Mission Statement
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| "From Science to Market" |
From Science to Market
Embroidered electrodes and conductive synthetic fibers embedded in clothing article for muscle simulation. Breeding of Siberian sturgeons with warm water streaming out of the Swiss alps. Oil field characterization based on listening to the natural murmur of the earth. Clever microneedles for the precise administration of drugs.
Those are only a few examples of innovations the Swiss Agency for Innovation Promotion CTI supported recently under its applied research and development program. In fact in 2010 no less than 343 projects could be financed by CTI with 100 million CHF public money completed by 135 million CHF private investment.
Promotion of applied R&D
“Science to market” . That is the central idea behind CTI’s support for research-based innovation projects carried out by companies together with universities.
CTI supports innovative entrepreneurs. You are an entrepreneur with a brilliant innovative idea. But, to implement it successfully, additional research is required, which a university can provide. Would you like to work with universities and use their know-how and resources for your innovation? CTI helps you to do this: it finances the contribution of university partners up to half of the total project costs.
The CTI supports market-oriented scientists You are a scientist and your research has great market potential. You want to work with the industry in order to bring your innovation to the mar- ket? The CTI supports you: for further research work conducted with a partner company, it pays your salary up to half of the total project costs.
The benefits for industry are twofold: arising from both the project results and the new generation of researchers with marketled training. The work of CTI demonstrates an excellent leverage effect: for every Swiss franc from the federal government, indus- try invests another 1.4-plus francs. In the past ten years, CTI has considered more than 6000 applications and, of those, supported more than 3,500 projects. More than 5,500 companies were involved in those as industry partners, 80% of which SMEs. The projects generated a turnover of nearly 2 billion Swiss francs in research and development, with industry assuming approximately 60% of the costs, the Swiss government 40%.
How does CTI project promotion work?
CTI assistance is available to all scientific disciplines. The project partners defi ne their projects themselves. This is the bottom-up approach. The main assistance criteria are innovative content and expected economic impact. Both companies and universities can apply for CTI assistance for research and development projects but CTI money will go only to universities. CTI accepts pre-proposals from companies even before any university partner is involved and can, on request, suggest potential partners. The applicants then choose their partners and go together with them through the CTI promotion process. CTI facilitates easy access to research resources at Swiss universities, in particular for SMEs that lack sufficient R&D capacity and network. Applications are assessed by a top-class team of qualifi ed experts from industry and science and feedback is provided within short time.
Whether entrepreneur or researcher: use CTI assistance for your research-based innovation.