Information technology has been a key issue in Switzerland for more than half a century. Users, professionals, and experts in the field of IT have formed associations to coordinate their efforts to advance IT knowledge and research and push for better recognition, education, and collaboration. The Swiss Informatics Society (SI) is one such association. With the emergence of IT courses at Swiss universities in the 1970s, the need for an association which would primarily serve this new wave of IT professionals became more pertinent. Therefore, in 1983, SI was formed from the existing Swiss chapter of the ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, to serve as the primary association and representation for tertiary educated IT professionals. Today, SI is the leading association representing the interests of computer scientists, informatics, and digital education in Switzerland, with over 450 professors from universities and colleges. SI will celebrate these accomplishments and the 40-year anniversary by hosting a celebration for its members at the Hotel Schweizerhof, Bern, Switzerland, on 17 November. The gala will be preceded by a number of presentations by several distinguished speakers as well as a panel discussion.
Dr Pierre-Yves Burgi from the University of Geneva will address the audience on the subject of DNA as Data Storage. Dr Sonia Duc, security consultant at Adnovum, will delve into the topic of Post-Quantum Cryptography. The panel discussion, the topic of which will be “The Future of Computer Science”, will feature representatives from politics, academia and industry and explore the challenges and chances ahead.
The rapid development of the last decades will only continue, and SI, as the main representative of IT professionals in Switzerland, will continue to lead the discussions and take actions to keep the country’s tech future on the right path.
