. We'll bring in expert members, either from other members, or even external members, to talk about a particular theme or area of expertise. The idea is to already have a group that cements the French-speaking identity a little more.
The aim of this group is also to have a much stronger voice on national issues, so that we're not spread too thinly and drowned out by the size of the network. The fact that the French-speaking part of Switzerland meets a little more often also enables us to better integrate our members into what's going on elsewhere.
We organized a public forum with teachers, in partnership with our foundation, whose aim is to promote public dialogue around digitization. We've done a lot of activities in French-speaking Switzerland, including working groups and Digital Exchanges, which we organized as part of the forum with the foundation.
We're also expanding our partnership with other associations, typically the choses vallées, with whom we've already had discussions to start working together.
In 2023, one of the major events was the forum competition in Lausanne. We integrated the launch of the IMD report on digital competitiveness into a more global theme with a forum to discuss artificial intelligence and Switzerland's competitiveness. We looked at this from two angles: continuing education and regulation. We launched a White Paper at the WAF with IMD and PFA.
We put Romandie back on the map in terms of importance thanks to this event. Our aim was to build group loyalty, bring in new members, and highlight the fact that this event was created by members for members.
What are the most significant projects you've co-directed as part of Swiss Digital Days, and what impact have they had on promoting digitalization in Switzerland?
For me, it was a real honor and a highlight of 2023 to be able to participate in and contribute to the idea of Swiss Digital Days. There's a flagship program that's been around for 7 years, and a lot of people know about it. It has sparked discussions among the general public, companies and associations, and has had a significant impact on the digitalization scene.
In 2023, we realized that what we'd started was beginning to slip away, as the towns and cantons took over the event. This wasn't a bad thing, so we decided to support the movement. This was the first year we called it a "movement", encouraging all members and partners to organize their own events. There were 5,000 participants, 140 online and offline events, 60 partners involved, and 11 participating towns and cantons.
We've put the emphasis on programs like "HerHack", to increase diversity by encouraging more women to enter the technical professions, and "NexGen", which focuses on 12 to 15 year-olds to introduce them to digital professions. We don't just put a screen in front of their eyes, but we get them interested in the jobs of the future in digital technology, particularly through artificial intelligence and image creation. This way, when they make decisions at 16 or 18 about their career direction, the digital professions will become clearer to them. "HerHack" attracted 400 women, while "NexGen" reached 1,100 students.
We're continuing to look at how we can support this movement, while keeping our focus on talking about digitization, connecting people and getting them interested. We want to accompany this process so that people understand that digitization is here to stay, and that they need to embrace it.
Finally, what are your expectations of the collaboration with LANE Digital ?
The first thing I'd like to say is that we're delighted to have you. It's not just because you're nice people, but because you share our vision and mission. What we appreciate with you is this shared mission and expertise in the digital world, which is very useful and will be for others.
What I love about digitalswitzerland is the diversity and complementarity of our ecosystem. In terms of our values, we have a community-oriented mentality. Member involvement is essential, and we've found that those who are actively engaged in our events, programs, committees or on our platforms reap the most benefits. You do it very well, and I thank you for that.
For our partnership to be even more fruitful, it's essential to remain as active as you are right now, to bring that positive energy. I don't have any specific expectations, but I do have quality standards, and that's what you bring! You get involved with us, you challenge us, you suggest ideas, and you commit to the initiatives we put in place.
I think that when 170 to 200 of us are moving in the same direction, that's when we'll see and feel more of the impact of "Digital Switch" and its members on the theme of digital transformation.
Switzerland's digital transformation is an essential priority to ensure the competitiveness of our businesses and the well-being of our citizens. As agents of change, it is our responsibility to support this movement and contribute our expertise to help our ecosystems evolve towards a more connected and efficient future.
LANE Digitala Swiss agency - marketing & digital transformation - member of Digitalswitzerland
At LANE Digital, we're proud to contribute to this mission by offering tailor-made services to support Swiss companies in their digital transition. Whether it's digital strategy, automation or website redesign, our experts are here to help you maximize your potential.
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