Novartis, Roche, and a Pharma Corridor Full of Desi Scientists

Basel is pharma country, and the pharma industry has been recruiting Indian scientists and engineers for as long as the industry has existed. Novartis and Roche are both headquartered here, and between them they employ thousands of people, a meaningful portion of whom are South Asian. The University of Basel and the ETH Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering add researchers. This is a city where the dinner party conversation is about clinical trial phases and molecular biology, and half the room is from Hyderabad or Pune.

The format from New York: real contestants go on live dates on stage while the room watches and reacts. Afterward, the whole crowd mingles. In Basel, this format is designed to concentrate the scattered desi community into one room for one night, creating connections that the apps and expat mixers never deliver.

The Kleinbasel neighbourhood and areas around the SBB train station are where the international community tends to live. The social scene is dominated by corporate networking events and the occasional pharma industry mixer. For South Asian singles who want to meet someone outside the Novartis cafeteria, the options are limited. Art Basel brings the world to the city once a year, but the rest of the time it's quiet.

The tri-border geography means a show in Basel could draw from Freiburg (Germany), Mulhouse (France), and the surrounding Swiss towns. That multinational reach is unique and fits the show's international DNA.

Waitlist is open. Basel is part of our Swiss and pharma corridor plans. Get on the list or apply to be a contestant.