The Z-Forum on Sustainability and Innovation was held on the 15^th and 16^th of January 2026, and with more than100 attendees, it was a resounding success.

The conference was hosted in Zurich and Baden, Switzerland, and brought together a diverse mix of science experts to reflect on and reshape strategies that will define opportunity-driven leadership in an age of disruption.

Panel discussion at the Z-Forum on Sustainability and Innovation, with four speakers seated at a table in front of a projected welcome slide.

What is Z-Forum?

“It’s a broad conference. It’s not purely academic, it’s not purely business, and so initiating such a hybrid conference was a challenge, but many have been happy with the product.”
– Prof. Dr. Philipp Aerni, Director of CCRS

Prof. Dr. Philipp Aerni presenting at the Z-Forum on Sustainability and Innovation.

The Z-Forum on Sustainability and Innovation was conceived as a bridge-building event. The purpose of the conference was to improve communication and mutual learning between local and global levels through cooperation and innovation.

The conference addressed a growing demand to better understand sustainability in a broader, future-oriented context. Senior scientists, executives, investors and policy makers were brought together to discuss supplementing the current discourse on sustainability with an opportunity-driven approach that aims to enhance social resilience through investments in scalable innovations.

The aim of the conference was to equip participants with the ability to better grasp not just the risks but also the opportunities associated with the current political and economic environment.

How MDPI champions communication and education

“The more this type of research is available, the better it is for everyone. Education and communication are key.” – Prof. Dr. Bruno Basso, Founder of CIBO Technologies

Prof. Dr. Bruno Basso at the Z-Forum on Sustainability and Innovation

As a Basel-based Open Access publisher with global reach, MDPI is invested in anchoring itself in Swiss research networks, fostering relationships with key stakeholders such as government research bodies, universities and foundations. The Z-Forum allowed MDPI to showcase leadership on sustainability, open science and innovation topics.

The conference brought together a diverse pool of scientific experts across various sectors, spanning academia, policy, corporates, start-ups and NGOs. This enabled high-impact discourse on sustainability and systemic change and for MDPI to give back to the scientific community.

Speaker profiles

Alongside nearly 120 participants, the event hosted more than 30 high-profile expert speakers. These included leaders from government, academia, industry and innovation ecosystems.

Keynote speakers

• Martina Hirayama – Head of State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation at Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
• Dr. Keyu Jin – Chair of Geoeconomic Research Centre and Professor of Finance
• Dr. Bruno Basso – Professor at Michigan State University, and Founder of CIBO Technologies
• Doug Saunders – Award winning journalist
• Eleni Gabre Madhin – Founding CEO Ethiopia Commodity Exchange
• Marianne Binder-Keller – Member of the Swiss Council States and the Parliamentary Commission on Security Policy
• Nora Teuwsen – Chairwoman of the Executive Board of ABB Switzerland

Invited speakers and chairs

• Ian Roberts – CTO Bühler Group
• Reto von Schluthess – Partner, Holinger AG
• Dr. Annalisa Manera – Professor at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen
• Dr. Jan Grossarth – Professor of Bioeconomy and Circular Economy, Germany
• Dr. Louise Fresco – Former President of the Executive Board and Professor at Wageningen Research Foundation and Wageningen University & Research (WUR)
• Alisee de Tonnac – Co-CEO and Co-Founder of SEEDSTARS
• Dr. Victor Umana – Professor at INCAE Business School, Director Center for Studies in Tourism
• Roland Decorvet – Founder and CEO of Alpha Talents
• Risto Schmid – Head Climate Resilience Switzerland | Zurich Resilience Solutions
• Antonio Hautle – Global Compact Network Switzerland and Lichtenstein
• Shira Kaplan – Founder and CEO of Cyverse, Zurich
• Dr. Rajib Shaw – Keio University
• Dr. Max Bergman – Social Transitions Research Group, University of Basel
• Raphael Tschanz – Director of the Zurich Chamber of Commerce
• Markus Reubi – Federal Council Delegate for the 2030 Agenda, FDFA/STS, Deputy Head of the Prosperity and Sustainability Division
• Marjan Kraak – Managing Director Health Innovation Hub Aargau Jury Member of Venture Kick and Innovation Manager at KSB Innovation Park
• Guido Konrad – CEO Varian Medical Systems Imaging Lab
• Christian Bronnimann – Founder and President of DECTRIS, President of Park Innovaare AG

Panels

There were several panels hosted across the two days of the conference led by various expert speakers:

• Panel 1: Infrastructure and bottom-up solutions for urban resilience
• Panel 2: Rural–urban linages and their contribution to an inclusive bioeconomy
• Panel 3: An opportunity-drive approach to migration-induced urban growth
• Panel 4: Investment in sustainable and inclusive technological change

The panels included talks on a number of topics from the event’s keynote and invited speakers, including the following:

• The future of resilient water and waste management systems – Reto Von Schulthess
• Innovation in food and agriculture for stronger urban economic linkages – Louise Fresco
• Economic empowerment outside the metropolitan areas in low-income countries through value chain integration – Alisee de Tonnac
• Why building up an insurance industry matters for development – Risto Schmid

Key collaborations

The Z-Forum fostered important institutional collaborations across sectors. The MDPI Sustainability Foundation is proud to have sponsored the event, alongside the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and Baden ist. Other collaborators include:

• ETH Zurich
• Zurcher Handelskammer
• The University of Zurich
• The University of Basel
• The Swiss Innovation Park Central
• The Centre for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability
• The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts

Z-Forum 2026

Overall, the Z-Forum on Sustainability and Innovation successfully brought together a diverse group of experts to improve the discourse on sustainability and resilience.

You can learn more about Z-Forum by visiting its homepage. Keep an eye on our conferences blog page to stay up to date with any future conferences that MDPI will be involved in.

A group of attendees at the Z-Forum on Sustainability and Innovation pose for a photo between two branded banners.