We were delighted to welcome two of our distinguished grantees who gave us a fascinating insight into the valuable work that they were presenting thanks to their studies which SFOU was privileged to support.

On 25.09.2025 in Zurich

We had a splendid SFOU lunch in Zurich, where Lord Hague of Richmond, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, was our distinguished guest speaker. At the lunch, Lord Hague has launched our new campaign to expand the SFOU Scholarship Fund which supports Swiss based students studying at Oxford.

on 25.09.2025 in Zurich

SFOU lunch with
Special guest Lord Hague of Richmond
Chancellor of the University of Oxford
Zurich, 25^th September 2025, 12:00 drinks/12:30 lunch

Dear Members and Friends of SFOU

William Hague is an alumnus of Magdalen College, Oxford where he studied PPE, graduating with First Class Honours in 1982. He subsequently took an MBA at INSEAD and worked for some years in business before becoming a British Member of Parliament in 1989 until he retired at the 2015 election. He was leader of the Conservative Party between 1997 and 2001, held a number of shadow briefs when the Party was in opposition and then from 2010 held key government positions including Foreign Secretary between 2010 and 2014. He became a life peer and entered the House of Lords as Lord Hague of Richmond in November 2015. After leaving government, Lord Hague has held many non-executive and advisory roles for major companies, charities and NGOs. His literary works include two historical biographies, and he currently writes a weekly column for The Times newspaper. In November 2024, Lord Hague was elected Chancellor of the University of Oxford, taking up his position earlier this year.

Please note the date in your diary and we hope you can join us.

We look forward to seeing you at the event.

Howard Rosen, President

SFOU dinner with
Special guest Mark Thomson
Next Director-General Designate at CERN
Geneva, 23rd October 2025, 18:30 drinks/19:00 dinner

Dear Members and Friends of SFOU

Oxford alumnus Mark Thomson, a British particle physicist, was elected Director-General at CERN in November 2024 and will take up the role on 1st January 2026. He will be speaking to us on the subject of “The future of Particle Physics and CERN’s plans for the next Collider”.

Please note the date in your diary and we hope you can join us. An official invitation will follow soon.

We look forward to seeing you at the event.

Howard Rosen, President

We had a most enjoyable and stimulating evening with a fascinating topic with Dr Paul Morland who was our guest of honour at the dinner of Swiss Friends of Oxford University in Zurich.

on 05.06.2025 in Zurich

SFOU Annual General Meeting
5th June 2025, 16:00

SFOU dinner with
Dr. Paul Morland
Zurich, 5th June 2025, 18:30 drinks/19:00 dinner

Dear Members and Friends of SFOU,

Dr Paul Morland is an author and broadcaster who writes and speaks about population and the big demographic trends across the world, both contemporary and historic. His most recent book, “No One Left”, examines the potentially catastrophic consequences of the West’s low birth rate and what needs to be done to avoid them. You can see a recent interview by Paul Morland that has just been published in the NZZ, here in English and German.

Please note the date in your diary and hopefully you can join us. An official invitation will follow soon. You will be able to join the AGM in person or on-line.

Looking forward to seeing you then.

Howard Rosen, President

This week we had a great evening with Professor Peter Frankpan at the Société de Lecture in Geneva, where we had the opportunity to chat and discuss over tea before his fascinating lecture.

01.04.2025 in Geneva

Many congratulations, Lord Hague, on your election as Chancellor of Oxford University! Lord Hague, who graduated from Magdalen College in 1982, will be formally inaugurated into the predominantly ceremonial role in the new year. Our President, Howard Rosen, was honoured to be one of the first people to congratulate Lord Hague, during his visit today to Zurich, after the announcement of his election. We look forward to welcoming him back to Switzerland in the near future.

On the occasion of Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt’s visit to Switzerland, the Geneva Graduate Institute, in collaboration with the Swiss Friends of Oxford University (SFOU), was organizing an open discussion on 22^nd October around his recent publication on AI entitled “As If Human: Ethics and Artificial Intelligence”.

On 23^rd October 2024 Sir Nigel gave a Global Lecture on the subject: ”As If Human: Living in the Age of Intelligent Machines”. This Global Lecture will explore AI’s history, current advancements, and the challenges and opportunities presented by todays and future AI systems. Please find HERE the recording.