Lab — and provides customers from industry and academia above all at the Nano Technology Center in 2024. In the coming with comprehensive services in the areas of imaging, analysis, years, the continual expansion of this SNI service unit and the and micro and nanofabrication. structural support for research groups will continue, reducing With the strategic focus on nanoimaging and nanofabrica- the SNI’s reserves and helping to bring technical facilities up tion, it is vital for the SNI to establish and maintain modern, to a competitive level. competitive infrastructure at the Nano Technology Center’s two In the SNI’s annual financial statement, the last line reports service units. Thanks to its reserves, the SNI was in a position an amount of some CHF 4.9 million as “SNI assets per 31 De- to continue investing in equipment for the Nano Technology cember 2024, in CHF.” This does not take account of orders Center in 2024 and to carry out necessary repairs and mainte- already made for instruments that will not be delivered until nance work in a timely manner. In total, the Nano Technology 2025, including infrastructure measures at the Nano Technology Center’s budget ran to almost CHF 1 million in 2024. Center and at research groups to a value of around three quar- ters of a million francs. There is also a proportion of funding Studies and public relations for Nano-Argovia projects that has not been spent yet. A signif- In 2024, there were 76 students enrolled on the bachelor’s and icant part of this funding consists of reserves for ongoing doc- master’s program in nanosciences at the University of Basel. toral dissertation projects, as doctoral students at the SNI PhD The SNI contributes over CHF 0.5 million to the program’s fund- School take up their position over the course of the year and ing. Over the course of their studies, students receive a broad are always funded for a period of 48 months. grounding in the natural sciences and then specialize in subjects that suit their interests, meaning they are ideally equipped to Many thanks work at the interfaces between different disciplines after they We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Finances graduate. department of the University of Basel for its excellent collabo- The work of the SNI team also includes raising awareness ration over the last year and for its efÏcient financial reporting. of the degree program as well as informing the general public Huge thanks also goes to the Cantons of Aargau, Basel-Stadt and about nanosciences and the activities of the SNI in general. To Baselland, whose ongoing commitment makes it possible for this end, SNI staff seek to engage with the public through var- the SNI to train outstanding early career researchers, gain new ious formats and use social media to bring them the latest up- scientific insights, and support companies with innovative proj- dates from the SNI. Digital channels are also used for commu- ects as we work toward building a better future. nication within the interdisciplinary network. In addition, the SNI team organizes events such as the Annual Event and the NanoTec Apéro, which are vital for ensuring an exchange of ideas within the network. In total, the costs for public relations and internal events came to less than CHF 0.2 million. Investment in modern infrastructure Thanks to saved reserves, the SNI was able to invest over CHF 0.6 million in new infrastructure at several research groups and The following table shows the income statement of SNI funds as of 31 December, 2024: SNI annual statement 2024 in CHF Univ. Basel Canton AG Total Grants 2’766’439 5‘247‘940 8’014’379 Investment income 18’947 151’625 170’571 Income 2’785’385 5’399’565 8’184’950 Expenditure 3’109’549 5’777’990 8’887’539 Annual balance 2024 (324’164) (378’425) (702’589) SNI assets per 01/01/2024 1’989’547 3’577’167 5’566’715 Annual balance (324’164) (378’425) (702’589) SNI assets per 31/12/2024 in CHF 1’665’383 3’198’742 4’864’125 SNI Annual Report 2024 67