Silvia Zimmermann, who was a founder of UPA Switzerland, is in charge of the Swiss Institute for Software Ergonomy and Usability in Zurich, and became a UPA vice-president in 2008. She was also a co-organiser of the December 2008 European UPA conference on usability and design, in collaboration with co-chair Michele Visciola, president of Experientia.
Her major focus now is increasing the internationalisation of the UPA: «The dominance of the USA with regards to internet and software matters is often criticised. Our work at UPA shows that usability is a global matter. Experts from Europe and Asia are heavily involved in creating more useful technology.»