The “Zurich SME Innovation Day” took place on July 4 at the Toni-Areal of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) in Zurich. The event was based on the “SMEs and Innovation” (KMU und Innovation) funding offer from the Canton of Zurich Location Promotion Network. This includes the Canton of Zurich’s Office for Economic Development and the regional location promotion agencies.
"Out-of-the-box thinking" and networking: both were at the heart of the Zurich SME Innovation Day. In workshops, entrepreneurs from various sectors presented and jointly developed innovative solutions that will benefit Zurich as a business location.
Spice up your hairstyle with an "invisible" curler? Inherit personal passwords via digital urn? No problem at all! The fact that such undertakings are no longer utopian was demonstrated at the second Zurich SME Innovation Day. Around 150 participants got to see and hear how companies from the canton are making Zurich fit for the future as a business location with concentrated innovative strength.
The start-up Maelle, for example, founded by ZHdK graduate Sandra Seb, has created a simple, recyclable accessory for people with long hair. Maelle's so-called "curls-in" can be braided into the hair without much effort and form voluminous curls in a short time. This is made possible by special metallic materials that are also used by NASA in space travel: shape memory alloys. What's more: In contrast to conventional "heatless curls", Maelle's are not noticeable to anyone - they are virtually hidden under the hair.
Maelle is one of many start-up companies currently looking for investors. This is where the SME Innovation Day comes into play: it offers entrepreneurs and potential investors a platform to find each other and make contacts. "Many of the funding opportunities are not really known to SMEs and are only used to a limited extent," said Anita Martinecz Fehér from the organization team in her welcoming address. "Today, we offer you the opportunity to build a network so that you can draw on the full potential."
At the same time, the Innovation Day encouraged established SMEs that have been around for some time to break new or unconventional ground and drive innovation forward - with the start-ups naturally also serving as inspiration. "Innovation must be in our own interest," said Oliver Schärli from Zürcher Kantonalbank, which promotes young companies and supports the SMEs and Innovation program, in his presentation. "Without innovation, we won't develop any further. We stagnate."
To prevent any kind of stagnation, SMEs can also count on the support of the Swiss Resource Efficiency Network (Reffnet). As the name suggests, it advises and supports companies in the efficient and environmentally friendly use of their operating resources. The network of consulting firms, research institutes and environmental organizations thus helps SMEs to achieve all their sustainability goals.
Speaking of stagnation: in order for Switzerland to remain an "innovation nation", all players from politics, business and research are called upon. This is the conclusion reached by Peter Seitz from the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW). He has noticed that investments in research and development are becoming less and less worthwhile for some sectors. "We have to be vigilant," Seitz warns the guests in his speech. "Our economy thrives on exports; they account for 50 percent of our GDP. We would be lost without innovation!"
Another promising project that was presented in the plenary block "Creativity meets technology" is called "Final Backup". In their Bachelor's thesis, ZHdK graduates Jonathan Bischof and Elias Diehl looked at the question of what happens to personal digital data after a person's death. Her answer: digital urns.
In these, photos, passwords, chat histories or song playlists of the deceased person are passed on to the surviving dependants - it is possible to determine exactly which ones and for how long. All other private data can be filtered out and permanently deleted using a simple data handling procedure. This is not only practical, but also environmentally friendly, as the data memory continues to consume energy even after a person has passed away without being deleted.
We will probably never know what it is like to be dead. What it's like to live as a bat, however: the design studio "Somebodyelse" makes the supposedly unimaginable possible using virtual reality technology. If you put on these goggles, you are already in complete darkness and "live" as a bat - you get "bat vision". The "Somebodyelse" pilot product of the same name was also created by ZHdK graduates.
Let's stay with the animals: In the plenary block "Sustainability meets technology", environmental engineer Andreas Zaugg explained how he created a high-quality shrimp farm in Winterthur with his company "Lucky Shrimp". The so-called "Biofloc" technology makes it possible to imitate the natural ecosystem of prawns in an environmentally friendly way, meaning that local restaurants no longer have to import them.
In addition to the presentation of such exciting projects and business ideas, participants at the Innovation Day had the opportunity to visit various information stands and learn more about individual companies, institutions and sectors. A total of thirteen workshops with experts were also held. Future-oriented approaches were actively worked on and tinkered with in individual modules and bilateral consultations. The core topics: Innovation, digitalization, sustainability and employer attractiveness.
In its workshop, the "öbu" association for sustainable business took a close look at the circular economy together with the participants - including its opportunities and challenges. How will companies manage to be profitable along their value and supply chains in the future without neglecting their sustainability goals? Representatives from different industries developed exciting solutions in the group.
In the module "Product innovation: creatively tackling the lack of ideas", Julien Silva and Stefan Bebié from Zurich-based IT company Ergon presented a creative approach to collecting all kinds of ideas in a team: the 6-3-5 method. Six participants write down three ideas each, for which they have five minutes. This process is then repeated five times. This means that up to 108 ideas can be generated within 30 minutes!
Collecting ideas was also the order of the day in the module "Employer attractiveness in times of skills shortages". Markus Renevey, coach at the Swiss Resilience Hub competence center, wanted to know from those present how an employer can be convincing. An important insight from almost 60 minutes of discussion and brainstorming: Solutions tailored to the needs of individual employees are more important than ever. And: the workplace does not necessarily have to become a second home - even though companies such as Google aim to do just that by offering great benefits.
Other modules dealt with topics such as how SMEs can better protect themselves against cyber attacks or do more to protect the environment. At the end of the Innovation Day, all participants had the opportunity to get to know each other better at the networking aperitif.
The following organizations and associations helped shape the SME Innovation Day: Arbeitgeber Zürich VH, B Lab Switzerland, DIZH, Empa/NEST, Ergon Informatik AG, ERNI Schweiz AG, Euresearch, Fachstelle Betrieblicher Gesundheitsschutz, Forum BGM Zürich, Industrie 2025, Impact Hub Zürich, Innosuisse, Institut für geistiges Eigentum, Kantonales Zentrum für Cybersicherheit, KMU und Gewerbeverband Zürich KGV, Netzwerk Standortförderung Kanton Zürich, ÖBU, SATW, Swiss Resilience Hub, Topsoft, ZHAW, ZHdK and Zühlke Schweiz.