An audience of about 40 people enjoyed fascinating presentations from expert speakers about the education system in Switzerland on June 20th in the Carlton on Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich.

This event followed a similar event in Lausanne in May.

Robin Hull, Principal at Hull’s School, Zurich, explained the Swiss education system from Kindergarten level through to University. He highlighted the different tracks of apprenticeship and academia for Swiss students – they give young people a choice between pursuing an education together with an apprenticeship versus a purely academic path. Yet the Swiss system does not easily transfer if a student wants to study abroad, so Robin also highlighted the benefits children who might want to go to University in Ireland might have in following an international curriculum vs. a Swiss one for the later secondary school years. 

Robin Hull, Hull’s School, Zurich

John Blake, Head of College Counselling at Institut auf dem Rosenberg, St. Gallen, and Mary Mayenfisch-Tobin, University Guidance Counsellor, College Champittet, Pully, together gave an insightful talk on the intricacies of the Swiss and other secondary and third level education systems and provided great practical tips for the audience, many of whom were parents, to ensure the best fit for each child.

Mary Mayenfisch-Tobin and John Blake giving their presentations.

Mark Lally from LittleVista, a start-up in the area of childcare, gave a presentation on the LittleVista app, which logs daily attendance at childcare and helps with administration. Families can also keep up-to-date with their little ones with real-time updates of their child’s day and their developmental activities.

Mark Lally from LittleVista speaks with IBN Zurich chapter heads Thérèse Langan and Joanna Long, who organised the event.

There was a lively Q&A at the end with many follow-up questions. Some suggested that this event could be hosted in other locations as well, given the high interest in the topic.

The Irish Business Network Switzerland is very pleased that our two events were able to support Irish people living in Switzerland to connect with each other while also facilitating better knowledge of the educational services here. The IBN and our members are very thankful to the Irish Government’s Emigrant Support Programme for their support.

Tanya Hogan, June 2020