19 January 2027
2503 Biel, Switzerland
Aarbergstrasse 46
Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne
3rd Swiss Academic Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum
Bridging academia and society to power innovation for Switzerland’s future
Over the past decade, Swiss higher education institutions have initiated a number of measures to foster an entrepreneurial mindset and support students and researchers with commercializing their innovative ideas.
Despite the rapidly growing ecosystem around academic entrepreneurship and innovation, the exchange among the various players has been largely informal and unstructured.
The Swiss Academic Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (SAIEF) will strengthen the exchange and knowledge transfer around academic innovation and entrepreneurship support. SAIEF brings together all those who support students and researchers on their entrepreneurial journey, incl. innovation advisors, program managers and coordinators, entrepreneurship lecturers, and more.
SAIEF is a collective initiative by a group of dedicated innovation champions from various Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences, and moves forward from the Swiss Forum for University and Student Innovation initiative.
The 1st edition of the Forum took place in January 2025 and brought participants from across Switzerland together to explore strategies to drive academic innovation and entrepreneurship. The 2nd edition in 2026 continued this exchange and further strengthened the growing community of professionals working to support academic innovation and entrepreneurship across the country.
The 2027 Forum will mark the 3rd edition of SAIEF, building on the experiences and connections established over the first two editions and continuing to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and exchange across the Swiss academic innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Our Mission
The Swiss Academic Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum (SAIEF) is the national platform that connects innovation and entrepreneurship practitioners across academic institutions, industry, and the wider Swiss ecosystem.
By bridging education, research, and industry, SAIEF ensures that Switzerland remains a leading hub for academic-driven innovation and entrepreneurship, where talents turn ideas into impactful solutions that benefit both the economy and society.
Our Vision
To further enable Switzerland to be the global benchmark for academic-driven innovation, where education, research, and entrepreneurship seamlessly converge to create transformative societal and economic value.
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Organizing Committee 2027
Robert Axelrod
University St. Gallen
Thomas Bratschi
Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW)
Emilie Romon Carnegie
University of Lausanne
Sebastien Hug
University of Bern
Ana Marques
University of Friboug
Kristine Metuzale
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW)