Introduction
The Swiss Polar Institute is a research-support foundation that promotes and strengthens Swiss scientific activity in the Arctic, Antarctica and remote high-altitude regions such as the Andes, Himalayas and Central Asian mountain ranges.
The Institute provides targeted research grants, field-access funding, logistical assistance, safety training, technological-development support, international partnerships and public outreach. Its work recognises that research in extreme environments requires specialised expertise, expensive logistics and strong cooperation with foreign research operators.
The Swiss Polar Institute is a private foundation under Swiss law and is recognised by the Swiss Confederation as a research institution of national importance. It is not a commercial enterprise foundation and has no shareholders or private corporate ownership.
Its headquarters and operational Secretariat are located in Sion, Switzerland. The Institute supports scientists based at Swiss universities, federal institutes of technology, research institutes and other eligible public research institutions.
History and Background
Establishment in 2016
The Swiss Polar Institute was founded on 18 April 2016 by:
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
- ETH Zurich
- University of Bern
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
Private philanthropy also played an important role in its creation. The founding objective was to establish a national platform capable of supporting Swiss polar and high-altitude research.
The Institute’s first major international project was the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition, conducted from December 2016 to March 2017. The expedition brought together 55 researchers from 30 countries and included 22 scientific projects covering biology, climatology, oceanography and other disciplines.
Expansion of the institutional network
The University of Lausanne became a member of the Swiss Polar Institute in 2020, followed by the University of Zurich in 2021.
The Institute was originally hosted by EPFL. In 2021, it established its own legal identity and became a private foundation under Swiss law. This change was linked to its growing national role and recognition as a research infrastructure of national importance.
Development of grant programs
The Swiss Polar Institute gradually expanded its funding portfolio:
- The Polar Access Fund and SPI Exploratory Grants were introduced in 2018.
- PolARTS and SPI Technogrants followed in 2019.
- Funding for field and summer schools was introduced to support student training.
- SPI Flagship Initiatives were launched in 2021.
- FOREL Grants were later created to support research aboard the FOREL polar research vessel.
Mission and Purpose
Core mission
The Swiss Polar Institute’s mission is to support Swiss polar and high-altitude science and enable researchers to produce knowledge about climate, ecosystems, glaciers, oceans, natural hazards and environmental change.
Its principal objectives include:
- Supporting scientific fieldwork
- Improving access to remote research locations
- Developing technologies for extreme environments
- Strengthening international scientific cooperation
- Training early-career researchers
- Improving field safety
- Supporting responsible data collection
- Communicating science to schools and the public
Polar and mountain regions play a major role in the global climate system. Changes in glaciers, permafrost, sea ice, oceans and polar ecosystems can affect sea levels, weather, biodiversity, water availability and natural hazards far beyond the regions where they occur.
Supporting responsible science
The Institute encourages researchers to maximise scientific value while reducing the environmental impact of fieldwork.
Applicants to several SPI funding programs must assess issues such as:
- Transportation emissions
- Coordination with other research teams
- Remote data collection
- Sharing of samples and infrastructure
- Cooperation with local partners
- Sustainable field practices
- Carbon reduction and compensation
Carbon compensation is generally considered only after practical options for avoiding or reducing emissions have been examined.
Strategy for 2026–2035
The Institute’s strategy for 2026–2035 focuses on translating polar and high-altitude science into knowledge that can support climate adaptation and evidence-based decisions.
Strategic priorities include:
- Increasing the impact of Swiss polar science
- Developing integrated research on changes and hazards in the Swiss Alps
- Strengthening Switzerland’s Antarctic research activities
- Improving long-term international partnerships
- Supporting sustainable technologies
- Preparing for future international polar-science initiatives
- Connecting global environmental change with local risks and responses
Governance and Structure
Legal structure and ownership
The Swiss Polar Institute is a private foundation governed under Swiss law.
It has:
- No shareholders
- No commercial owners
- No parent corporation
- No private beneficiaries
- No conventional equity ownership
Its financial resources must be used to advance its research-support and public-benefit mission. It should therefore not be confused with an enterprise foundation created primarily to manage the philanthropic activities of a commercial company.
Foundation Board
The Foundation Board is the Institute’s highest governing authority. It is responsible for:
- Allocating financial resources
- Approving annual budgets and accounts
- Appointing auditors
- Appointing board members
- Selecting the Executive Director
- Appointing members of the Science and Technology Advisory Board
- Overseeing institutional strategy
The current Foundation Board includes:
- Frédéric Herman: Chair, University of Lausanne
- Ambrogio Fasoli: Vice-Chair, EPFL
- Christoph Hegg: WSL
- Annette Oxenius: ETH Zurich
- Frederik Paulsen: Lausanne
- Virginia Richter: University of Bern
- Elisabeth Stark: University of Zurich
The Swiss Polar Foundation, the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Swiss Committee on Polar and High-Altitude Research participate in board activities as guests.
Science and Technology Advisory Board
The Science and Technology Advisory Board provides independent scientific and technical advice.
Its responsibilities include:
- Advising on scientific programs
- Supporting grant-evaluation procedures
- Recommending research priorities
- Advising on technology development
- Supporting international cooperation
- Contributing to education and training activities
The advisory board includes experts from Swiss and international universities, research institutions and polar organisations.
Executive management
The SPI Secretariat implements the Institute’s programs, grants, partnerships, events, financial administration and communication activities.
Danièle Rod serves as Executive Director. The Secretariat also includes staff working in finance, scientific coordination, data management, education, communications and expedition management.
Funding and Grants
Basic funding model
The Swiss Polar Institute receives basic institutional funding from:
- The Swiss Confederation
- EPFL
- ETH Zurich
- University of Bern
- University of Lausanne
- University of Zurich
- WSL
- Philanthropic partners
Private philanthropic support has included contributions from Frederik Paulsen, the Swiss Polar Foundation and other funding partners. This model combines public research funding, contributions from academic institutions and philanthropic activities.
In 2024, the Institute reported an operating budget of approximately CHF 4.2 million. Around CHF 2 million supported project grants, while approximately CHF 700,000 supported specialised courses, scientific services, events and outreach. The remaining funds covered Secretariat operations.
Nature of SPI research grants
The Institute provides genuine scientific research grants, but it is not a general funder of unrestricted basic research across all academic subjects.
SPI funding primarily supports:
- Field access
- Research logistics
- Sample and data acquisition
- Pilot research
- New scientific collaborations
- Technology development
- Research-vessel access
- Safety and specialist training
- Program coordination
Overhead and permanent academic salaries are normally not eligible unless a specific call states otherwise. SPI grants frequently complement larger research awards from organisations such as the Swiss National Science Foundation or European funding programs.
Polar Access Fund
The Polar Access Fund helps doctoral students and early postdoctoral researchers undertake an initial field trip to a polar or remote high-altitude region.
Key features include:
- Funding of up to CHF 20,000
- Research must relate to climate change.
- The fieldwork must form part of an already funded research project.
- Applicants must work at a Swiss public research institution.
- Arctic, Antarctic, Andes and Himalayan locations may be eligible.
The program is co-funded by the Swiss Polar Institute and the BNP Paribas Swiss Foundation. The 2026 call is closed.
SPI Exploratory Grants
SPI Exploratory Grants support established researchers and experienced postdoctoral scientists pursuing pilot studies, additional fieldwork or new collaborations.
Each selected project may receive up to CHF 75,000. The 2025 round had a total available budget of CHF 150,000, and the next call is scheduled to be issued in August 2026.
SPI Technogrants
SPI Technogrants finance the development, adaptation and field testing of technology for polar and remote high-altitude research.
Each project may receive up to CHF 75,000. Eligible activities can include:
- Instrument design
- Sensor development
- Clean technologies
- Remote data collection
- Field testing
- Technology adaptation
- Reduced-impact research systems
The next call is expected in August 2026. Private companies and start-ups may participate as partners, but projects must be led by researchers employed at Swiss public research institutions.
SPI FOREL Grants
FOREL Grants help Swiss-based scientists conduct research aboard the 28-metre FOREL vessel in polar and subpolar coastal environments.
Each project can receive up to CHF 75,000, while the annual program budget is capped at CHF 320,000. Funding may cover ship access, travel, equipment transport, consumables and installation of scientific instruments.
Training support
Students and early-career researchers may receive up to CHF 1,500 to participate in eligible international field schools and specialised training programs.
Funding can cover:
- Registration fees
- Travel
- Accommodation
- Visa costs
- Other participation expenses
Since 2025, an individual can generally receive this support only once, allowing more students to benefit from the available budget.
Major Programs and Initiatives
SPI Flagship Initiatives
Flagship Initiatives are large, multi-year and interdisciplinary programs focused on a particular polar or high-altitude region.
Funding supports:
- Field campaigns
- Logistics and safety
- Data management
- Program coordination
- Scientific outreach
- Collaboration among Swiss institutions
The first Flagship Initiatives were PAMIR and GreenFjord, which operated from 2022 to 2026. Each received approximately CHF 1.5 million in SPI support.
PAMIR
PAMIR examines climate change in the mountains of Central Asia.
Its research connects:
- Glacier dynamics
- Ice-core records
- River ecology
- Water resources
- Natural hazards
- Local communities
- Climate modelling
In 2025, the project recovered two ice cores exceeding 100 metres from the Kon Chukurbashi Ice Cap in Tajikistan. One core is being studied scientifically, while the other was contributed to the Ice Memory Foundation’s Antarctic climate archive.
GreenFjord
GreenFjord studies how climate change affects fjord ecosystems and communities in southern Greenland.
Research areas include:
- Glacier mass loss
- Atmospheric change
- Marine ecosystems
- Carbon and nutrient cycles
- Biodiversity
- Landscape development
- Community livelihoods
The program combines natural sciences, modelling and social research.
ARKTIS and DOMINO
Two new Flagship Initiatives began in 2026.
ARKTIS will collect interdisciplinary data from the Central Arctic Ocean and study climate, biodiversity, microbial ecology, atmospheric processes, biogeochemistry and sustainable robotics.
DOMINO will examine interactions between the atmosphere, snow, ice and ocean in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. It will combine field observations, remote sensing and modelling to improve understanding of environmental feedbacks and future climate change.
PolARTS
PolARTS is a partnership between the Swiss Polar Institute and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.
It supports collaborations between artists and polar scientists. Selected artist-scientist teams can explore themes such as glaciers, climate change, ice records, landscapes, biodiversity and human relationships with extreme environments.
Scientific expeditions
Major expeditions coordinated or supported by SPI include:
- Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition
- Arctic Century Expedition
- CASCADES Expedition
- Scientific data collection connected with ocean sailing
- Research campaigns in Greenland and Central Asia
The 2026 CASCADES Expedition includes 16 international projects and more than 50 researchers from Canada, France, Greenland and Switzerland. Its work focuses on Greenland glacier melt and its wider effects on the Atlantic Ocean and climate system.
Swiss Polar Class
Swiss Polar Class is the Institute’s educational and outreach program for schools.
It introduces children to:
- Polar environments
- Glaciers
- Climate change
- Scientific expeditions
- Biodiversity
- Research careers
- Environmental responsibility
By the end of 2024, the program had reached thousands of children and involved schools across 25 Swiss cantons.
Impact and Examples of Work Funded
Ten-year impact
For the period from 2016 to 2025, the Swiss Polar Institute reported:
- 233 projects supported
- CHF 14 million in research funding
- 198 grant recipients
- 246 publications from funded projects
- Three international scientific expeditions
- Ten international cooperation agreements
- 18 Swiss institutions hosting grantees
- 47% of recipients classified as early-career researchers
- 44% of grant recipients being women
- 106 outreach activities
Impact during 2024
In 2024, the Institute reported:
- CHF 2 million in research funding
- 59 ongoing projects
- 34 grants for new projects
- 520 participants in SPI events
- 4,174 children participating in Swiss Polar Class
- 13 Swiss institutions hosting SPI grantees
- 901 Flagship Initiative field days
Examples of supported research
SPI-funded projects have examined:
- Arctic Ocean circulation
- Glacier retreat and pollination networks
- Geological processes in Arctic Norway
- High-altitude medical conditions in Bolivia
- Archaeological landscapes in Alaska
- Arctic lake ecosystems
- Greenland natural hazards
- Fibre-optic glacier monitoring
- Balloon-based atmospheric observations
- Water-storage systems for extreme environments
These examples show that SPI funding is interdisciplinary. Supported research extends beyond glaciology and climate science to medicine, archaeology, ecology, engineering, social sciences and technology.
Conclusion
The Swiss Polar Institute is a nationally important Swiss research foundation supporting science in the Arctic, Antarctica and remote high-altitude regions.
It was founded in 2016 by leading Swiss universities and research institutions with support from private philanthropy. Since 2021, it has operated as an independent private foundation under Swiss law. It has no shareholders or conventional commercial ownership.
Its principal funding instruments include:
- Polar Access Fund
- SPI Exploratory Grants
- SPI Technogrants
- SPI FOREL Grants
- SPI Flagship Initiatives
- PolARTS
- Field and summer-school support
- International fellowships and collaborative grants
Unlike a general research foundation, SPI primarily funds the specialised costs of polar and high-altitude science, including access, logistics, fieldwork, data acquisition, technologies, training and international collaboration.
For an intern or early-career professional, the Institute provides insight into:
- Climate and environmental research
- Scientific grant management
- Expedition coordination
- Research logistics
- International partnerships
- Science diplomacy
- Data management
- Field safety
- Environmental sustainability
- Public communication
- Educational outreach
- Foundation governance
Its long-term role is to help Swiss researchers generate reliable scientific evidence about rapidly changing polar and mountain environments while ensuring that this work is conducted safely, collaboratively and responsibly.
For more information, visit here.
