Science Promotion Service (SPS)

The continuation of these activities is based on a long-term partnership between EPFL and UBS, as well as the provision of premises and financial support from EPFL Valais Wallis and UBS. Some activities take place thanks to partnerships with the NCCR Catalysis, the HES-SO Valais-Wallis, the Office cantonal de l’égalité et de la famille, Novelis, the Ville de Martigny and the Groupe Mutuel.

Summary of the past year

A total of 14,892 people took part in the activities in 2025, a figure that rises to 15,146 if we include the 254 teachers who accompanied their classes in the various activities. 254 classes (5,049 pupils) took part in school activities, while 3,017 children took part in extracurricular activities and 6,826 adults took part in activities for the general public.

2025 was marked by the organisation of Scientastic, EPFL’s science festival, which welcomed more than 4,800 visitors on 17 and 18 May on the Valais campus, in the ALPOLE building in Sion. Through lectures, workshops, visits and laboratory stands, this event enabled a wide audience – children, teenagers and adults – to discover a variety of scientific activities in a fun and accessible atmosphere. The year was also marked by the creation of new activities to complement and diversify the existing offering.

Among them, “Une journée sciensationnelle” (for 8-10 year-olds) was created in response to the many requests from participants in the “Un jour de sciences pendant les vacances” activity (for 8-10 year-olds) wanting to repeat other activities in the same format. In the same spirit of widening access to our activities, a travelling workshop, “Enquête à Logicity”, aimed at schools and more particularly at establishments located in more remote areas with transport difficulties to Sion, was also set up to enable a greater number of pupils to benefit from our activities. The year was also enriched by a collaboration with the Musée de Bagnes, which invited us to run workshops as part of their exhibition devoted to the car in the Alps. Finally, the relationship we have established with several laboratories at the EPFL Valais Wallis continued. These exchanges are an essential part of our mission, enabling researchers to act as role models for the future

The “Science interests me” programme

The “I’m interested in science” programme, specifically designed by the SPS, is aimed at young people (girls and boys) aged 7 to 16 (primary and lower secondary levels) with the following objectives:

• Stimulate interest in science and technology;
• Cultivate creativity;
• Encourage the acquisition of scientific thinking and approaches and the learning of new knowledge in the MINT fields.

Based on an educational and fun approach, this programme integrates the gender dimension into all its actions and also includes specific actions to encourage more girls and raise awareness among parents and teachers. It focuses on information, encouragement and an introduction to the sciences and technical fields, with the aim of stimulating young people’s interest in the MINT fields and encouraging the next generation.

In figures

Equality strategies

Girls’ participation in extracurricular activities and equality strategies

In 2025, of the 3,017 children taking part in our extracurricular activities, 1,644 were girls, representing a rate of 54%. This is the result of a proactive strategy to encourage more girls to take up scientific and technical subjects. To encourage their participation, we have put in place a targeted communication campaign aimed at girls’ parents. In addition, we reserve 50% of places for girls and 50% for boys at the time of registration: as soon as the 50% rate for boys is reached, the following male registrations are placed on a waiting list, while registrations remain open for girls. This approach not only helps to achieve a balance, but also offers girls an environment where they are not the only few girls among the boys, and feel that they are in the company of other girls who are fully entitled to explore science and technology. These measures are part of a wider drive to promote MINT subjects among girls, in order to encourage a more balanced representation in these fields.

Communication

Communication about our activities increased, boosting our visibility and impact with our target audiences. Our Valais newsletters saw their audience grow, with an 82% increase in subscribers to the SPS Valais newsletter (from 369 to 673). This increase can be explained in particular by the visibility offered at the Scientastic festival, which generated a large number of subscriptions.