AIT Columbia Call

AIT aims to transform high-level applied research into market applications. Entry is awarded on a competitive basis to select projects with entrepreneurial potential and to help participants advance business plans, establish further contacts with industry, and clarify intellectual property issues. AIT will provide the opportunity to network at an international level, foster new partnerships and collaborations, and have access to emerging markets.

The AIT, whose goal is to connect Swiss researcher-entrepreneurs with their Colombian peers, consists of two phases: a training camp in Switzerland headed by the Leading House, and a second training camp in Bogotá and Medellín predominantly organized by ICETEX – which serves in cooperation with multiple university, startup, and industry partners – as the main organizers for the AIT Colombia Camp.

In the 3rd cycle of the AIT, running from June 2021 to March 2022, 10 Swiss startups will be chosen, and the Innovation Grant of CHF 10,000 will be awarded to the most promising Swiss research breakthrough project on the last day of the Colombia Camp in February 2022. Camps will be held online if Covid-19 restricts international travel. A trip to Colombia will follow once the pandemic conditions allow it.

Eligibility: Master or PhD students, PostDocs, and researchers from Swiss universities, Universities of Applied Science, and research institutes as well as centers of technological excellence with research track-record working on a non-profit basis.

Funding: An Innovation grant of CHF 10, 000 will be awarded to the most promising breakthrough swiss projects. The entire event will be free of charge for the 10 selected participants, including food, travel, and accommodation expenses in Columbia and Switzerland.

Application process Please refer to the Call Document.