Born: 1948
Nationality: Swiss
Education and professional activities:
Professor Dr. Beat Hotz-Hart studied economics and political science at the University of Zurich, where he also wrote his Doctorate. in 1978.
He has held appointments as fellow and lecturer at the Universities of Zurich and Fribourg and the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology (ETH); furthermore, he has held a three year National Science Fellowship for advanced researchers with stops at the following universities: University of Münster (DE), Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (DE), University of Warwick (UK) and Harvard University (US) (Department of Economics). In 1986, he wrote his Habilitation at the University of Fribourg after having served as head of regional economics with the Institute for Regional Planning at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology for five years.
In 1987, Professor Hotz-Hart was a collaborator with the The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), where he held several positions, including vice-director of the Federal Office for Education and Technology (OPET) with a focus on innovation promotion activities. At this time, he also completed the Executive Program, “Senior Managers in Government” at the J.F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. His current activities include development and implementation of policy in education, technology and innovation on the Swiss federal level and research on innovation and institutional arrangements, competitiveness, structural adjustment and economic policy.