Population of Basel-Stadt continues to grow
The residential population of the canton of Basel-Stadt grew in 2016.
A total of 1002 people moved to Basel last year, bringing the total population of Basel-Stadt to 198,206 inhabitants, representing an increase of 0,5 per cent. In the year before, it was 0,4 per cent.
The number of people moving to Basel from other countries also grew. With a total population of 78,808, the number of foreign nationals grew by 1,8 per cent, the Statistics Office of Basel-Stadt announced on Friday.
Meanwhile, the number of Swiss inhabitants fell by 0,2 per cent to 127,398. The percentage of foreign nationals rose from 35,3 per cent to 35,7 per cent.
A total of 13,781 people became new inhabitants of Basel-Stadt last year while 13,369 people migrated to other places representing an increase in the number of people moving into the city of 412.
In addition, there was an increase of 29 in the number of babies born (2006) while a total of 1977 people died. The reason the number of people moving into the city and the birth surplus does not correspond with the total number is due to adjustments to the figures because of late notifications.
The municipality of Riehen had the largest population growth at 0,6 per cent – a total of 21,001 people were registered at the end of last year. The city of Basel experienced a growth of 0,5 per cent and has a total of 175,015 inhabitants, while the municipality of Bettingen shrank by 1,2 per cent to 1190 people.
Change in scholarships at University of Basel
The University of Basel is to cancel the reimbursement of semester fees and expand the scholarship in cases of hardship instead.
Starting in autumn semester 2017, the scholarships will specifically support students who are experiencing financial hardship. The university council has approved a corresponding change in the fees regulation.
Until now, students could apply for a reimbursement of their semester fees from their second semester onwards if they were experiencing financial difficulties. Since the early 1990s, the numbers of applications has more than tripled to 500 cases, which gave rise to the question of whether such reimbursements are still valid when providing adequate support for students who are struggling financially.
Larger scholarships in cases of hardship
A thorough analysis of university scholarships by the grants commission came to the conclusion that the current reimbursement system is not effective when providing the necessary support for students in financial need. The financial shortcoming of these students often surpasses the semester fees by far.
There are also other possibilities other than applying for reimbursement – for example parental support, part-time jobs or a scholarship from the state. This imbalance is to be corrected by the autumn semester through the new scholarship policy, which will give between 150 and 200 students adequate financial support through additional scholarships from the university.
At the same time, the advisory service will be expanded by 50 per cent and aims to support students to finance their studies and to utilise their savings potential properly – for instance with a focus on health insurance and rent.
The system change results in reduced expenditures of about 230,000 Swiss francs for Basel’s university. This money has so far only partially been used to support students, as every reimbursement of semester fees often led to a reduction of other support benefits.
Roger Federer beats Tomas Berdych at Australian Open
Roger Federer has smashed his way into the last sixteen of the Australian Open with a gala performance. The Swiss player defeated Tomas Berdych in the third round (ATP 10) with 6:2, 6:4, 6:4 in a match lasting 90 minutes
Federer appeared late but full of panache on court on Friday, with Australian Rod Layer also present. Federer played aggressively from the beginning, and put Berdych under intense pressure.
Federer won service after service and gave his adversary no chance. At the end of the match, the statistics showed that he had 40 wins with only 17 unforced errors for the 17-time Grand Slam winner. At the net, Federer won 20 out of 23 points.
The path to Federer’s victory started with 1:2 in the first set and kept going until the 2:0 lead in the second set with seven consecutive wins. Federer also scored the decisive break right in the first game of the third round. He slammed with enormous strength and did not give one break ball to Berdych, against whom he had lost six times in the past.
After the mediocre first two matches against Jürgen Melzer and Noah Rubin, there had been doubts about Federer’s condition after his half-year break. In his match against Berdych, who will not enter the round of sixteen for the first time since 2010, Federer eliminated these doubts in an impressive manner.
“Sometimes it’s easier against stronger opponents who you know better,” Federer explained after the match. “In any case, it’s wonderful and it felt far better than in the first two matches.” However, Federer himself had not expected such a good performance. “I was prepared for a longer battle, perhaps five hours.”
In the round of sixteen, Federer will face Kei Nishikori from Japan – another top ten player – on Sunday. Nishikori, ATP number 5, had no trouble defeating Slovakian player Lukas Lacko in three sets. Federer has won four out of six matches against Nishikori.