Training and further education

As a research institute concentrating on natural sciences and asserting that it is performing leading international research, it is essential for PSI to provide an innovative infrastructure and adequate material resources to enable this. Nevertheless, it is our staff the brains behind the machines who ensure our success.

For us, our main asset is the outstanding skills, experience and motivation of our staff. This is why education is an extremely important issue for us.

The interest in scientific or technical education must be awakened at an early stage. The PSI (together with the other research institutes of the ETH Domain EMPA, EAWAG and WSL) promotes young talents also through common projects with the Swiss Youth research foundation "Schweizer Jugend forscht" and is a sponsor of this foundation.

University education

It is possible for young scientists to carry out their university thesis work in the natural sciences at one of the large research facilities at PSI, where supervision is available at Bachelor's, Master's, Diploma and Doctoral levels.

Vocational apprenticeships

Any institute aiming to undertake top-level research needs staff with high intelligence – and not just where the actual research questions are concerned. It can only function adequately with top-class technical staff.

School students' laboratory

School classes can carry out their own experiments for a whole day at the iLab laboratory, where the experiments are based on exactly the same principles as those at the large PSI facilities.

High-school matriculation projects

PSI provides supervision for practical high-school matriculation projects. Interested students must submit a plan of work, which will then compete with other submitted applications.

PSI Education Centre

The PSI Education Centre offers training and further education in reactor technology (reactor school) and radiation protection (radiation protection school) . Additional relevant training programs for PSI staff and other interested parties will regularly be included in our course catalogue.