I came to Switzerland more than 40 years ago. I intended to stay here until I would find a job in Slovenia. Unfortunately, that did not happen. My three children therefore attended schools in Switzerland, but they know how to speak and write in Slovenian language. In the summer, we are all very excited about the vacation which we, of course, spend in Slovenia. In my job, which is in the biomedical field, I had great opportunities to develop my scientific work. Research projects in Switzerland are financially backed up by the Swiss National Science Foundation or the pharmaceutical industry, which has a powerful economical role in the country since it holds more than 30% share in the Swiss export. Research work at universities and institutes is carried out mostly by young scientists in the framework of doctoral theses, but also a few years after a person has already obtained the title. Competition is hard and financial support depends upon the success of the research. Swiss scientists like to acquire experience in foreign countries, especially in the USA and UK. The conditions for habilitation at Swiss universities require a greater number of acknowledged articles to be written by the candidate. The study is organised the same as in Slovenia, i.e. according to the Bologna system. Slovenian scientists are also active in Swiss institutes, where especially physicists are highly appreciated.

Like many other Slovenians who work in Switzerland, I did what I could for the independence of Slovenia and its international recognition. In the last 25 years, I strived for a closer cooperation between people in both countries. Although I have been retired for a number of years now, I am still more than willing to pass my expert knowledge to younger people, especially the ones from Slovenia.