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Meet 11 of the 100 Digital Shapers of 2020 through short interviews.
You were heavily involved in the new laboratory for experimental museology (eM+) at EPFL. What is your mission there?
I established the laboratory in 2017 as a transdisciplinary initiative at the intersection of immersive visualisation technologies, aesthetics and cultural (big) data. eM+ occupies a large warehouse as part of EPFL. We build uniquely configured fully-immersive systems that are benchmarks in the realms of virtual, augmented and mixed realities for the arts, humanities and sciences. We have a number of major platforms including a 6m diametre fulldome and a 10m diametre x 4m high panoramic screen. All systems are stereo-enabled with spatial sound. The applications we develop derive from the research we conduct and are deployed in major exhibitions and installations throughout the world.
As museums and physical spaces continue to adapt their traditional roles, what are you most excited about for museology in 2020 and beyond?
2020 has been a defining moment in the development of museums. While under significant stress right now, Covid-19 has led to renewed commitment to innovation, collaboration and accessibility among museums. The pandemic has highlighted the fundamental importance of our diverse audiences. I believe we are now entering a new age where the voice of the visitor will define the future of engagement!
Many would argue that the emphasis on the digital for the arts and cultural sector has never been more important. There are ~95,000 museums in the world according to the latest ICOM/UNESCO figures, a 60% increase on 2012. When audiences return to the physical space of museums, they will have changed appetites and will want to participate in the cultural sphere in new ways.
What is your favourite exhibition that you have ever curated?
My favourite is always the one I’m building now! There are two exhibitions for 2021 that are very important to me:
Deep Fakes? Art & its Double was conceived before the pandemic but it certainly feels like the exhibition for our time with its emphasis on new digital technologies and experiences of world art.
The Atlas of Maritime Buddhism is the culmination of 5 years of research in 12 countries across Asia to tell the previously untold story of the spread of Buddhism from India to China from 2nd C BCE to 14th CE.
«When audiences return to the physical space of museums, they will have changed appetites and will want to participate in the cultural sphere in new ways.»
You successfully build bridges between Switzerland, Europe and the US. Can you tell a bit more about your approach at DART Labs and how you do this?
We incubate and invest in early-stage Swiss and European technology startups. We have an office in Zurich, led by my co-founder Arijana Walcott and an office in San Francisco, where I’m based. Next to the financial investment, we help the startups test and enter the US market and scale internationally.
What is the biggest opportunity for growth of Swiss startups right now?
Switzerland is often listed as the most innovative country in the world. We have excellent universities, conduct high-quality research, development and money. It’s all there, but the talents lack access to larger markets, industry players and bold investors to really grow the companies. We can offer them a fast-track with our local Bay Area and international network. Especially in times where nobody can travel, startups need a ‘warm’ introduction. Otherwise, where would you even start?
We see the opportunity for the entire Swiss ecosystem. Today’s internet giants are coming from the US and China. If the Swiss don’t want to just stay technology providers and users, but play an active role, we have to think big. On the other hand, we have in Switzerland and in Europe a much higher awareness around questions of quality, sustainability, ethics and privacy. We want these approaches to win.
Your goal is to humanise technology, but also to humanise venture capital. What are the biggest challenges in this area?
The pandemic and the current fires on the US West Coast show how fragile and closely linked humans and our planet are. When we say we invest in teams that build technologies for a more human future, we mean: technologies that improve the way we live, learn, work and treat our environment. Our current investments are in health-tech, education-tech, XR and sustainable materials.
I shiver when I hear venture capitalists talk about “deploying capital” – that sounds and is passive. We’re often among the very first investors. We’re hands-on and see ourselves as an extension of a startup team helping them grow. Additionally, we continue to explore new models in order to make our investment process ever more participatory and democratic.
«We can offer startups a fast-track with our local Bay Area and international network. Especially in times where nobody can travel, startups need a ‘warm’ introduction. Otherwise, where would you even start?»
For those new to checkout.com. Can you explain this technology?
We help innovative global brands like Grab, Revolut, Careem, Glovo, Robinhood, Farfetch, Klarna and Remitly manage their digital payments – empowering them with tailored solutions that allow them to drive more value and better customer experiences, starting with their payments.
Your sales figures have rocketed since the Covid-19 pandemic. How are you keeping pace with this transformation?
The societal shift from offline to online commerce has accelerated, fuelling ongoing business growth. With an exclusive focus on online payments, global lockdowns have further accelerated Checkout.com’s growth as businesses have rapidly pivoted online. In fact, the number of online transactions on Checkout.com’s platform has increased by 250% this year. We’ve built a technical architecture that enables pioneers to reinvent industries and redefine their relationship with consumers. Now more than ever, we are confident in our mission to build the connected payments that businesses deserve.
Checkout.com is now processing payments in over 150 currencies. What’s next for 2021 and beyond?
Building on the success of the past few years, we will continue our mission of building banking services that businesses deserve. We know that the way money moves in and out of businesses is rapidly changing and our focus is on working with merchants to solve financial complexities, starting with digital payments. By doing so, businesses can unlock innovation and crucial revenue. We believe that the future is one of more connected finance and it all starts with payments. That’s our focus for 2021.
«The societal shift from offline to online commerce has accelerated, fuelling ongoing business growth…Checkout.com has seen a 250% increase in online transactions.»
Liip organises itself to the organisational system of Holacracy. Why do you follow this model and how does it impact your company and employees?
Holacracy was the next logical step after having agile development and open source in our DNA for 10 years. After having flat hierarchies and exponential growth in employees, we started to look for another organisation system which makes Liip efficient to the markets and employers needs. That’s why Holacracy was the way to go. The impact is that we are closer to the market’s needs and employees are getting the responsibility and the accountability needed to decide what’s best in their roles. It makes us successful in so many ways – our way to the future of digital progress.
Tell us more about how you have transformed your business digitally?
Digital transformation into a new organisation system was a challenge, especially as the system was brand new. After reading Frédéric Laloux’s book about “Reinventing Organisations”, and researching the best way to represent the trinity of sustainability, we decided to go with holacracy. We had training and some consultancy support in the beginning, but it was a challenge to change the mindset first. To give up power to enable change and the employees on one side, and to take on leadership everywhere in the company on the other side. Within a year we had a solid new organisational structure where all the employees constantly get trained and develop.
What future work trends are you excited about or planning for 2021 and beyond?
We are working on an evolved salary system. The one we have is transparent in all sorts of ways already but there are always ways to make improvements. Furthermore, digital transformation and change management rose to the next level during the Covid-19 crisis. That’s why we’re constantly working on digital HR and digitalisation processes.
«After having flat hierarchies and exponential growth in employees, we started to look for another organisation system which makes Liip efficient to the markets and employers needs. That’s why Holacracy was the way to go.»
How are you feeling right now about Switzerland’s response to Covid-19?
In general, we have taken a programatic approach and have had success with it. On the other hand, the situation is fragile, and may go out of control in some places. But ever the optimist, I hope we’ll continue to manage reasonably well, with innovative solutions, adjusted to local situations.
How satisfied are you with the number of Swiss-Covid app users and what did the test phase reveal?
I am happy with how it started. Now I hope more people will see the benefit of the app, and participate in the system. Switzerland has played a key role in the development of privacy-preserving apps around the world, and we’re also the first to provide epidemiological evidence that it works.
How do you think the winter period will affect Covid-19 cases in Switzerland and across Europe?
In general, it’s very difficult to predict what’s going to happen, because so much depends on how we as a society respond, and how well the testing and contact tracing works. Social distancing and other preventive measures may keep the numbers of all respiratory diseases low, not just of Covid-19, and thus we may continue to focus on the latter. And there may be very positive developments with respect to vaccines and treatments, but it’s impossible to predict exactly when that will happen. I’m hopeful for good news in that regard in the coming weeks and months.”
«Switzerland has played a key role in the development of privacy-preserving apps around the world, and we’re also the first to provide epidemiological evidence that it works.»
The cutting-edge technology you are working on provides high quality results much faster than current techniques in the area of in-situ tissue analytics for cancer research. Can you tell us a bit more?
We’re in the field of tissue analytics, so when a biopsy is performed or we are getting a tissue sample from a human body, we analyse that with biomarkers. Every biomarker is a piece of information on your tissue. It helps to understand how the cancer is evolving or what kind of treatment you could benefit from. We’re developing the instruments, the automation that allow us to make this kind of research in a much faster and precise manner. There’s more and more data so we’re bringing a solution that allows us to first extract all this information and to be able to analyse it through digitalization.
As technology and digital tools continue to advance at a rapid pace, what are you most excited for in the near future?
It’s very exciting to be able to get more and more information and go towards what we call personalised medicine. To be able to use tools for automating and analysing samples in a more efficient manner. The more data you have from each sample, the more you will be able to have a personalised treatment. Not having one solution for all. Using this data to improve our lives in general, and in this particular case, in treatment of cancer is very exciting.
You have created a number of exciting products at Lunaphore. What one are you most proud of to date and are there any challenges or blockers to new advances?
I’m very excited about the upcoming product in the pipeline and very proud that although we are not yet on the market with this new product, we already have a huge interest from the potential customers. It’s great to see that what you are building is of interest for users, especially in the field of cancer research. Being able to bring a solution of sample-in data-out is what we’re trying to build in this upcoming product. That’s going to be a great advancement that we can bring to the market. There are, of course, always some challenges linked to it. We are developing innovative products. When innovating, you can be disruptive in a good sense but not be too disruptive, especially when we talk about the diagnostics field. You have to be sure that you have the right timing and not be too early, otherwise people will not be able to see what value you are bringing.
«I think it’s very exciting to be able to get more and more information and in my field to go towards what we call personalised medicine. Not having one solution for all but being able to bring something personalised.»
What is The Futurae Authentication Suite?
At Futurae we secure online services of businesses, be it on the web or mobile. The platform offers flexibility to design secure logins and seamless user interactions. Customers can combine secure and modular authentication and transaction confirmation methods, like novel adaptive or passwordless authentication, anomaly and fraud detection with more traditional software and hardware-based security. Users demand secure logins that always work. This is what the Futurae Authentication Suite offers to its customers.
Cyber security is becoming increasingly important as digitization continues to accelerate. What simple steps can we take to stay safe?
As a company, cloud deployments and subscription-based models offer faster and easier adoption of cyber security products, increasing the speed to address evolving cyber threats. As a user, it’s crucial to have a basic privacy and security hygiene: long and different passwords per login (password managers), keep software up-to-date (also smartphones), and be diligent with information you share. Thinking that you are not an interesting target to cyber criminals is shortsighted. Our online presence is a trove of information that can be used to steal money directly, or indirectly.
User journey or safety? What’s more important?
Balancing the two is the core of the Futurae mission. Businesses expect the highest security, while consumers are impatient and leave a service behind because of bad user journeys. This is where Futurae helps customers in highly regulated markets, enabling customised user onboarding and login flows for very different types of users or applications. The Futurae Authentication Platform enables customers to implement secure and effortless solutions, so they can focus on what they do best: offering a great service to their customers.
«Thinking that you are not an interesting target to cyber criminals is shortsighted. Our online presence is a trove of information that can be used to steal money directly, or indirectly.»
TOSA buses would save 25,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year, or 10 million litres of diesel. Tell us more…
If in Geneva city you replaced all of the existing buses, the diesel ones, you would end up with the savings we are speaking about. By increasing electricity consumption by 1.8%, it’s a very good balance between using more electricity but reducing the CO₂ emissions and diesel consumption. This technology enables us to deploy clean mobility within cities. TOSA buses have helped to show the public-private partnership. This technology has been implemented in France, Australia, India and soon China. It’s one of the projects that enabled the market transformation. Moving from diesel technology, hybrid technology to electrical technology.
Tell us more about the hydrogen-based industry opportunities that Switzerland can benefit from?
We’re working in the Swiss-French part of Switzerland on a project named GOH! (Generation of Hydrogen) similar to TOSA, putting partners together who will produce, distribute green hydrogen and use it for sustainable mobility. It will be produced by SIG, distributed in a Migrol station and used by Migros to transport goods. That’s a 40 ton truck with green hydrogen technology developed by GreenGT. Nomads Foundation develops an agile method to upskill the workforce to be ready for hydrogen technologies. What’s fascinating about hydrogen is independence. You can produce, store and use it locally. Since we don’t have oil, gas or the material that’s part of electrical batteries, it’s very important. It’s the energy of the 21st century. It’s also a unique opportunity to develop green jobs. Since the market is developing, as soon as you’re a part of it with the right approach and the right technology, you can take a significant share.
You have said in the past that change does not scare you. How can you help people to adopt the same view?
Change is part of humanity, part of history but it’s accelerating. The best way to share passion for change, is to embark people on projects. I do this for a foundation called Nomads, where we engage people on the areas of mobility, energy, the future of jobs and the next social contract. Through projects, we need to show changes in line with the 17 sustainable goals of the United Nations. We need people to share views, share fears, to identify the difficulties and have ambitious goals. The more you anticipate and structure, the more you reduce fear. It’s a question of mindset. Not to be afraid of changes but to be a part of the changes.
«Change is part of humanity, part of history but it’s accelerating. The best way to share passion for change, is to embark people on projects.»
Tell us more about the possible privacy concerns surrounding contact tracing apps in their efforts to tackle and track Covid-19 in Europe?
There has been significant concern about what kinds of data are collected, by whom, what they are used for and for how long. Beyond the health status of a person, applications were proposed that would collect an enormous amount of other data that could reveal a lot more than what was strictly necessary for managing the pandemic. Earlier in the pandemic we went through the big debate about centralised versus decentralised data systems. Thankfully the most privacy preserving options were adopted more widely, including here in Switzerland.
As a leading expert in the dynamic and diverse field of health data and ethics. What is your main focus of interest right now?
My main focus is on how to avoid the “either privacy or health” misguided approach that seems to be prevalent amongst many stakeholders. The Covid-19 crisis made this issue more pronounced and demonstrated how much more work we need to do in order to avoid this false binary. With this as my overarching theme, I’m focusing on several aspects of data governance, the role of independent oversight in health data projects and very specifically on a roadmap for ethical digital innovation. I also work on the ethics of Health AI and I am very involved with the World Health Organization’s effort on this issue.
You are part of the taskforce advising the Swiss Government for the tracing application. What are some of the key learnings from working on this force?
It has been a very rich learning experience. Beyond the technical knowledge I personally gained, I also had at least three important take-aways: first, it was humbling to see the commitment of so many amazing colleagues in offering their knowledge, time, experience and networks. In the midst of a crisis, this was a great reminder of the power of our humanity. Second, I was reminded that communicating complex concepts beyond your own small professional circle is an art, and not all of us are talented or trained. Caution is warranted. Third, digital public health tools like the contact tracing app are the new kid on the block. Ideally the kind of task force work we did during the crisis, should have started earlier, anticipating such scenarios and setting processes in place. This type of scientific advice to the government should be of a more permanent nature than an ad hoc one.
«Earlier on in the pandemic we went through the big debate about centralised versus decentralised data systems. Thankfully the most privacy preserving options were adopted more widely, including here in Switzerland.»
Tell us a bit about your role as President of Women in Digital Switzerland (WDS)?
Women in Digital Switzerland is a non-profit community built on passion and purpose with some 4,000 supporters across 5 Swiss cantons. I work with the most amazing team, drawn to our shared goals to promote digital thought leadership, idea exchanges, and inspire growth and transformation.
Women are vastly underrepresented in the tech sector. How can the dial move forward on this?
The underrepresentation of women in the technology industry is a significant and enduring problem. Concerted effort is required on the part of public, private and not-for-profit actors at the institutional, group, collective and individual level. Efforts need to be developed, nurtured and sustained by both men and women to promote lasting changes in diversity and inclusion. Also, the dialogue must widen to encompass women in leadership during the 4th Industrial Revolution.
More work is needed to empower schoolgirls and young women to acquire coding skills, increasing the number of women in developer communities. Funding is required to democratise access to learning resources, professional peer exchanges, role models, and mentoring, particularly in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects along the key touchpoints of a woman’s career journey.
How can more diverse voices be heard in the digital sphere?
We’re learning from ongoing efforts, such as The World Economic Forum’s Closing the Gender Gap Accelerators that seek to create global and national public-private collaborative platforms. Studies led by McKinsey suggest that companies with large numbers of women in leadership roles have 41% higher financial returns. The European Commission found that greater inclusion of women in technology could increase the EU’s GDP by €16 billion annually. These numbers suggest that diversity and innovation make good business sense. Creating more opportunities to expand participation of diverse groups in key visible digital speaking and project opportunities will improve equal representation.
«The European Commission found that greater inclusion of women in technology could increase the EU’s GDP by €16 billion annually. These numbers suggest that diversity and innovation make good business sense.»
What is your mission at Climeworks?
Climeworks’ vision is to inspire 1 billion people to remove carbon dioxide from the air. By providing accessible climate action, we strive to empower as many people as possible.
Tell us about your unique technology solution?
Climeworks develops, builds and operates direct air capture machines. Our machines consist of modular CO₂ collectors that can be stacked to build machines of any size. Climeworks direct air capture machines are powered solely by renewable energy or energy-from-waste. Grey emissions are below 10%, which means that out of 100 tons of carbon dioxide that our machines capture from the air, at least 90 tons are permanently removed and only up to 10 tons are re-emitted.
Our CO₂ collectors selectively capture carbon dioxide in a two-step process. First, air is drawn into a collector with a fan. Carbon dioxide is captured on the surface of a of a highly selective filter material that sits inside the collectors. Second, after the filter material is full with carbon dioxide, the collector is closed. We increase the temperature to between 80 and 100 °C – this releases the carbon dioxide. Finally, we can collect this high-purity, high concentration carbon dioxide. Direct air capture is a form of carbon dioxide removal if it is combined with storage.
In an exemplary carbon dioxide removal project, we have joined forces with Icelandic company Carbfix. We remove carbon dioxide from the air and Carbfix then mixes the carbon dioxide with water and pumps it deep underground. Through natural mineralization, the carbon dioxide reacts with the basalt rock and turns to stone within a few year.
You encourage people to be climate positive. What can each person do to make a difference?
If we want to achieve an inclusive and sustainable future, we cannot solve this alone. We believe in the power of small steps. Each and every one can find ways to include climate positivity in their everyday lives. On top of that, we offer the service of removing historic CO2 emissions from the atmosphere. People can join us on our journey to reverse climate change by signing up to our service or by spreading the Climeworks message.
«If we want to achieve an inclusive and sustainable future, we cannot solve this alone. We believe in the power of small steps. Each and every one can find ways to include climate positivity in their everyday lives.»
Imagine you woke up one morning only to find the entire economical landscape has changed. Welcome to survival mode, a podcast that explores how entrepreneurs navigate the COVID-19 crisis. In this podcast we explore how Swiss startups find new revenue streams, enter unexpected markets and sometimes reinvent their business model entirely.
How to communicate effectively with your team in an constantly changing environment that has never been seen before.
In this episode of Survival Mode Taha Bawa, CEO & Co-founder of Goodwall the career development platform that prepares over 1.5 million young professionals to enter the working world, illustrates how he set up his startup in a fully remote way, the importance of taking decisions even if you do not have all the answers and why transparency is key in times of crisis.
«The first idea of engineering skin started in the 1970s. The idea was grea«We have to be as transparent as possible! If I told you everything is fine, I would surely be lying.»
What would you do if all of a sudden people are too afraid to use your product?
In this episode of Survival Mode Arthur Germain, CEO and Co-founder of OneDoc the biggest online booking platform for doctors in Switzerland elaborates how he built and scaled a completely new service to help their struggling customers in times of Corona.
How do you keep your startup running when your surrounding is going into hibernation mode?
In this episode of Survival Mode Nicolas Durand CEO and founder of Abionic, the most rapid diagnostic platform to detect sepsis explains how he fights to keep his startup funded during a crisis and tackle sepsis, one of the leading causes of death in the world.
«Running a startup is like a rollercoaster, you have good news and bad news almost every day.»
What would you do if 70% percent of your revenue streams disappeared overnight? In this episode of Survival Mode Viktor Calabro, founder of Europe’s largest on-demand staffing platform Coople, explains how he tackles this challenge and finds profit in previously undervalued revenue streams.
«It reminds me of the start, where every single day was a fight for survival»
Would you invest in a startup without seeing its founders in person? In this episode of Survival Mode Pascal Mathis, founding partner at Wingman Ventures, talks about how the crisis affects investors, what the ups and downs of doing business from home are, and how he assists startups going through turbulent times. Wingman is a 60 million Venture Fund for early-stage investments in Switzerland.
«A crisis is like a filter»
What do you do when your customer base increased by a factor of 10 over the weekend?
In this episode of Survival Mode Jan Rihak & Jonas Leu, Co-Founder and Biz Dev Manager from Classtime, take us on their journey on how they handle rapid growth, work with customers with limited online experience, and what the impact on education could be beyond corona. Classtime is a digital platform that makes learning more fun and inclusive for everyone. In short, it enables the same learning experience for all students in and beyond the classroom.
«Schools closed on Friday and on Monday they needed a solution! So we had to work super fast»
How do you spot opportunities in times of crisis?
In this episode of Survival Mode Aike Festini, CEO & Co-founder of Luckabox, discusses what happens when online-delivery is all the sudden the only channel available, what are the effects of COVID19 to last-mile delivery, and how could the future of retail look like. Luckabox is a premium platform for last-mile deliveries.
«91% of retail is still brick and mortar. There is a huge shift and the crisis is just accelerating this trend»
What do you do when 95% of your customers stop operating? In this episode of Survival Mode Naomi MacKenzie, Co-Founder of KITRO, explains how COVID-19 impacted the hospitality sector, financing rounds and speaks about the importance of resource efficiency and sustainability on the way forward. KITRO is a Swiss startup that simplifies food waste management.
«People needed to see that taking things a bit slower can have a huge impact on the environment»
What do you do if you move from one crisis to another?
In this episode of Survival Mode Cyrus Fazel, CEO & Founder of SwissBorg, elaborates how the ICO and corona crisis affected the crypto & blockchain sector, how the different markets reacted to COVID-19, and what we should take out from this crisis as humanity. SwissBorg is a Swiss blockchain platform that lets you trade and manage your favorite cryptos by connecting multiple exchanges in one platform.
«The sentiments regarding smart contracts went from I love you to I hate you in a couple of months»
How do you lead a team working from home?
In this episode of Survival Mode Tobias Häckermann, CEO & Co-Founder of Sherpany, explains how going remote increased their companies transparency, how the new normal in online and offline work could look like and what accelerating effects covid19 had on leadership styles and megatrends. Sherpany is a Swiss startup that helps your company to get the most out of meetings.
«3D printing is an automation, soon we will be able to print all possible «If your employees are not active in a meeting think about the why. If it is creating value, engagement and motivation will come naturally.»
How do you sell if you cannot see your customer?
In this episode of Survival Mode Manuel Hartmann, Founder of Sales Playbook, elaborates how the crisis is affecting sales cycles, how remote sales works – even in Switzerland, and what is yet to come beyond COVID-19. Sales Playbook helps Swiss B2B startups to scale and hit their Product-Market-Fit faster.
«People think harder if they need to take a meeting in person or if there is a leaner and more efficient way»
What do you do if you just started your business right before the crisis?
In this episode of Survival Mode Silvan Krähenbühl, Host of Swisspreneur and a serial entrepreneur himself, explains how COVID-19 affected the travel and gym industry, why podcasts are a serious medium to watch and how this crisis can be a great opportunity to start something new. Swisspreneur is a leading podcast platform for Swiss entrepreneurs, from Swiss entrepreneurs.
«The society themselves will change over time and will accept and will recognise, this is not my devil, this is not my hell. This is something that ca«A crisis can be a great opportunity to start something new or bootstrap your business.»
In this weekly short-form podcast, we take you beyond the usual techie jargon, and teach you something new about the latest developments in technology with leaders from some of Switzerland’s most innovative Startups – all in around 10 minutes.
In other words, no tech-background required, your curiosity is all that’s needed!
A podcast from digitalswitzerland, hosted by Matthias Zwingli and produced by Tinka Media.
Sounds like something from a science fiction movie script? Believe us, it’s not…
Join us on a journey deep into the realms of biotech. How can you create the largest human organ? Why isn’t it possible to produce a human heart in the lab and what are the biggest challenges and opportunities in biotech? Daniela Marino, CEO of Swiss Startup Cutiss unlocks the fascinating challenges and achievements of creating human skin.
«The first idea of engineering skin started in the 1970s. The idea was great but it didn’t fly, because it’s difficult! To produce a large amount of skin, personalised, and on-demand is a huge challenge.»
Today we dive into the fascinating world of IoT (internet of things). Matthias Rebellius, COO of Siemens Smart Infrastructure and CEO of Siemens Switzerland unpacks how smart workspaces help you to work more efficiently. What role does IoT play in smart infrastructure and how does Covid-19 affect our working environment?
This week, we speak to Diana Engetschwiler, Senior Director/Head of Public Dialogue + Digital Days at digitalswitzerland. We find out how one of Switzerland’s largest events, Swiss Digital Days, has become hybrid, what role the public play in digitalisation and what the ‘new normal’ of events looks like…
«The future of events is going to be hybrid! The combination between online and offline will stay.»
Lea von Bidder is CEO of AVA Women, a Swiss Startup with a mission to revolutionise women’s reproductive health by bringing together artificial intelligence and clinical research. She tells us about her work focusing on the relevant data points, how to make digital health actionable and who she thinks will claim the future of digital health…
«The future of healthcare will be driven by data and data analytics.»
Head of CERN openlab, Alberto di Meglio takes us on a path to explain what machine learning is actually about, what the limitations of Artificial Intelligence and big data are, and what we can expect from the future of these technologies?
«There is biased data, a machine cannot understand that data is not ethically correct.»
Olga Dubey is CEO of AgroSustain, a Swiss Food Tech that makes crops last longer. Today, she takes us on a journey of what it means to bring fresh fruit to our table, how to extend the lifetime of produce, and what the current trends are in the food industry to keep up with quality and demand.
«Consumers want high fruit quality and little food waste, which is still a challenge to combine.»
Javier Bello Ruiz is the CEO & Co-Founder of Imverse, a 3-D graphics company and spin-off from EPFL in Lausanne. He explains what the differences are between virtual reality, mixed reality and augmented reality. Where the different industries stand and what we can expect will happen in the future. Furthermore, his startup makes hologram calls possible.
«I believe that the digital future is 3-dimensional, live, and social.»
Jan Wurzbacher is c0-CEO & Founder of Climeworks, a world leader in direct air capture technology. In this latest episode, he explains how Climeworks started to fight climate change by removing CO₂ from the atmosphere, why it’s more about saving humanity than saving our planet and what we can expect of the climate tech industry.
«Should we remove CO₂ from the air or should we stop emitting it? In my eyes, it’s not an either-or question, we have to do both!»
Patrick Griss is executive partner at Zühlke Ventures, a Swiss health tech venture investor. He elaborates on why healthcare will move from action-based to outcome-based medicine, how the consumer will become more empowered through technology, and the challenges that preventive healthcare and personalised medicine are facing.
«We are moving from action-based to outcome-based medicine, it is still in the beginning but it is a trend that will not stop!»
Martin Eichenhofer is the CEO and Co-Founder of 9T Labs, a Swiss startup that provides an all-in-one solution for digital composite production. He explains why the democratisation of manufacturing through 3D printing never took off, what the status quo and use-cases in 3D printing are and what we can expect from the future.
«3D printing is an automation, soon we will be able to print all possible materials!»
Edward Shone is Head of PR at ProtonMail, one of the biggest encrypted email services in the world. He explores the importance of personal data privacy, why the gathering of our private data and the accumulation of our digital identity will only increase and how to achieve a more privacy-friendly digital future.
«I believe data privacy is a human right and everyone should have access to it.»
Andy Fitze is the co-founder and managing director of SwissCognitive, a network of industries, organisations, enterprises and startups that discuss the opportunities, impacts and development of AI. He elaborates on why AI is a trending topic, what the international landscape looks like and what awaits us in the near future.
«The society themselves will change over time and will accept and will recognise, this is not my devil, this is not my hell. This is something that can help us to overcome some real problems of the world.»
Alberto di Meglio is Head of Cern openlab. He delves into the early beginnings of internet research at CERN that began more than 30 years ago. Why it takes time to adapt and trust in new technologies like the internet or cloud computing, and what technologies could next impact our lives.
«One of the latest trends that many companies and the research environment are studying is a new concept called confidential computing or private computing, where data is really secured end-to-end using encryption and special digitalisation.»
Die digitale Transformation ist gekommen, um zu bleiben. Daher müssen wir den Dialog dazu ständig fördern, um das Bewusstsein für die digitale Welt zu schärfen. Die Digitalisierung bringt nicht nur Chancen, sondern auch Risiken, die es zu bewältigen und ernst zu nehmen gilt. In meiner Reihe «Dialoginterviews» diskutiere ich diese Aspekte mit Führungskräften der Schweiz, von unseren Mitgliedern über Digital Shaper bis hin zu Top-Kräften der Bereiche Technologie und Innovation.
Für diese Ausgabe sprach ich mit FDP-Politikerin Carmen Walker Späh, der amtierenden Regierungsrätin und Volkswirtschaftsdirektorin des Kantons Zürich, über die Innovationsfähigkeit der Region, vielversprechende neue Projekte und über eine gesunde Konkurrenz.
Nicolas Bürer: Im diesjährigen «Regional Innovation Scoreboard» der EU-Kommission belegt die Region Zürich die führende Position im europäischen Vergleich. Welche Initiativen oder Rahmenbedingungen des Kantons hatten in den letzten Jahren eine positive Wirkung auf dessen Innovationsfähigkeit?
Carmen Walker Späh: Unser Kanton hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren im internationalen Standortwettbewerb eine hervorragende Position erarbeitet. Wir haben ein einmaliges und sehr breit gefächertes Innovationsökosystem auf kleinstem Raum: Hochschulen und Forschungsinstitutionen, die zu den besten der Welt gehören; viele innovative Startups und KMU; internationale Unternehmen, die sich hier angesiedelt haben, sowie diverse Initiativen und Fördereinrichtungen, die sich der Innovation und dem Unternehmertum verschrieben haben. Das ist aber nicht einzelnen Initiativen zu verdanken, sondern dem langjährigen und breit abgestützten Engagement verschiedener Akteure, die sich für attraktive Rahmenbedingungen einsetzen. Wichtig ist ebenfalls das innovationsfreundliche, rechtliche und politische Klima. Zudem konnte über die letzten Jahre der Austausch zwischen den treibenden Kräften aus Forschung, Politik und Privatwirtschaft etabliert und stetig intensiviert werden. Hier sind aus meiner Sicht vor allem kurze Wege zwischen den verschiedenen Akteuren und insbesondere zur Verwaltung und zur Politik von zentraler Bedeutung.
Nicolas Bürer: Das Scoreboard zeigt, dass auch andere Schweizer Regionen und europäische Länder, Zürich dicht auf den Fersen sind. Welche Bereiche würden sie in Zürich gerne weiter verbessern, damit der Kanton an der Spitze bleibt?
Carmen Walker Späh: Der nationale und internationale Wettbewerbsdruck steigt. Wenn wir unsere gute Position auch in Zukunft sichern wollen, dürfen wir uns nicht zurücklehnen. Schon heute sind bei uns Unternehmen angesiedelt, die an Zukunftstechnologien mit grossem Potenzial arbeiten: Blockchain, künstliche Intelligenz, autonome Mobilität und Drohnen oder auch neue Verfahren und Technologien in den Bereichen Cleantech und Life Sciences werden in Zürich auf hohem Niveau untersucht. Diese müssen wir noch stärker unterstützten und vernetzen.
Nicolas Bürer: Was sind die neuesten Innovationsprojekte des Kantons, die aktuell oder in naher Zukunft für die nächsten Jahre vielversprechend sind?
Carmen Walker Späh: Das vielversprechendste Projekt zur Ergänzung des Innovationsökosystems im Wirtschaftsraum Zürich ist sicher der Innovationspark, der zurzeit auf dem Flugplatz Dübendorf entsteht. Er steckt zwar noch in den Kinderschuhen, ist aber in seiner Art bereits heute einzigartig: der Innovationspark bietet zentrumsnah und verkehrlich sehr gut erschlossen viel Platz, um an neuen Technologien zu forschen. Als Zentrum für Forschung, Entwicklung und Innovation stärkt er die interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit zwischen Wirtschaft und Wissenschaft. So können Erkenntnisse aus der Grundlagenforschung schneller in marktfähige Produkte umgewandelt werden. Davon profitiert unser Wirtschaftsstandort und letztlich die Bevölkerung als Ganzes.
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Carmen Walker Späh: digitalswitzerland hat es sich zum Ziel gesetzt, die Position der Schweiz als führenden Innovationshub zu stärken. Welche Faktoren machen für Sie ein innovationsfreundliches Klima aus und wie können Sie konkret dazu beitragen?
Nicolas Bürer: Erstens, sind die attraktiven politischen Rahmenbedingungen in Bezug auf Ansiedlungsmöglichkeiten und steuerliche Bedingungen für ausländische Talente von zentraler Bedeutung. Zweitens, sind Investitionen in unser Bildungssystem und die Forschung zu erwähnen, denn sie legen das Fundament für die Innovation der nächsten Jahre. Drittens ist das Schmieden kollaborativer und industrieübergreifender Allianzen in der digitalen Transformation unabdingbar, um weiterhin zu bestehen oder (noch) erfolgreicher zu werden. Viertens sollte das Startup-Ökosystem weiterhin wachsen; die Schweiz belegt europaweit den 5. Platz, allerdings noch klar hinter den Top 4, mit den USA und China an der Spitze. Fünftens darf die Bevölkerung nicht im Stich gelassen werden, sondern muss über die Chancen und Risiken der Digitalisierung transparent informiert werden. Zu guter Letzt müssen wir die Schweiz im Ausland für unsere Innovation weiterhin stark positionieren und vermarkten, damit Firmen, Investoren und Talente die Schweiz priorisieren. Mit unseren digitalswitzerland Initiativen wollen wir genau diese sechs Punkte aufgreifen und mittragen. Dies gelingt uns in Zusammenarbeit mit weiteren Akteuren und Partnern. Es braucht einen langen Atem, da man die Innovationskraft nicht von heute auf morgen verbessern kann. Allerdings sehen wir derzeit eine sehr gute Dynamik in der Schweiz; in Zürich sowieso, und sind zuversichtlich, dass sich die Situation in den kommenden Jahren noch weiter steigern wird.
Carmen Walker Späh: Auch in Bezug auf die Innovation befinden sich die Kantone, aber auch die einzelnen Unternehmen, in einem harten Wettbewerb. Wie kann dennoch ein «Wir-Gefühl» als Innovationsstandort Schweiz entstehen?
Nicolas Bürer: Ein Schlüsselfaktor für den Erfolg der Schweiz ist definitiv der interne Wettbewerb, sei es zwischen den Kantonen, Unternehmen oder akademischen Institutionen. Das ist unsere Stärke, auf die auch viele andere Länder neidisch blicken. Trotz alledem müssen gewisse Initiativen, wie beispielsweise das Projekt «SwissTech», schweizweit geführt werden. Es braucht solche Ankerprojekte, die alle Stakeholder an einen Tisch bringen. Ähnlich verhält es sich mit dem Digitaltag, der dieses Jahr in zehn Kantonen am gleichen Tag stattgefunden hat. Auch das Beispiel der Innovationsparks, die schweizweit etabliert sind, ist sehr vielversprechend. Schlussendlich werden wir das «Wir-Gefühl» der Schweiz weiter stärken, wenn sich alle Regionen individuell erfolgreich entwickeln und sich diesen Erfolg auch gegenseitig gönnen.
The forces of existing STEM initiatives have come together for the first time to form a powerful national umbrella campaign. The aim is to foster interest in young people to pursue STEM training and professions. The national STEM campaign, co-initiated by digitalswitzerland and Pro Juventute also counts other partners, including ETH, SAV, and Swissmem and it is carried out in three national languages.
STEM is part of the solution to face the challenges of the future. This includes exciting work to tackle climate change and health issues. Through pursuing a STEM profession, it’s possible to contribute to make the world a better place through academic activities or apprenticeships.
The advantage of STEM is that it spans a wide variety of professions. It also offers excellent career development opportunities with endless scope for interests. From an ICT perspective, students can learn cybersecurity and data science disciplines. There are also opportunities for a hands-on approach in the areas of civil engineering and infrastructure. When it comes to technology, machine tooling or innovative applied research might be of interest. It’s time to embrace a career path full of possibilities for growth and success.
Computational thinking, which includes creative problem solving and programming is a fundamental competence in digitalisation. The general objective of the CTI is that in the future, every Swiss primary and secondary school is able to offer teaching in computational thinking.
It is a key part of STEM, in that ICT spans many of the STEM disciplines. Learning computational thinking is therefore an integral part of the STEM campaign, co-initiated by digitalswitzerland and Pro Juventute.
The digitalswitzerland «nextgeneration» initiative supports digital education offerings primarily for children and adolescents to foster curiosity and build fundamental skills early in life. Our role is to connect these existing platforms and provide reach and publicity via our channels and network. There are offerings in all language regions of Switzerland.
The generation of tomorrow, the talents and shapers of the future are central to Switzerland. For this reason, digitalswitzerland is committed to concrete projects to teach digital skills. On this page, you will find activities and camps for children and young people aged 5 to 19 as well as for adults, distributed throughout Switzerland, to immerse themselves in the fascination of the digital world.
Ages 11 and up
Have you ever dreamt of building a full robot from scratch? In the RoboticsForMakers Labs you will have the unique opportunity to understand and build the „MiniCat“ quadripod robot. Sounds complicated? Don’t worry, our specialists will guide you from the 3D printing of the body, through the electronics cabling until software testing. Everyone is welcome, the course content will be adapted for kids (11+) and adults.
Ages 7 – 13
Code Camp offers a unique introduction to the creative world of programming for kids. From Drag&Drop to JavaScript to CSS and HTML, you’ll find it all in our advanced camps – find the one that’s right for you! And after the camp, you can develop, play and share your game or website with friends without limits.
Ages
School Classes: 6 – 20
Open Lab: 9+
Leisure Activities: 9+
In a unique place of learning, an experiments lab is being established to interface with research and provide access to a high-tech infrastructure, such as the realm of robotics at ETH Zurich. Children and youth, as well as young adults, will be given the opportunity to discover the fascinating world of science. With the help of experienced specialists, they’ll get to develop and implement their own ideas.
Ages 10 – 14
…and what robotics, food and medicine have to do with it! MINT&Pepper offers children and young people the opportunity to get a taste of „STEM air“ (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). Projects are accompanied by researchers from ETH Zurich.
Ages 11 and up
Have you ever dreamt of building a full robot from scratch? In the RoboticsForMakers Labs you will have the unique opportunity to understand and build the „MiniCat“ quadripod robot. Sounds complicated? Don’t worry, our specialists will guide you from the 3D printing of the body, through the electronics cabling until software testing. Everyone is welcome, the course content will be adapted for kids (11+) and adults.
Ages
School Classes: 6 – 20
Open Lab: 9+
Leisure Activities: 9+
In a unique place of learning, an experiments lab is being established to interface with research and provide access to a high-tech infrastructure, such as the realm of robotics at ETH Zurich. Children and youth, as well as young adults, will be given the opportunity to discover the fascinating world of science. With the help of experienced specialists, they’ll get to develop and implement their own ideas.
Ages 7 – 13
Code Camp offers a unique introduction to the creative world of programming for kids. From Drag&Drop to JavaScript to CSS and HTML, you’ll find it all in our advanced camps – find the one that’s right for you! And after the camp, you can develop, play and share your game or website with friends without limits.
Ages 10 – 14
…and what robotics, food and medicine have to do with it! MINT&Pepper offers children and young people the opportunity to get a taste of „STEM air“ (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). Projects are accompanied by researchers from ETH Zurich.
Ages 11 and up
Have you ever dreamt of building a full robot from scratch? In the RoboticsForMakers Labs you will have the unique opportunity to understand and build the „MiniCat“ quadripod robot. Sounds complicated? Don’t worry, our specialists will guide you from the 3D printing of the body, through the electronics cabling until software testing. Everyone is welcome, the course content will be adapted for kids (11+) and adults.
Ages 8 – 18
TechSpark Academy prepares the next generation to thrive in our digital world. Discover the camps that help craft creative problem solvers and tech entrepreneurs who will use their digital skills to make the world a better place!
Ages 11 – 13
This camp aims to introduce you to the world of science and technology, while having fun with robots. The Lego Mindstorms educational platform is used to introduce the basics of mechanical engineering, programming and show a practical application of mathematics. The camp is mixed, 50% girls – 50% boys.
Ages 5 – 16
Futurekids holds a mission to empower all young people to use and appropriate new technologies. In this way, the next generation becomes an actor and not just a consumer of tomorrow’s world. Participants in Futurekids activities acquire in-depth knowledge that they will be able to apply in many fields.
Ages 11 and up
Have you ever dreamt of building a full robot from scratch? In the RoboticsForMakers Labs you will have the unique opportunity to understand and build the „MiniCat“ quadripod robot. Sounds complicated? Don’t worry, our specialists will guide you from the 3D printing of the body, through the electronics cabling until software testing. Everyone is welcome, the course content will be adapted for kids (11+) and adults.
Ages 11 – 13
This camp aims to introduce you to the world of science and technology, while having fun with robots. The Lego Mindstorms educational platform is used to introduce the basics of mechanical engineering, programming and show a practical application of mathematics. The camp is mixed, 50% girls – 50% boys.
Ages 8 – 18
TechSpark Academy prepares the next generation to thrive in our digital world. Discover the camps that help craft creative problem solvers and tech entrepreneurs who will use their digital skills to make the world a better place!
Ages 5 – 16
Futurekids holds a mission to empower all young people to use and appropriate new technologies. In this way, the next generation becomes an actor and not just a consumer of tomorrow’s world. Participants in Futurekids activities acquire in-depth knowledge that they will be able to apply in many fields.
Ages 13 – 15
Lo scopo dell’attività è quello di introdurre ed appassionare i ragazzi al mondo dell’informatica in modo semplice, divertente e costruttivo. TEENformatiCAMP non è un semplice corso su come utilizzare il computer e i vari programmi (Word, Excel, Power Point, …). Il nostro obiettivo è piuttosto quello di andare in dettaglio su come funzionano i computer ed incominciare a capire come ragiona e lavora un informatico. Infatti, le attività proposte hanno lo scopo di fornire ai ragazzi un’introduzione ai vari ambiti dell’informatica.
explore-it provides teachers with boxes of materials designed specifically for the end users: children. The starting point for a direct confrontation with the world of natural sciences is the construction, each time, of a technical object. On the explore-it website you can find all the instructions, descriptions and deliveries of the tasks, experiments and much more.
Ages 13 – 15
Lo scopo dell’attività è quello di introdurre ed appassionare i ragazzi al mondo dell’informatica in modo semplice, divertente e costruttivo. TEENformatiCAMP non è un semplice corso su come utilizzare il computer e i vari programmi (Word, Excel, Power Point, …). Il nostro obiettivo è piuttosto quello di andare in dettaglio su come funzionano i computer ed incominciare a capire come ragiona e lavora un informatico. Infatti, le attività proposte hanno lo scopo di fornire ai ragazzi un’introduzione ai vari ambiti dell’informatica.
explore-it provides teachers with boxes of materials designed specifically for the end users: children. The starting point for a direct confrontation with the world of natural sciences is the construction, each time, of a technical object. On the explore-it website you can find all the instructions, descriptions and deliveries of the tasks, experiments and much more.
Our corporate members will benefit from a high-speed access to leading national and international startups, which can help them accelerate their own ideas and digital transformation processes.
For international Scaleups
The Market Entry Bootcamp offers promising international startups a deep-dive into the Swiss entrepreneurship ecosystem, via access to leading Swiss corporations, Swiss accelerator and incubator programmes, as well as public institutions.
As a participating startup, you will engage in an intensive matchmaking programme composed of corporate intros, pitches, 1:1 meetings, expert workshops, as well as networking events. Moreover, you will have the possibility to be shortlisted to take part in a leading Swiss startup accelerator and further profit from mentoring, funding and networking possibilities.
Applications are welcome from International scale-ups provided you meet one of the following requirements:
Additional Participation Information for Corporates
Benefit from this curated high-speed Bootcamp with access to leading international startups and accelerate your own digital transformation process.
The Market Entry programme is open to digitalswitzerland members but also to non-members. Each participating corporation can bring in two participants. Spots are limited and the registration follows a first-come-first-serve principle.
For digitalswitzerland members, the programme is free of charge. Non-members will be charged with a participation fee. For more information regarding registration and participation please contact our Project Manager Matthias Zwingli.
The Market Entry Bootcamp is operated by:
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