ERNE Group and SwissREI strengthen practical real estate research

The Best of Research Congress 2026 brings together the strongest research work from nine Swiss universities and promotes the exchange between science and practice. The event is regarded as the most important platform for applied real estate research in Switzerland and is organized by the Swiss Real Estate Institute (SwissREI) - a foundation of the HWZ Zurich University of Applied Sciences - in collaboration with SVIT Switzerland.

Each university nominates its best research project. The selected teams present their results to an audience of experts from the real estate industry. The participants determine the strongest contribution of the year in a transparent process.

The winners receive the award: ERNE Swiss Master - best scientific work in the real estate sector 2026.

With this award, SwissREI and the ERNE Group recognize research achievements that combine scientific foundation with high practical relevance and provide concrete impulses for the further development of the real estate industry.

With our commitment, we promote practice-oriented research, strengthen the exchange between science and applied real estate practice and contribute to the sustainable further development of our industry.

Giuseppe Santagada, Group CEO ERNE Group

The Best of Research Congress impressively demonstrates how university research and practice benefit from each other. The work presented provides valuable impetus for players in the Swiss real estate market. The assessments by people from practice are also a compass for the researchers, showing them which topics and contributions they can use to support practice most effectively.

Prof. Dr. Peter Ilg, Head of the Swiss Real Estate Institute