Thomson Reuters has published its annual ranking of innovative European universities. Four Swiss universities made it to the Top 25. Only UK and Germany perform better. The ranking is based on ten different indicators including metrics for commercial impact.

The AIT program gives scientists the opportunity to push their research project closer to a real world application by connecting them to research, start-up and business communities in two untapped markets with high potential. It includes a 1-week acceleration and mentoring program in India, respectively Brazil. Applications are now open.  

EPFL’s new Swiss EdTech Collider will be home to around 30 startups involved in developing new education technologies. With the incubator, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne has taken a decisive step towards developing an international hub for the booming sector of digital education based in Switzerland.

Avec l’émergence d’acteurs tels que Sophia Genetics, AC Immune ou Prexton Therapeutics, la Health Valley Lémanique devrait fortement se développer ces prochaines années. Consciente des futurs besoins en personnel qualifié dans le domaine des sciences de la vie, l’Université de Genève lance cet automne une nouvelle filière en Sciences Biomédicales pour former les forces vives de demain. 

Das vom Schweizerischen Nationalfonds initiierte Nationale Forschungsprogramm "Big Data" (NFP 75) soll die Kompetenzen der Schweiz im Big Data-Bereich erweitern. Ein Schwerpunkt bilden Anwendungen vor allem im Life Science Bereich.

Celeroton wird im Rahmen eines Horizon 2020 Projekts einen gasgelagerten Turbo Kompressor für ein 100 kW Brennstoffzellensystem entwickeln und realisieren. Integriert und getestet wird das Brennstoffzellensystem durch die Volvo Car Group. Das Projekt hat ein Gesamtvolumen von 6.2 Millionen Euro.

NetGuardians and the School of Engineering and Management Vaud (HEIG-VD) have joined forces in a Made-in-Switzerland research project aimed at taking machine learning and artificial intelligence technology in financial fraud detection to the next level.

The EPFL School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering ENAC has launched a new initiative "InnoSeed program" to help promote innovation and technology transfer within the school. The program dedicates specific maturation and funding programs to individuals with innovative technological ideas relevant to ENAC's research topics.

Vor drei Wochen lancierten die Pizolbahnen und die Belalp Bahnen Tickets mit wetterabhängigen Preisen. Hinter dem Angebot steht das Berner Startup tipo ticketing. Wir haben uns mit Mitgründerin Rahel Ryf über erste Erfahrungen unterhalten.

Der Pfizer Forschungspreis ist einer der renommiertesten Medizin Forschungspreise der Schweiz. Vergangene Woche wurde ein gemeinsames Projekt von Universität Zürich und der jungen Biotech-Firma Neurimmune ausgezeichnet.

Hind Chammas, étudiante Master of Arts HES-SO en Design, et Meili Gernet, étudiante Master of Science HES-SO en Integrated Innovation for Product and Business Development – Innokick, sont les deux lauréates du 1er Prix à l’Innovation de la HES-SO Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale. Il a été remis mardi 17 janvier 2017 à la Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne – HEMU, à l’occasion d’une cérémonie réunissant 150 personnes des mondes économique et académique.

Enterprises in Switzerland devoted more than CHF 15.7 billion to their research and development activities (R&D) in 2015. At international level, Switzerland is among those countries where enterprises are the most active in R&D. These are some of the main findings from the survey conducted by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) in partnership with economiesuisse.

Abionic SA announced today the receipt of CE Mark (Conformité Européenne) for two novel tests using its easy to use testing platform, abioSCOPE. The CE Mark allows Abionic to commercialize its tests for sepsis risk assessment and management (PSP Test) and iron deficiency throughout the European Union.

An der ETH Zürich wurden letztes Jahr 25 Spin-offs gegründet – damit konnte die Rekordzahl von 2015 egalisiert werden. Schwerpunkte bilden die Bereiche ICT und Maschinenbau.

Swiss researchers and organisations will now be able to fully participate in Horizon 2020, the European Union's research and innovation funding programme, on equal terms with entities from EU Member States and other associated countries. The most important change for start-ups: Swiss companies can benefit from the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument.

Die Schweiz ratifiziert das Protokoll zur Erweiterung der Personenfreizügigkeit auf Kroatien. Damit ist auch die Voraussetzung erfüllt für die umfassende Teilnahme der Schweiz am Europäischen Forschungsprogramm Horizon 2020.

Swiss Competence Centers for Energy Research (SCCER) have been a success. All eight SCCERs will enter a second budgetary period in 2017. As part of the ‘Coordinated Energy Research Switzerland’ action plan, CTI has allocated a total of CHF 119.7 million over the next four years in support of SCCERs.

Photovoltaik wird in der Regel nicht zu den Stärken der Schweiz gezählt. Auf Seiten der Industrie sorgten sogar einige Konkurse wie derjenige von Sputnik Engineering für Schlagzeilen. Der Bericht „Photovoltaikforschung und -innovation in der Schweiz – aktuelle Entwicklungen und Fördermassnahmen des Bundes“, den der Bundesrat letzte Woche gutgeheissen hat, liefert nun Zahlen.

Ab dem 1. Januar 2017 gilt für ein neues Beitragsreglement für die Kommission für Technologie und Innovation (KTI). Die KTI wird neu bei den von ihr geförderten Projekten die indirekten Kosten (Overhead) der Forschungsstätten für alle einheitlich abgelten. Die für Overheadbeiträge zur Verfügung stehenden Mittel wurden von 38,9 Millionen Franken für die Periode 2013 -2016 auf 70,2 Millionen für die Periode 2017 bis 2020 erhöht.

The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) are jointly setting up the new programme BRIDGE. The programme aims to better exploit the economic and societal potential of scientific research by promoting the transfer from scientific knowledge to innovation. Subject to the parliamentary decision, the programme will start this autumn.

Wie können nicht kotierte Aktien mit Hilfe der Blockchain einfacher gehandelt werden? Dieser Frage geht ein neues Projekt unter Führung des Instituts für Finanzdienstleistungen Zug der Hochschule Luzern nach. Mit dabei sind Wirtschaftspartner wie SIX, Swisscom und Zürcher Kantonalbank.

Following a two-stage evaluation procedure, the Commission for Technology and Innovation CTI has eleven national thematic networks (NTNs) in its funding programme. These NTNs will receive funding in the period 2017-2020.

Unter dem Label Entrepreneurship@ZHAW startete die Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaft ZHAW im Jahr 2014 ein umfassendes Projekt zur Förderung von Jungunternehmerinnen und -unternehmern. Das Angebot hat sich etabliert. Ein Highlight ist die ZHAW Startup Challenge, die diese Woche über die Bühne ging. Gewonnen haben drei Systemtechniker.

This week the annual award ceremony for the Spark Award was held at ETH Zurich. The prize, which recognises the most promising invention at ETH Zurich registered for a patent in 2015, went to Sergio Sanabria and Orçun Göksel. They have developed a hand-held ultrasound imaging of speed-of-sound for breast examination.

“The Brain Forum” connects different players in neuroscience to advance their understanding of how the brain works and to accelerate the application of that understanding to human needs. The next conference will take place in Lausanne in May. Start-ups will have the opportunity to present their projects to the audience and to win an innovation award.

The Federal Council today appointed Professor Martin Vetterli as the new President of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Martin Vetterli is a Full Professor at EPFL, President of the Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and co-founder of Dartfish.

Schuhabdruckspuren sind kriminaltechnisch äusserst wichtig. Um auch stark fragmentierte Spuren rasch einem Schuhmodell zuordnen und mit Bildern von anderen Tatorte abgleichen zu können, hat die Hochschule Luzern – Informatik gemeinsam mit der Forensity AG in Root LU eine Matching-Software entwickelt. Das Interesse daran ist gross, nicht nur in der Schweiz.

Fondation Eclosion strengthens an AiDD/UNIGE biotechnology company creation initiative to develop novel treatments in inflammation.

25 spin-offs were founded at ETH Zurich last year. Most companies were established in the ICT field. The new record highlights the benefits of supporting young talent early on and illustrates that ETH’s Pioneer Fellowship Programme is paying off.

Wyss Zurich had its official opening yesterday in the presence of Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann and Hansjörg Wyss, whose donation made the center possible. The aim of the joint development center created by ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich is to take innovative ideas from basic research and apply them in practice as quickly as possible.

Im vergangenen Jahr wurden 22 offizielle Spin-offs der ETH Zürich gegründet. Acht davon haben ihre Wurzeln in ETH-eigenen Förderprogrammen für Firmengründer.

Inspired by the report “The Start-up Landscape of Switzerland - First Insights from the Swiss Start-up Monitor” published at the beginning of 2014, the Start-up Monitor conducted a follow-up analysis of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Switzerland. The main focus lied on the role of the two federal institutes ETHZ (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich) and EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne) as central actors and nuclei within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Neurimmune’s recombinant human monoclonal antibody Aducanumab / BIIB037 reduced beta-amyloid levels in the brain, and had an effect on cognition in patients with prodromal or mild Alzheimer’s disease. These study results were observed in a prespecified interim analysis of the Phase 1b trial conducted by Neurimmune’s collaboration partner Biogen Idec, Cambridge, MA.

Creapole et la Ville de Porrentruy ont présenté mysmartcity.ch, un programme qui vise le développement et la concrétisation de projets innovants dans le domaine de la « ville intelligente ». Porrentruy jouera le rôle de ville pilote dans la réalisation de sept projets concrets. Creapole, quant à elle, assumera le rôle de coordinateur du programme. Elle a réuni un ensemble de centres de compétences d’entreprises et d’institutions de recherches sous la forme d’un consortium.

Anergis, a company developing proprietary ultra-fast allergy vaccines, today announced the start of a Phase II trial designed to finalize the dose selection for the Phase III study of AllerT. AllerT is Anergis´ lead vaccine against birch pollen allergy.

BioVersys together with the University of Lille announced today that the company has reached the first milestone in their collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The collaboration was agreed in May 2014 and aims to develop an effective treatment against tuberculosis (TB). As a result, the collaboration will now move into the second stage which is to develop a preclinical candidate.   

NBE-Therapeutics is industry partner in a Swiss SystemsX funded transfer-project together with Prof. Zippelius of University Hospital Basel.

Qvanteq AG today announced that it has enrolled the first patient in the First in Man (FiM) clinical study QUEST I, this is following earlier regulatory approval from the Dutch and Swiss authorities. The aim of the QUEST I study is to assess feasibility and safety of the Qstent, a bioactive, coating-free coronary stent. The Qstent has shown excellent in-growth and a low tendency to produce a thrombus or clot in pre-clinical studies.

Lighter and low-vibration satellites are possible due to magnetic bearing technology: The Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SBFI) supports one of Celeroton’s research projects.

MaxiVAX SA, a private Swiss biotech company with a highly experienced team, is conducting a ground-breaking clinical phase 1 trial at the Geneva University Hospitals with its proprietary cancer vaccination MVX-ONCO-1 in 15 patients suffering from various cancers at an advanced stage.

Two start-ups – embotech and Adaptricity -, ETH Zurich and inspire AG have started a CTI project for optimal planning and sizing of active electricity distribution networks.

In those areas of the new European Research Framework Programme that are interesting for start-ups Switzerland has a third country status. Swiss companies active in those projects will be financed directly by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation. A new webpage provides start-ups with information. In addition financial support is available for start-ups participating for the first time in a Horizon 2020 proposal.

Scientists from the University of Bern have developed a novel substance for the treatment of severe bacterial infections without antibiotics, which would prevent the development of antibiotic resistance. The treatment is being developed as a new medicine named "CAL02" by LASCCO SA.

LASCCO SA has held a positive Scientific Advice Meeting with the UK MHRA regarding its broad-spectrum drug against bacterial virulence factors, CAL02. The company plans to conduct a first-in-human clinical study next year with CAL02 in severely-ill patients with pneumococcal pneumonia.

Bcomp can further develop its technology for space applications thanks to two new grants. In addition important players from the automotive industry have shown a keen interest in Bcomp's technology at Composites Europe Fair last week.

Am Mittwoch ging in Zürich die Veranstaltung „Die Schweiz – Innovationsweltmeister aber nicht Gründungsweltmeister“ über die Bühne. An dem von der Seca organisierten Event diskutierten Experten wie Dietmar Grichnik und Adrienne Corboud Fumagalli über die Stärken und Schwächen des Startup Standorts Schweiz. Zudem gab es News zum „Zukunftsfonds“.

Spinomix SA, a Swiss technology platform company providing innovative sample processing solutions to the life sciences sector, today announced the issuance of two US Patents number relating to the manipulation and mixing of magnetic particles in microfluidics environments.

CSEM, the Swiss research and technology organization, is one of three winners of the EARTO Innovation Prize 2013. The prize honors research and technology transfer with high potential for future applications in the economy and society. This year, CSEM's contribution to the Swiss watch industry's global competitiveness, by the development of silicon micro-components, was recognized.

Die Bilanz über das erste Eurostars Programm 2008-2013 zeigt, dass sich die Teilnahme für Schweizer KMU mit grenzüberschreitender Forschungs- und Entwicklungstätigkeit auszahlt. Jetzt läuft die Ausschreibung für Eurostars 2. Auch Start-ups können sich bewerben.

The Federal Council’s ‘Coordinated Energy Research Switzerland’ action plan aims to promote energy research in the years 2013-2016. Central to the action plan is the creation of research competence centres or networks between higher education institutions, to be known as Swiss Competence Centres for Energy Research (SCCERs). Two applications in have already been approved by the Steering Committee.