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Canton of Vaud
Lausanne City
hydraulics: Vaud has developed expertise in all these
leading-edge fields. Local research and education
centres include the EPFL and the sciences and environmental
engineering and ecotechnology departments
of HEIG-VD. Many Vaud based companies
operating in the power and environmental sectors are
affiliated with the Swiss competence networks ‘energie-cluster.ch’
and ‘ader.ch’ (renewable energy). The
canton of Vaud also has a technology centre specialising
in power and the environment: the Orbe Environmental
Technology Centre, which focuses mainly on
renewable energy.
Agribusiness technologies
Vaud has a long tradition of expertise in agribusiness,
one reason Nestlé chose to set up its main research
centre (Nestlé Research Centre, NRC) near Lausanne.
This centre, which employs more than 300 scientists
from 45 countries, is known for its innovative activities
involving nutrition, bio analytics, functional foods and
food safety. It has established a long-term partnership
with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
(the Brain Mind Institute) to focus on research and
education in the field of cognitive neuroscience, specifically
the mechanisms which enable the brain to integrate
different sensory modalities. This is considered to be
one of the greatest challenges in modern neurobiology.
Leading agribusiness firms in Vaud include Nestlé,
Hilcona and Guignard Desserts.
Vaud’s competence clusters all benefit from skilled
human resources, strong government support, well-established
ties to other competence clusters in Europe
and globally, exceptional infrastructure, and opportunities
for synergies between clusters.
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