Leading Houses are responsible for establishing connections and partnerships in selected regions with the aim of expanding the presence of organizations and creating new opportunities for collaboration. In the academic realm, they are key instruments of internationalization via scientific cooperation, and in the societal realm they are important partners in bringing science out of laboratories and into the markets for greater impact.

Following this model, selected Swiss institutes of higher education are commissioned by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) to act as Leading Houses. The Leading Houses set up and manage cooperation instruments to support research and innovation projects under the framework of the bilateral programs.

The Universität St.Gallen (HSG), through its Institute of Management in Latin America - University of St.Gallen (GIMLA), has been acting as the Swiss Leading House for the Latin American Region since 2017 supporting bilateral cooperation with local partners in Latin American countries.

Other Leading Houses of the Swiss education, research and innovation ecosystem area are:

HES-SO Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale – for North Africa and the Middle East

Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) in collaboration with the University of Basel – for Sub-Saharan Africa

ETH Zürich (ETHZ) – for East and Southeast Asia

ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften - for South Asia and Iran