Funding your prototypes
Call for Applications
The Innovation Network.ch is funding innovative product-oriented student projects in a joint activity with the Product Development Group Zurich (pd|z) and the ETH Student Project House.
What you can get?
- Up to 5’000 CHF funding for prototype development from the Innovation Network.ch
- Coaching and access to makerspace & co-working space at the Student Project House
Who can apply for funding?
- ETH students who are passionate to push their own project and realize their own ideas
- BSc and MSc students from all disciplines at ETH (preferably as a team of two people min.)
- Early stage and product-based ideas with a hardware component (no pure software, app or service projects)
- Short or medium term market perspective (no long term research projects)
- Funding for a proof of concept or feasibility study
How does the process work?
- You may apply at any time
- Please prepare project description based on the attached application guideline and be ready for a 4 min pitch.
- To apply, use the application form below.
- The Innovation Network.ch and the Student Project House will review your application and decide if the project is funded
- You will receive feedback within 2 months
- You can already start working at the Student Project house, even before the funding decision has been made.
What if my project is funded?
- The Student Project House will be your new home
- You can use the makerspace and get help from maker experts
- You get regular coaching sessions supporting you in project management and product development
- You can use the co-working space to work on your project
- The funding is administrated by the Student Project House. The core purpose of the funding is to enable you to build prototypes. Process:
- You pay the costs by yourself
- You hand in the bills
- The Student Project House reimburses your prototyping costs
- You will present your prototypes and your new insights in front of members from the Innovation Network.ch and the Student Project House at a fixed date
Application Guideline
Please hand in a pragmatic project description of max. three pages (pdf). Additionally, you have the option to hand in a short video of your project (max. 2 min).
Please use the following structure to describe your project:
- Short abstract: 3-5 sentences
- What problem do you want to solve?
- Why is this a relevant problem?
- How do you plan to solve the problem?
- Introduce your team
- Problem Statement:
- Who is the potential user of your idea?
- What is his/her need(s)?
- Why is it relevant/important to solve this need?
- Idea
- How do you want to solve the problem? What is your idea?
- What makes your idea exiting/special?
- Are there other solutions addressing the same need resp. (direct/indirect) competitors. What differentiates your idea from their solution?
- How much money do you need and how would you spend it?
- Rough timeline including:
- An overview: when are you planning to achieve what?
- A short statement: how you would arrange your work in the project (also considering your lectures, exams, holidays, exchange semester and so on)