How you keep your perspective and act with foresight

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We accompany you on your way to success and always support you in a needs-oriented manner:

Individual SME coaching

Three-stage startup program

Impulse-oriented founders consulting

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Sounds interesting? Contact us for a non-binding initial consultation.

There’s more to vision than meets the eye

CIELOCAM ExO Aare Optometry Practice

Talking Pictures

Be-connected

PORTRAIT OF A CEO: Thomas Bernhard

“The fact that I started out in a hands-on trade serves me well to this day.”

HIDDEN CHAMPION: Ziemer Group

From high-precision eagle eyes to the simple eyes of mollusks, in the natural world eyes and vision come in a huge range of shapes and designs. Besides being an organ of perception and orientation, the eye serves as a symbol of knowledge, omniscience, and truth. Even so, the advent of AI makes us question things in a way we have never done before: is what we are seeing really real? In this issue, we introduce you to companies and projects in the Canton of Bern that focus on the eye.

Our cover story shines a light on the eye and vision.

In the CEO Portrait, Thomas Bernhard of the Haag-Streit Group reveals when he closes his eyes and is all ears.

In the Hidden Champion column, all eyes are on the Ziemer Group, which has developed a globally unique laser platform for eye surgery.

AI also gets a look-in, when we introduce you to RetinAI in the Digitalis column, a medtech startup that is using AI to revolutionize ophthalmology.

There’s a feast for the eyes awaiting you in the Life/Culture/Tourism column, where we take you on a panoramic train trip in the GoldenPass Express. In the Administration column, we make the invisible visible.

And last but not least, we invite you on a sensory journey in #cantonofbern.

Yours truly,

Dr. Sebastian Friess Head of the Office of Economic Affairs President, Bern Economic Development Agency

Publication details

Publisher, concept and editor-in-chief: Bern Economic Development Agency (BEDA), Münsterplatz 3a, P.O. Box, CH-3000 Bern 8, tel. +41 31 633 41 20 Internet: www.berninvest.be.ch

Text: Franziska Egli, Beat Hausherr, Pirmin Schilliger, Michaela Schlegel, Gabriela Sommer

Design: Casalini Werbeagentur, Bern Translation: Marianne Creola, lingua-communications, Thun Printed by: Haller + Jenzer AG, Burgdorf. Printed on FSC-certified paper. Circulation and publication method: “berncapitalarea – magazine on business, science and living in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland” is published twice a year in German, French and English and has a circulation of 3,000 copies. Picture credits: iStock (p. 1, 4–5), P.C Porträtfotografie Universitätsklinik für Augenheilkunde, Inselspital, Universitätsspital Bern (p. 5 ), P.C Universität Bern/Tanja Kurt, Digger, Carmelina Castellino: P.C Blindenschule Zollikofen/Max Strässle, Museum: P.C Blindenschule Zollikofen/Digitale Massarbeit (p. 6/7), P.C CIELOCAM, ExO, Optometriepraxis Aare, Sprechende Bilder, be-connected (p. 8/9), P.C Thomas Bernhard, Adrian Moser (p. 10/11), P.C Ziemer Group (p. 12/13), P.C RetinAI (p. 14/15), David Bochud (p. 16), P.C MOB – GoldenPass (p. 17/18), P.C Tobias Ryser (p. 18), P.C MOB – GoldenPass (p. 19), P.C Aseptuva AG, CSEM (p. 21), P.C Casalini Werbeagentur (p. 22/23). All rights reserved. Articles and pictures may only be reproduced with the express consent of the publisher.