CHF10 million for future entrepreneurs at the University of Zurich

 

For more than a year, the University of Zurich supports scientists who are planning to start a business with BioEntrepreneur Fellowships. Thanks to a generous donation, UZH is now able to expand the program to the MedTech field.

 

The University of Zurich launched the BioEntrepreneur Fellowships in spring 2017. The fellowship provides support for people planning to create a spin-off company in the Life Sciences and related fields. The fellowship amounts to CHF 150'000 for a period of 18 months. It further includes support and advice for fellows on various topics. Four fellowships have been granted since the start.

The new funding instrument for innovative projects has also sparked the interest of a major private foundation: Over the next 10 years, the Werner Siemens Foundation is donating approx. 10.7 million Swiss francs to further develop the UZH fellowship program in the area of medical technology. The funds allocated to the program MedTechEntrepreneur Fellowships are dedicated to financing grants as well as to equipping the lab at the University’s Schlieren Campus. “With funding partnerships like this, we can expand existing areas of specialization while also developing new fields of research or setting new research priorities,” says UZH President Michael Hengartner. 

UZH Innovators Camp
Another new opportunity for potential entrepreneurs is the first UZH Innovators Camp 2018 which is organised in collaboration with the Zurich University of the Arts. The camp which will take place in July is designed as an intensive summer camp providing hands-on training combined with lectures by entrepreneurs, team challenges and company visits. It is open for all students and young researchers from UZH, ETHZ and ZHdK. Deadline for application is 10 June. More information on the website of the camp.

(Press release / SK)

Picture: Universität Zürich; Manfred Richter