Mission Statement
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| "The leading use-inspired research institute for materials science & technology" |
Closing the gap
Technology transfer through Empa’s business incubators
To bridge the gap «from science to business» is one of the hallmarks of Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology. Empa is an interdisciplinary research and service institute for materials science and technology development. It is part of the ETH domain and as such is an important element in science, technology and innovation in Switzerland. Empa is pursuing an «integrated» knowledge and technology transfer strategy, that is, it is employing numerous routes to actively transfer its know-how and research results into the market.
An important one – but by no means the only one – is the creation of business incubators on Empa’s premises where Empa spin-offs and high-tech start-ups find ideal conditions through, among other things, intense collaborations with Empa staff scientists, coaching in all things related to entrepreneurship and administration, services, access to Empa’s high-tech infrastructure and professional networks and, last but not least, support in finding (pre-)seed money. By promoting start-up companies – and entrepreneurial spirit in general – Empa contributes to creating value for the Swiss economy and society alike.
For more than 13 years now Empa operates the tebo technology center in St. Gallen («Technologiezentrum für die Euregio Bodensee»). Meanwhile, tebo houses a total of 19 companies offering employment for more than 90 staff members. Many of the start-ups in tebo have expertise in the field of textiles and fibers. In 2006, due to its outstanding reputation and an increasing demand for offices and lab space by new potential tenants, which Empa’s edifices could no longer satisfy, tebo had to expand to a second location in close vicinity. Since 2010 tebo cooperates with the University of St.Gallen (Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence CEE-HSG), the University of Applied Sciences of St.Gallen (Innovation Centre IZSG) and the city of St.Gallen to jointly promote innovative start-up projects. For this purpose they founded the platform «Startfeld» on 2010.
In 2008, tebo got a «twin sibling» – glaTec, Empa’s technology center on its main premises in Dübendorf. Based in the Zurich metropolitan area – the hotbed of science and technology in Switzerland – glaTec is collaborating closely with the Technopark® Alliance and other start-up supporting organizations to help scientists-turned-entrepreneurs in «getting started». Besides Empa and Eawag spin-offs, glaTec is targeted towards external start-ups that are expected to show a significant synergy with Empa’s R&D efforts, out-sourced R&D departments of large (inter-)national enterprises and public-private partnerships. The ETH Zurich spin-off «Optotune» was among glaTec’s first tenants; the company develops adjustable optical lenses based on electroactive polymers – «artificial muscles», if you wish – a technology, that is also an area of active research at Empa.
For every start-up the most challenging phase in its «life cycle» is to try and bridge the financial gap between seed and start-up funds. It is here that Empa’s business incubators are lending support by entertaining a network of and offering access to a number of funding institutions such as foundations, banks, business angels and the like. What’s more, Empa’s extensive network of (industrial) customers and collaborators can serve as a door opener for start-ups to establish new business relations – and thus secure the longterm survival of the company.
glaTec is supported by Empa, Eawag, the city and the canton of Zurich, the city of Dübendorf, and glow. das Glattal.