Dark matter and planetary systems at the Swiss-Korean Innovation Week
Laura Baudis and Ravit Helled represented UZH at the 2026 Swiss-Korean Innovation Week in Seoul, contributing to scientific sessions on dark matter searches, planetary systems, and future space-related research collaborations between Switzerland and Korea.
From June 9th to 13th, the Swiss-Korean Innovation Week brought together researchers, innovators, diplomats, and industry representatives in Seoul to explore new opportunities for collaboration between Switzerland and South Korea. This year’s theme, “Unlocking Space - Ideas in Orbit,” focused on space as a frontier for scientific discovery, technological innovation, and international cooperation.
The University of Zurich was represented by Prof. Laura Baudis from the Department of Physics and Prof. Ravit Helled, from the Department of Astrophysics and Director of UZH Space. At the Swiss-Korean Science Day, Laura Baudis presented “Searching for dark matter in the Milky Way: where are we and where are we going?”, highlighting current results from XENONnT and plans for the next-generation XLZD observatory. She also contributed to the KASI–KARI workshop “Designing Space Future: Technology, Missions, and Earth Applications,” where she discussed the technological challenges of future dark matter detectors.
Together with Ravit Helled’s contributions on planetary systems and future missions to the outer Solar System, the UZH presentations showed how questions ranging from the nature of dark matter to the formation and evolution of planets rely on global partnerships, shared infrastructures, and interdisciplinary expertise. The event further strengthened the growing scientific exchange between UZH and Korean partner institutions.
See also: UZH global