Next submission deadline: 31.05.2021
With «First Ventures» Gebert Rüf Stiftung promotes bachelor’s and master’s students of universities of applied sciences UAS who are developing an innovative business idea as their thesis topic. The support includes a financial contribution up to CHF 150,000 as well as an individually tailored coaching programme which will smooth the way to launching a startup. For this focus programme funds of CHF 1.5 million p.a. will be made available. The Impact Clips show what the previous First Ventures winners have achieved.
«First Ventures» focuses on entrepreneurial UAS students such as Remo Waser and Simon Maranda (HSLU, First Ventures 2018-2020) who want to pursue their innovation projects immediately after graduation. The project contributions of a maximum of CHF 150,000 pave the way for the establishment of their own spin-off. For the duration of the First Ventures project, the project managers are employed by the University of Applied Sciences and have full budget autonomy.
Gebert Rüf Stiftung encourages talented Bachelor’s and Master’s students not only to contemplate obtaining a degree, but also to embrace the idea of launching a startup. The financial stimulus gives the UAS graduates the chance to turn their own ideas into new products and services. The goal is to promote a culture of science entrepreneurship among students and strengthen business potential at universities of applied sciences.
The «First Ventures» programme not only provides financial support, but also individually tailored business training and coaching sessions designed to equip the potential company founders to successfully put their business idea into practice. The curriculum will include training in entrepreneurial practice, reviewing the business idea, concrete guidelines for setting up and running startup companies, as well as needs-led coaching from experienced experts in the respective sector. The training programme will be geared to the specific requirements of the selected project managers and is intended to give them access to a broad startup network.
We are looking for projects with high innovation potential for business and society that offer concrete solutions to problems and at the same time meet the quality standards of the respective research and development area. The applicants are distinguished by their professional expertise, willingness to take risks and personal commitment.
The application is submitted via the web portal of «First Ventures» and consists of two parts («Online Application» and «Project Proposal»). Please refer to the following steps:
1. Read the «Guidelines» carefully and fill in the «Online Application Form». You can save it at any time.
2. Download the project proposal form, which will be available soon (Word template «First Ventures 2021/Project Proposal»):
- Fill out all fields in the Word template (shaded background) and limit your project proposal to 6 pages (whole document/proposal, excl. attachments)
- The proposal must include one-page CV of all project team members and a letter of endorsement from the UAS’s Institute/Department Head responsible for the employment of the applicant(s).
- The project proposal form (word template) is to be uploaded as one single PDF file (incl. attachments) in the web portal of «First Ventures» (section «Proposal Upload»).
Applications may be submitted in German, French and preferably in English.
After the first selection round the preselected applicants are invited to the final selection where they present their project to the jury on 5 July 2021.
The project applicants selected for the final round can complete a pitching training. For Call VII: 29 June 2021 in Lausanne (course language french) and 30 June 2021 in Schlieren (course language german), for Call VIII: 14 december 2021 in Lausanne (course language french) and 15 december 2021 in Schlieren (course language german). Applicants are requested to reserve the relevant dates in advance.
Dr. Marco Vencato, Deputy Director, Gebert Rüf Stiftung, St. Alban-Vorstadt 5, 4052 Basel, marco., tel. +41 61 270 88 20 vencato@grstiftung. ch
The winning projects of the sixth call for proposal are the following:
BA Alexandra Büchi, FHNW | Tuyoh | CHF 30’000 |
BA Patricia Frei, ZHAW | ONEDU | CHF 86’000 |
BA Flavio Guadagnini, FH OST | SurroundPower | CHF 40’000 |
MA Bercan Siyahhan, ZHAW | CoatSim | CHF 149’000 |
BA Eliane Zihlmann, ZHdK | BATVISION | CHF 30’000 |
A total of 33 draft applications and 16 valid project proposals were submitted, 6 of them were from HES-SO and FHNW, 7 from ZFH, and 1 each from HSLU, OST and FHGR. 3 applicants applied with a Master's degree and 13 had completed their Bachelor studies at the time of submission. Of the 16 candidates, 5 were women.
Christoph Läser Photograph AG Basel