Swiss Data Space Forum 2026 Unlocking Data for AI

The 2026 Swiss Data Space Forum will take place on Wednesday 28 October 2026 at the Unlimitrust Campus in Prilly (near Lausanne).

How can data sharing contribute to trustworthy artificial intelligence?

Program Overview

How can large volumes of potentially sensitive data be made available without compromising data protection and trust? The key lies in sharing the data in question only among selected stakeholders and for a specific purpose, such as the development of in-house AI models or automated processes. This can be achieved through a «data space» approach – a controlled environment where only authorized parties can interact with decentrally held data in a previously defined manner.

The Swiss Data Space Forum 2026 brings together policymakers, researchers, industry leaders, and innovators to explore practical ways of sharing data for AI applications. The event showcases real-world use cases from different sectors in Switzerland and across the world, paving the way for the AI Summit in Geneva 2027.

Through keynote addresses, breakout sessions and interactive workshops, participants will examine how standards and interoperability can lower barriers to data access for AI. In addition, the Forum will focus on data stewardship, data literacy and the operationalization of ethical and legal frameworks as critical success factors for making data both usable and accountable.

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The Swiss Data Space Forum 2026 is proud to be an offical pre-event for the Geneva AI Summit.

Keynote Speakers

How can we establish trust and a bottom-up governance for digital public infrastructure?

Astha Kapoor

Co-Founder, Aapti Institute

How can government organizations boost cross-border and cross-sector data initiatives?

Bert Verdonck

CEO, Luxembourg National Data Service

How can we build digital commons as public infrastructure for the AI Era?

Alek Tarkowski & Ilario Valdelli

Wikimedia Movement

Program Overview

  • Fabrice Tocco

    Co-CEO
    Dawex

  • Raphaël Conz

    Economic Promotion & Innovation
    Canton of Vaud

  • Martina Hirayama

    State Secretary for Education,
    Research and Innovation

  • Adrian Lobsiger

    Federal Data Protection
    and Information Commissioner

  • Katja Christ

    First Vice President
    Swiss National Council

  • Abhimanyu Verma

    Chief Technology Officer
    SOPHiA GENETICS

  • Catherine Pugin

    Digital Affairs Delegate
    Canton of Vaud

  • Georg Lutz

    Director
    FORS Center

  • Marie-Sophie Morel

    Strategic data product governance
    ABB

  • David Viollier

    Center for Digital Trust
    EPFL

  • Diego Kuonen

    Adjunct Professor
    University of Geneva

  • Thomas Schulthess

    Professor of Computational Physics
    CSCS

  • Philipp Naber

    Technology Strategy & Transformation
    Accenture

  • Michael Gomez

    Michael Gomez

    Managing Director
    Accenture

  • Jan Kerschgens

    Co-Director
    Zentrum SDS

  • Christophe Dessimoz

    Executive Director
    Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics

  • Lukas Hohl

    Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer
    Beyond Civic

  • Marc Holitscher

    National Technology Officer
    Microsoft

  • Manuel Gutiérrez de Diego

    Senior Digital Ecosystems Manager
    Gaia-X AISBL

  • Cédric Moullet

    Deputy Director
    Federal Office for Agriculture

  • Jonas Bärtschi

    Managing Director
    Swiss Data Alliance

  • Martin Andenmatten

    Chairman
    Gaia-X Hub Switzerland

  • Stefan Metzger

    Co-Founder & CEO
    Beyond Civic

Exclusive Pre-Event (October 27, 2026)

The Data Stewards Master Class with Stefaan Verhulst

Taking place on the afternoon before the Swiss Data Space Forum, the Data Stewards Master Class will equip participants with the knowledge and tools needed to steward data effectively in a rapidly evolving and increasingly complex data ecosystem. 

The program will revisit the fundamentals of data stewardship – including responsible access, governance, and stakeholder engagement – while preparing participants to anticipate and respond to emerging trends. 

It will explore the implications of new metadata standards, emerging licensing regimes, privacy-enhancing technologies,  the growing role of AI in data discovery, curation, and analysis, and the expanding use of non-traditional data sources such as privately held, AI-generated, and community-produced data.

  • Tuesday 27 October 2026, 15:00-18:00

  • Master class followed by networking apéro

«By connecting technical, institutional, and policy developments, the Master Class will help participants prepare for the governance challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities that will shape the future of data stewardship at a time of AI.»

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Program Overview

9:30–10:45

Plenary Session I

  • Raphaël Conz, Office for Economic Affairs and Innovation, Canton de Vaud
    Opening Remarks

  • Katja Christ, First Vice President of the National Council (Basel-Stadt/GLP)
    Greetings from the National Council

  • Thomas Schulthess, Swiss National Supercomputing Centre
    How AI Research Contributes to Digital Sovereignty

  • Abhimanyu Verma, SOPHiA GENETICS
    What the Private Organizations Expect from the Public Sector

  • Diego Kuonen, Statoo Consulting & University of Geneva
    Why AI Needs Better Data, Not Just More Data and Why Data Literacy Matters

  • Catherine Pugin, Déléguée au numérique, Canton de Vaud
    Turning Today's Conversations into Tomorrow's Data Spaces

11:15–12:30

Plenary Session II

  • Stefan Metzger & Lukas Hohl, Beyond Civic
    State of Swiss Data Spaces

  • Astha Kapoor, Aapti Institute (India)
    Trusted Data Sharing as Digital Public Infrastructure

  • Alek Tarkowski & Ilario Valdelli, Wikimedia Movement
    Open Knowledge in the Age of AI: Lessons from Wikimedia

  • Adrian Lobsiger, Swiss Federal Privacy and Information Commissioner
    Trust, Privacy and Data Sovereignty in the AI Era

  • Michael Gomez & Philipp Naber, Accenture
    Concept to Value Creation: The Significance and Economics of Industrial Data Ecosystems

  • Bert Verdonck, Luxemburg National Data Service
    Luxembourg’s Approach to Enable Re-Use of Data

15:15–16:30

Breakout Session II

Track 1: Trust in Data
How Gaia-X provides building blocks to enable interoperable and sovereign collaboration
Format: Workshop
Moderator: Manuel Gutiérrez de Diego, Gaia-X AISBL

Track 2: AI-Ready Data: From Characteristics to Practice
A practical approach to AI-ready data based on a new Swiss Data Alliance whitepaper and an emerging assessment framework
Format: Interactive session
Moderator: Diego Kuonen, Statoo Consulting & University of Geneva

Track 3: Building Resilient Data Ecosystems
Format: Lightning Talks
Moderator: Thomas Seidel, Accenture

  • Jonas Bärtschi, Swiss Data Alliance

  • Fabrice Tocco, Dawex

  • Thomas Rosenberg, Canton Berne

  • Stephan Gstöhl, Data Ecosystem Liechtenstein

  • Cédric Moullet, BLW

Track 4: Enabling Trustworthy AI: How Can Government Support Access to High-Quality Data?
Format: Workshop
Moderator: Felix Gille, Federal Chancellery

13:30–14:45

Breakout Session I

Track 1: Control Your Data: Your Data, Your AI — Keeping the Keys
Format: Two short talks followed by a panel discussion
Moderator: David Viollier, Center for Digital Trust EPFL

Track 2: Use Data as a Strategic Asset
Format: Lightning Talks
Moderator: Philipp Späti, IBM

  • Marie-Sophie Morel, ABB

  • Arnaud Pallier, Dassault Systèmes

  • Damian Vizar, CSEM

  • Nicolas Cabuil, Transports publics de la région lausannoise

  • Leonardo Moretti, Adminity 

Track 3: Data-Driven Innovation
Format: Moderated talk with selected startups
Moderator: Lennig Pedron, Trust Valley

Track 4: Insights into Apertus
Format: Workshop
Moderator: Oleg Lavrovsky & Imanol Schlag, ETH AI Center

12:30–13:30

Networking Lunch

16:45–17:45

  • Switzerland's Vision for Data-Driven Innovation
    Martina Hirayama, State Secretariat for Education, Research & Innovation

  • Plenary Panel: Unlocking Data for AI – from Vision to Action
    Marc Holitscher (Microsoft), Christophe Dessimoz (Swiss Bioinformatics Institute), Jan Kerschgens (Center SDS), Georg Lutz (FORS)
    Moderator: Felix Gille, Federal Chancellery

  • Closing Remarks
    André Golliez (Swiss Data Alliance), Andreas Meyer (digitalswitzerland)

Final Plenary Session

17:45–18:45

Networking Apéro

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The Swiss Data Space Forum is co-organized by the Swiss Data Alliance and digitalswitzerland.

 

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Location

The unlimitrust campus is a short walk from Prilly-Malley train station.

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unlimitrust campus
route des Flumeaux 42
1008 Prilly

The Swiss Data Space Forum, organized by the Swiss Data Alliance and digitalswitzerland, aims to advance the understanding of dataspaces as a key element of a trustworthy digital infrastructure in Switzerland.

Founded in 2017, the Swiss Data Alliance is an independent think tank focusing on data policy and data re-use in Switzerland. It is financed through its members.

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