As one of Switzerland’s largest employers, Swiss Post operates far beyond letters and parcels. From mobility and financial services to digital platforms, e-health, and smart government, Swiss Post plays an active role in shaping societal infrastructure.
But how does a company of this scale stay agile and open to change? One answer lies in its targeted academic partnerships — and in people like Luna Formanek and Giuliana Breu, who build bridges between academic knowledge and real-world business needs.
University Entry as a Strategic Recruitment Tool
Luna Formanek leads Swiss Post’s university entry initiatives and sees her role as a strategic connector. She is responsible for the overall direction of graduate entry programs, career fair presence, outreach campaigns, and platforms like Studyond. Her goal: identify talent early and attract them for the long term.
“Our main focus is on developing young talent — always in line with our company’s strategic goals and the needs of each department.”
Accordingly, graduate roles and internships at Swiss Post are incredibly diverse — ranging from portfolio and real estate management, to digital intelligence, data science, transformation, and operations project management.
What’s worth highlighting: Swiss Post doesn’t just recruit based on field of study, but on mindset. Motivation, openness, courage, and humility matter just as much as technical expertise. Academic theses often act as the first stepping stone—they reveal both personality and potential.
“Theses help us get to know young talent.”
And just like the roles themselves, thesis topics at Swiss Post are equally varied. Through Studyond, students can discover matching project topics and connect directly with the right experts inside the company. Early engagement improves the chances of a successful collaboration and possibly, a future job.
Open Innovation: External Impulses, Internal Impact
But for Swiss Post, academic partnerships are about more than recruitment. For Giuliana Breu, Open Innovation Manager, they are a key part of the company’s innovation strategy:
“We bring knowledge and expertise from the outside into the organization.”
Open Innovation at Swiss Post means actively engaging with ideas from universities, startups, and other external partners — and combining those ideas with concrete business challenges. This includes thesis collaborations, venture clienting projects with young startups, and even investments via the company’s internal corporate venture capital team.
Here too, theses serve as a valuable interface with academia: “Bachelor’s and Master’s theses lower entry barriers for talent while also increasing our knowledge. Ideally, both sides benefit—students and the company,” says Breu.
Swiss Post also maintains long-standing partnerships with institutions like EPFL, ETH Zurich, and the University of Fribourg. These go well beyond individual thesis projects and include long-term collaborative initiatives.
This innovation mindset leads to real-world results. Swiss Post doesn’t just chase buzzwords — it delivers tangible solutions with value for customers, from MyPost24 parcel lockers to electronic patient records and payment apps like TWINT.
Post Academia: Making Academic Engagement Visible
Another key component of Swiss Post’s academic strategy is Post Academia — an initiative based on internal needs analysis and co-led by Breu and Formanek.
Post Academia makes visible what has long been happening behind the scenes: Swiss Post employees giving guest lectures, supervising theses, co-developing course content, or participating in university events. It has sparked a vibrant internal community, new engagement formats, and numerous partnerships.
“Swiss Post employees are already very active across Switzerland’s academic networks,” says Breu.
The message behind it: Innovation doesn’t just happen in R&D departments—it happens wherever knowledge is shared. Post Academia stands for this culture of openness and a Swiss Post that sees connectivity as the key to future readiness.
Let’s Go, Swiss Post!
For anyone looking to make an impact, Swiss Post offers an environment built on openness and innovation. It’s not a place for stagnation — it’s where transformation happens. Let’s go, Swiss Post!