CERN supports new business incubation centre in Switzerland

CERN has signed its tenth Business Incubation Centre (BIC) agreement with PARK INNOVAARE in Switzerland, one of CERN’s Member States.

CERN is behind a network of ten BICs, hosted in ten of its Member States, to assist entrepreneurs and small businesses in taking CERN technologies and expertise to the market. In practice, CERN supports the selected companies through technical visits to CERN, technical consultancy and services, and preferential rate licensing of CERN intellectual property. The incubated start-ups have access to CERN’s expertise, as well as to CERN’s international BIC network.

PARK INNOVAARE is a unique innovation centre that operates with partners PSI (Paul Scherrer Institute) and FHNW (University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Northwestern Switzerland). These partners will support start-ups by providing office-space, technological expertise, business coaching programmes, access to local and national networks, and support in accessing finance. Start-ups entering the PARK INNOVAARE BIC will also receive funding for the realisation of their projects.

Swiss technology start-ups are invited to apply before 17 September 2018, and a jury will select the first incubatee. The selected start-ups will be presented at the Start-up Forum in Aargau in November.

Speakers from PARK INNOVAARE, CERN, PSI and FHNW at the launch of the Swiss Business Incubation Centre of CERN Technologies. (Image: PARK INNOVAARE)

There are currently 23 start-ups worldwide using CERN technology and know-how. These have applications in domains as diverse as medtech, digital preservation and material science.

For details about the BIC of CERN Technologies at PARK INNOVAARE and more details about the programme, please visit www.parkinnovaare.ch/cern-bic