uptownBasel and Swissmem Conclude Gold Partnership
We are delighted to have signed a six-year partnership agreement with Swissmem, the industry association of the Swiss mechanical, electrical and metal industries. In the coming years, the uptownBasel innovation campus in Arlesheim will act as gold partner and sponsor in the preparation for the WorldSkills competitions.
A first preparation competition at uptownBasel
Swissmem promotes young professionals and prepares them for international competitions. The first preparation competition ahead of EuroSkills 2021 in Graz and WorldSkills 2022 in Shanghai took place at uptownBasel. Six young talents took part: Dario Flükiger, Adrian Matthys, Mario Liechti, Jan Meier, Yunus Ruff and Silvan Wiedmer. Last year they won the title of Swiss champion in professions overseen by Swissmem. They compete in four disciplines: Automation, Industry 4.0, Electronics and Construction.
For their performance, the six received the "uptownBasel Award" and the title "Swiss Skills Champions". The Industry 4.0 campus supports them in their preparation for the upcoming international competitions.
Why this matters
At EuroSkills 2021, around 45 professions and roughly 600 participants compete, and in some countries competitors prepare explicitly for these events for years. The Swissmem candidates are apprentices or have only recently completed their apprenticeship and prepare alongside their jobs. "We can be proud of these young people and of the whole industry," says Stefan Brupbacher, Director of Swissmem.
From industrial wasteland to innovation campus
The former 70,000 m² industrial site of Brown Boveri & Cie (BBC) in Arlesheim lay fallow for 25 years. Over the coming years it is being transformed into an incubator for innovation and knowledge transfer in the Basel region. Building 1 is already occupied, and eight more buildings will follow.
uptownBasel invited the young talents to Arlesheim for a two-day preparation competition. On this occasion, Dr. Sonja Studer, Head of Education at Swissmem, and Hans-Jörg Fankhauser, site developer of uptownBasel, signed the long-term gold partnership. From 2021 to 2026, uptownBasel supports Swissmem Berufsbildung financially, which benefits the young talents in preparing for international competitions.
"uptownBasel knows how important such skills are for the economic growth of Switzerland and will do everything to bring the world champion title to Basel and Arlesheim soon," says Hans-Jörg Fankhauser. The Swiss young talents of the MEM industry are unlikely to have been in Arlesheim for the last time.
Source: uptownBasel and Swissmem Conclude Gold Partnership – Technik und Wissen magazine, issue 014, pp. 50–51 (article by Eugen Albisser)
