Within its borders, the canton of Vaud houses more than 1,200 high-tech companies and numerous public and private research centres, including some of the most prestigious in Europe, operating in cutting edge fields such as life sciences, information and communication technology (ICT), micro/nanotechnology, and power and environmental technologies.

This concentration of research companies and labs constitutes centres of competence and expertise (clusters) that are particularly dynamic in these high value added industrial sectors. These clusters bring together know-how, specialist workers and top-drawer infrastructure at a European level, and enjoy strong political backing for their development. The close proximity of these competence clusters creates numerous synergies (between life sciences and microtechnology or computer science, for example), reinforcing the capabilities that each sector needs.

Find out more about the main competence clusters in the canton of Vaud:

• Life sciences
• Micro/nanotechnology
• Information and communication technology (ICT)
• Power and environmental technologies
• Agribusiness technologies