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On Thursday afternoon, May 25, 2023, more than 40 interested people gathered at Technopark in Zurich’s industrial district to learn more about and discuss the versatile applications of artificial intelligence (AI).
Project manager Raphael von Thiessen kicked things off with an introduction to the Innovation Sandbox. He explained the purpose of the sandbox and presented the selected AI projects. The Innovation Sandbox serves as a learning environment - like a laboratory, so to speak - in which companies, organizations and administrations can test out AI projects and develop expertise in the field of AI deployment without being completely left to their own devices. This is because the Sandbox project team advises submitted projects on regulatory issues and, if requested, provides new data sources. So far, 21 projects have been submitted, most of which came from smaller companies and startups, but also research institutes and some large companies.
At the practical seminar, the six selected projects were presented and discussed together with the participants. Using Mentimeter, participants had multiple opportunities to share their thoughts. So too on the question of where they see the greatest potential for AI in the public sector. The areas of administration, knowledge transfer & management, transport, cyber security, taxes, social affairs and communications stood out. Some of the projects presented actually fall into the above areas. For example, Parquery's Smart Parking project or AI-based administrative document search. Other projects surprised with their scope of application, such as the automated correction of primary school assignments, which aims to relieve teachers in order to create more time for individual support. The question of the risks of AI in the public sector was also raised; participants considered data protection, the threat to jobs, the question of ethics and quality, but also the fear of loss of control and the misuse of AI to be particularly important.
After the introduction to the topic, the participants divided into six groups to the corresponding World Cafés:
For fifteen minutes, each table discussed the opportunities and risks of using AI, where further areas of application lie, and what needs to be considered when implementing it. If the event management had not called for a rotation after the elapsed time and a conclusion after three rotations, the discussions would probably have continued until late in the evening. It was clear that the topic is more topical than ever. The evening showed that Artificial Intelligence and its diverse applications raise many questions and need promotion in a protected setting, one like the Innovation Sandbox, where responsible innovation can emerge.
Would you like to learn more about one of the projects or even initiate a similar project in your area? Then contact the responsible project manager Raphael von Thiessen. He will be happy to discuss the topic of AI with you.
Raphael von Thiessen
Project Manager Innovation Sandbox for AI
Division of Business and Economic Development
raphael.vonthiessen@vd.zh.ch
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Together with the Impact Hub, we have created a event series in which we discuss DeepTech topics in depth. On Tuesday, May 30, the event on “Blockchain and Food” took place. This is a brief review of it.
The presentation by Vlad Trifa, CEO & Founder of ZIMT AG, highlighted the need for an upgrade in the global food system and the challenges faced by food producers. Trifa emphasized the potential of blockchain technology in addressing these challenges and achieving goals such as traceability, transparency, and trust in the food industry.
The presentation acknowledged that traceability in the food industry requires complex IT integrations and collaborations. However, blockchain technology was presented as a solution to facilitate this process, offering a decentralized and immutable ledger that can securely record and track the journey of food products.
ZIMT AG proposed their solution, which leverages blockchain technology as the core component. Their ZIMT Hub serves as a digital data certification, utilizing blockchain to provide a trusted notarization service.
The presentation showcased past projects and pilots involving blockchain technology, including data collection for farmers in Brazil, cold chain monitoring of chocolate shipments, and a full digitization solution for Swiss wine makers. These examples highlighted the benefits of blockchain in streamlining data management, enhancing trust and loyalty from consumers, simplifying compliance with regulations, and optimizing processes and operations in the supply chain.
In conclusion, the presentation emphasized the transformative potential of blockchain technology in revolutionizing the food industry. By leveraging blockchain for traceability, transparency, and data certification, ZIMT AG aims to enable small and medium-sized food businesses to meet consumer demands and comply with upcoming regulations while building trust and improving efficiency throughout the food supply chain.
** This text was generated by ChatGPT based on the presentation of Vlat Tirfa and edited by the Innovation Zurich team.
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The 3rd Life Science Zurich Impact Conference was dedicated to the topic “Data for Health” on May 23. Around 350 participants took the opportunity to learn about current trends and to network.
Data will play a central role in the medicine of the future. Data makes it possible to better understand diseases and develop new therapies. The opportunities and challenges of data-based medicine were discussed at the conference in keynote speeches, parallel sessions and a panel discussion. In addition, an Investor Track, networking meetings and an exhibition space offered a variety of networking opportunities.
The development in the direction of precision medicine was at the center as a fundamental trend. More and more precise data, as well as new technologies, are needed to better tailor treatments to the individual. Such technological innovations include organoids, as Professor Hans Clevers, Head of Research and Early Development and member of the extended Corporate Executive Committee at Roche, explained.
Bernd Bodenmiller, Professor of Quantitative Biomedicine at ETH and the University of Zurich, then provided insights into data-based methods for more precise tumor diagnostics. His team is working - in the meantime also within the framework of the start-up Navignostics - on the incorporation of single-cell data into "digital tumors" in order to simulate the course of the disease and the effects of therapy.
In the parallel sessions, numerous projects were presented that aim to improve medicine with the help of data. The challenges repeatedly mentioned were data management, data interoperability and privacy protection - or the question of who should own the data. Common, cross-institutional data standards are all the more important, the conference emphasized. This is the only way to overcome the isolated "data silos" that have existed up to now.
Professor Philipp Fürnstahl and Dr. Sebastiano Caprara reported on how such data standardization is to be achieved at Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich. With the OR-X project, a surgical research and learning center will also be available at the clinic from August 2023. Among other things, new surgical technologies such as augmented reality, robotics and artificial intelligence will be tested there. The project is correspondingly digitized and data-based.
The importance of data becomes clear at the latest when it is missing. This is the case, for example, in the field of gender medicine, as Catherine Gebhard, professor at the Inselspital in Bern, reported. The "gender data gap" can be seen, for example, in the fact that men are usually overrepresented in studies and women suffer more often from the side effects of treatments. According to Susanne Gedamke, executive director of the Swiss Patients' Organization, there are also blind spots with regard to patients' perspectives. Little is known, for example, about how they evaluate medical services.
In the panel discussion, it became clear once again that it's about more than just data. A good infrastructure, a governance framework, and a societal understanding of data sharing are equally important to making meaningful use of health data. This requires the appropriate financial resources. Overall, the panelists were confident that much would be achieved in the coming years with regard to the further digitization of healthcare and the use of data in medicine. At the end of the conference, the two start-ups aiEndoscopic and Positrigo received an award for the best presentations of their companies in the Investor Track.
ZUERICH - 23.5.2023, LSZ Impact Conference 2023, Schweiz © Marco Zanoni / Lunax
Speaker Sven Hirsch
Catherine Gebhard
Speaker Bernd Bodenmiller
Claudia Witt
Paneldiskussion
Positrigo gewann den "Best Startup Pitiching Award - Afternoon Session"
aiEndoscopic gewann den "Best Startup Pitiching Award - Morning Session"
Konfernzteilnehmende am Stand des USZ
Voices
Alexander Nelles, Chief Information Officer at Kantonsspital Winterthur, explains what innovation means to him and how innovation can come about.
Voices
Doris Benz, CEO of Spital Bülach, explains what innovation means to her and how innovation can come about.
Voices
Adrian Melliger is CEO and Co-Owner of Designwerk Technologies AG. We wanted to know what innovation means to him.
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Learn how regional partnerships within the value chain can help building up a strong supply system. Discover that 1+1 is more than just two. The different lectures will show how the current challenges can be successfully countered by means of regional partnerships and the efficient use of resources and energy.
The speakers coming from academia, start-ups and SME will illustrate from different angles how to build up a future-oriented and strong supply system. With presentations from World Food System Center, ETH Zurich, fenaco, upgrain, The Cultured Hub, Hängry Foods, ZHAW, GreenState AG and Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern.
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The focus of the event will be the keynote speech by Dr. Stefan Gärtner. He is director for the research focus on spatial capital at the Institute for Work and Technology in Gelsenkirchen and is considered an expert for urban production, urban economy, regional development as well as circular economy. In the subsequent panel, he and producers will discuss opportunities and solutions. The event will be moderated by Tama Vakeesan (presenter SRF, reporter).
Speaker / Panel Participants
Procedure
17:00 Door opening
17:30 Opening Tama Vakeesan and Sonja Gehrig, UGZ
17:40 Keynote Dr. Stefan Gärtner
18:10 Panel discussion with urban producers
19:00 Apéro Riche
It is a public event and all interested parties are welcome.
Please register here: Link
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On Wednesday, June 14, 2023, the 27th Symposium on Privacy and Security will be held at Pädagogische Hochschule (PHZH) in Zurich. Experts present and discuss new developments in data privacy and information security. Topics include contextual integrity, the new federal data protection law, challenges on the path to digitized government, and increasing threats to cybersecurity. Participation is free of charge for employees of public bodies in the canton of Zurich – as a further training offer from the data protection officers.
The Symposium on Privacy and Security is an annual fixture for anyone interested in privacy and security issues.
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Would you like to present your Digital Health Start-Up? Do you want to win the jury or audience award? Take the chance and apply here for the Start-Up Pitching Session at the 5. Digital Health Lab Day.
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The Swiss Forum for International Agricultural Research (SFIAR) offers an annual Award for graduates and scientists of a Swiss institution who work in agricultural research for development
Take advantage of this opportunity!
For all the details on eligibility, application and selection please read the Award Guidelines.
Deadline for applications: 12 July 2023
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You are working on a business idea in the field of energy-efficient building and living, sustainable consumption or climate-friendly travel?
Join the Züribox and learn how to successfully develop your idea.
Innovation Program Manager
Maren Käfer
maren.kaefer@bluelion.ch
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Innosuisse participates in the survey to learn more about the innovation behavior of its own funding clientele. The results of the current study from 2021 show that innovation activities at companies supported by Innosuisse have increased in the last two years. The share of market novelties in sales in 2020 is significantly higher than for companies that have not applied for subsidies. The Covid 19 pandemic has had a significant impact on corporate innovation behavior. Digitization has received a boost. Around half of the funding clients make a potentially high contribution to at least one of the global sustainability goals through their innovations.
As part of the Swiss Innovation Survey, the Business Cycle Research Center at ETH Zurich surveys Swiss companies every two years on their innovation behavior. In addition, KOF conducts in-depth surveys and evaluations of its own funding clients on behalf of Innosuisse.
The 2019 survey focused on comparing innovative companies that received funding from Innosuisse with companies that did not submit an application or did not receive funding.
The present Innovation Survey 2021 focuses on the innovation behavior of companies. A total of over 3,500 companies that submitted applications for innovation projects and/or innovation checks to Innosuisse between 2016 and 2020 were surveyed. 1056 companies participated in the survey, which corresponds to a response rate of around 30%. The results do not focus directly on the impact of funding. However, they do provide information about the nature of innovation activities.
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A study by the University of St.Gallen has comprehensively examined the framework conditions for startups in Switzerland from a legal and economic perspective. While the higher education landscape and the financing conditions for start-ups are considered satisfactory, there are clear deficits with regard to administrative requirements. In particular, the start-up process in Switzerland is too complex, lengthy and costly by international standards.
Switzerland offers good conditions for startups and has, for example, produced some so-called "unicorns" with On, Mindmaze or Wefox, i.e. fast-growing companies valued at over one billion US dollars. As a country that regularly leads rankings such as the "Global Innovation Index" and has an excellent higher education landscape and a strong financial center, the framework conditions here are very good. Nevertheless, it must be asked how even more success stories can be written.
Researchers at the University of St.Gallen (HSG), under the scientific leadership of Prof. Dr. Dietmar Grichnik and Prof. Dr. Markus Müller-Chen, have investigated this question and, in addition to the positive aspects, have also identified a number of obstacles: the experts surveyed in the Swiss startup ecosystem perceive the bureaucratic process of founding a company as very complex. From the preparation of the necessary documents to the public notarization as well as the registration with the commercial register, time-consuming physical processes are necessary instead of being able to incorporate online in a one-stop store and by means of digital notarial services. Here, Switzerland lags behind other countries in terms of digital solutions. There are also warning signals regarding venture capital activities. Switzerland is increasingly falling behind other European countries. Prof. Dietmar Grichnik emphasizes: "Switzerland has a great opportunity to establish itself as a unicorn hotbed for startups. However, only if we don't lose out internationally on the location factors of digital startups, attractiveness for investors, taxes and regulation."
Especially in the MedTech and FoodTech sectors, startups have a high structural relevance in Switzerland. However, this is precisely where a high degree of regulatory uncertainty and rigidity cause problems. Prof. Markus Müller-Chen explains: "Innovations in these key industries are hindered by slow, insufficiently digitized and partly non-transparent approval or authorization procedures." MedTech startups have also suffered since 2021 from the suspension of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with the EU due to the lack of an institutional agreement. Another problem that affects startups in all industries equally is the possible classification of venture capitalists (so-called "business angels") as professional securities traders. Here, a statutory adjustment could create more legal certainty.
The study was conducted by the HSG on behalf of the Swiss Entrepreneurs & Startup Association SWESA. The association is committed to improving the economic policy framework for startups and innovative SMEs in Switzerland and runs the secretariat of the parliamentary group Startups and Entrepreneurship. Andri Silberschmidt, for example, is one of them: "The results of this study will help us to derive political initiatives and take concrete measures to offer startups in Switzerland optimal conditions," says the FDP National Councilor. The Swiss Mobiliar Cooperative supported the study as a benefactor.
Image: University of St.Gallen (HSG)
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The SICTIC Investment Report 2023 sheds light on its activities in the year 2022, and highlights the significant impact SICTIC has on the Swiss startup ecosystem.
Based on a survey of more than 300 investors and founders, the report offers insights into the latest trends in early-stage investing in Switzerland.