Sandbox

Parquery, an ETH spin-off, is a Zurich-based software company specializing in computer vision, a field within artificial intelligence (AI) that enables computers to extract meaningful information from digital images and videos. Thanks to the Innovation-Sandbox and the cooperation with the city of Frauenfeld, they are now making a significant contribution to using parking spaces on site more efficiently while effectively taking data protection aspects into account. Additionally, the Innovation-Sandbox ensures that other municipalities can benefit from their pioneering project as well.

The Innovation Sandbox for Artificial Intelligence is a test environment for the implementation of AI projects. The Sandbox is designed to promote responsible innovation by allowing the administration and participating organizations to work closely on regulatory issues and to enable the use of novel data sources.

Through use of image recognition developed by the ETH spin-off Parquery AG, this project enables parking occupancy to be detected and analysed efficiently as part of the Innovation Sandbox for AI. The technology, which is based on anonymised camera images, not only improves urban traffic planning, but also contributes to residents’ quality of life by reducing traffic caused by searching for parking.

Particular attention is afforded to data protection: privacy-by-design measures, such as use of low-resolution images, ensure that facial and number plate recognition is avoided and the protection of personal data thus guaranteed. This project demonstrates how modern technologies can contribute to overcoming urban challenges, offering valuable best practice recommendations for other Swiss cities and municipalities as well.

At the Reidholz railway bridge in Wädenswil (ZH), sensors recorded train traffic and provided a more precise picture of loads and structural condition. The data was used to develop different scenarios for the remaining service life of the bridge.
The project showed that data-driven methods can support maintenance and investment decisions. At the same time, the Sandbox team clarified legal issues relating to liability, data protection and operation. The pilot project illustrates how data-driven approaches can make infrastructure maintenance in the Zurich metropolitan area safer, more efficient and more sustainable.

The board of the House of Winterthur association has elected Jakob Bächtold as the new managing director of location marketing for the Winterthur region. According to a press release, the 48-year-old from Winterthur will take up his post at the beginning of September. Bächtold currently works as a communications consultant for SBB and runs his own company, b-Kommunikation.

Bächtold was previously deputy editor-in-chief of the "Landbote", among other things. He then worked as a team leader in the communications department of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences(ZHAW) and as a lecturer. Bächtold also taught at the ZHAW as a lecturer for several years.

Bächtold was selected in a multi-stage process. "We were impressed by his many years of management experience in the private sector as deputy editor-in-chief of 'Landbote', his activities in complex organizations such as ZHAW and SBB as well as his excellent network in Winterthur," association president Beat Schwab is quoted as saying in the press release.

Bächtold succeeds Samuel Roth, who has led the House of Winterthur since 2019 and will leave in mid-June. Markus Gilgen, Head of Tourism, will assume operational responsibility until the new Managing Director arrives.

Sven Corus, previously Head of Economics, will leave the House of Winterthur at the end of September. ce/stk

The Schlieren-based company Exalos, which specializes in light-emitting diodes and semiconductor light sources, has developed a new generation of high-performance and ultra-wideband LEDs with central wavelengths of 1550 nanometers and 1600 nanometers, according to a press release. The power-bandwidth performance allows for a wide range of applications, including fiber sensing and testing of fiber components covering the established fiber optic communication bands, according to the press release.

Superluminescent diodes (SLEDs) are a hybrid form of LEDs and laser diodes. The light source systems developed by Exalos on this basis are used in medicine, industrial imaging, navigation systems, meteorology and other scientific applications.

Exalos AG was acquired by the Californian company Indie Semiconductor in September 2023. The American specialist for automotive semiconductors and software platforms paid Exalos shareholders 45 million dollars in the form of Class A indie ordinary shares, according to a press release. If certain revenue-based performance targets are exceeded over the next 24 months, a further 20 million dollars will be paid in cash or additional shares.

According to the press release, Exalos has "developed and launched several highly innovative, advanced products for the world's most demanding applications". In particular, the field-proven SLEDs for fiber optic gyroscopes and the optical semiconductor amplifiers from Exalos, which are protected by 59 patents worldwide, complemented Indie's laser and silicon photonics products. ce/gba

The Poster Safari is a poster exhibition in public space enhanced by augmented reality with works by twenty selected visual designers, graphic designers and design agencies. It takes place as part of Zurich Design Weeks. The posters will be displayed throughout the city during Zurich Design Weeks.

An interactive map on the designweeks.ch website records all the locations and allows visitors to chase after the posters in the real urban space, either on their own or as part of organized guided tours. A six-member jury has now selected the participants for the 2024 exhibition. This year's special guest will be Stefan Sagmeister. The participants also include established design agencies and newcomers from all over Switzerland. A list of all participants can be found below.

The posters can be viewed on site from September 16-29, 2024 and scanned using a smartphone camera, whereupon animations are shown on the display. This additional function offers new levels of storytelling and experience. The creative works stand for GOOD NEWS - the theme of the third edition of Zurich Design Weeks, which will take place from September 12-29, 2024.

Find out more about the Poster Safari on the website and on Instagram. Registration for the guided tours starts at the beginning of September 2024 at designweeks.ch and postersafari.ch.

Alessio Borando |Aline Meier + You and you |Anastasia Temirkhan | Annina Linggi + Federica Zanetti | Début Début | Eva Jäger | Fabian Luginbühl + Emma Leuthold | Greta Schulz | Heyday | Kostis Sotirakos | mdburo | MetaDesign | Refinery | Raphaela Haefliger | Rio Basel | sofies Kommunikationsdesign | Stefan Sagmeister | Stillhart Concept | studio kollygujer

Jury: Erich Brechbühl (WeltformatFestival, AGI, Mixer), Gabriela Chicherio (Zurich Design Weeks), Ursina Landolt (Poster Safari, Atelier Landolt Pfister), Jiri Oplatek (Claudiabasel, HGK Basel), Lea Pfister (Poster Safari, Atelier Landolt Pfister) and Sara Zeller (Museum für Gestaltung Zürich)

The population forecasts paint a picture of growth. The number of people living in the canton of Zurich will increase by around a fifth by 2030, according to estimates by the Canton of Zurich's Statistical Office. The number of school leavers will increase accordingly. The associated increase in young people who need an apprenticeship poses challenges for the economy, politics and education.

Companies that want to train young people are needed to provide a sufficient number of apprenticeships. This requires a great deal of commitment and a willingness to give the skilled workers of tomorrow a chance. We are already well on the way. In the canton of Zurich, 4 out of 5 young people do an apprenticeship. And around 14,000 training companies offer apprenticeships. This makes vocational education and training a cornerstone of Zurich, Switzerland's largest business location - and it should remain so in the future.

The Secondary School and Vocational Training Office (MBA) is committed to ensuring that the willingness of training companies to provide training remains high and, above all, that new training companies can be recruited. This is precisely where the MBA comes in with the "Future Zurich" project.

The aim of Zukunft Zürich is to attract new companies to the training program and to support existing companies so that they can guide apprentices to a successful apprenticeship qualification.

(CONNECT) The jury for the ZKB Pionierpreis Technopark has selected five DeepTech companies for the final of the 2026 prize, which is endowed with 100,000 Swiss francs, according to a press release. The award has been presented since 2001. This year's award ceremony will take place on May 12 at Technopark Zurich, which is awarding the prize together with Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB).

A total of 76 young companies applied, more than ever before, 13 of them were nominated and five of them are in the final. The majority (60 percent) of the finalists focus their technology on artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning. They cover a broad field: innovations in the energy sector, robotics, photonics and pharmaceuticals. According to the press release, 40 percent of the teams at founder or C-level are female.

Jury chairman Lothar Thiele emphasized the exceptionally high quality of the finalists. "We see scientifically sound technologies with a clear market perspective and an impressive thematic diversity. This diversity is a strong sign of a mature and broad-based deep tech ecosystem in Switzerland," he is quoted as saying.

Glycoera from Wädenswil ZH, which is also based at the Bio-Technopark Schlieren-Zurich, is designed to meet a key challenge in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The start-up is developing an in vivo glycoengineering platform that enables novel biologics. They target circulating proteins (autoantibodies) that are considered to cause the disease. Roboa AG from Zurich has developed a flexible, autonomous robot that can reach areas that are inaccessible to humans and conventional robots, such as narrow pipes, closed tanks or rubble areas. Highly flexible, modular snake robots enable inspection, maintenance and first aid for trapped persons.

RTDT Laboratories AG, based in Technopark Zurich, is working on increasing the efficiency of wind turbines. With Aerosense, the start-up provides an innovative patch system that analyses the rotor aerodynamics directly during operation and enables precise optimization of the turbine controllers for maximum, site-specific energy yields. Unbound Potential from Thalwil ZH uses the opportunities offered by innovative, large-scale energy storage systems to improve storage technology. A membraneless flow battery enables cost-effective and rapidly scalable energy storage for a resilient, sustainable energy infrastructure.

Ccraft SA from Neuchâtel is a Swiss chip factory for scalable TFLN photonic chips. The focus is on the further development of high-performance thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) technology for scalable mass production. ce/heg

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a certified training programme focused on practical skills for recognising, approaching and supporting people experiencing mental health challenges or crises — both in professional and personal contexts.

In this practical small-group course, participants work through situations related to stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, substance use and other mental health topics.

Participants learn:

• how to recognise when someone may need support
• how to approach difficult conversations in a supportive way
• how to respond without judgement
• how to encourage professional help
• how to support others while also looking after their own wellbeing

The training is especially relevant for managers, HR professionals, team leads and anyone who is often the person others turn to.

Dates: 27 August & 3 September 2026

Duration: 2 full-day sessions (12 hours total plus breaks)

Language: English

Format: Small group, in person in Zurich

(CONNECT) The Financial Times (FT) has presented the second edition of Europe's Leading Start-up Hubs. It includes 150 start-up promoters across Europe and was compiled together with Statista and Sifted, according to an article. Switzerland is represented in the list of the best with seven organizations. These are Venture Kick in Schlieren ZH, described by the FT as a technology promoter in 6th place, followed by Fongit in Geneva in 24th place, which is named as a medical promoter in the FT list.

The Runway Incubator in Winterthur is ranked 50th on the list. "We support business ideas from all sectors," it says on its website. The Female Founders Initiative in Zurich, which specializes in promoting female founders, achieved 65th place and the Inovation Office at the University of Basel 85th place. 100th place went to the Startup Campus Winterthur and 109th place to the innovation agency of the Canton of Ticino, the Fondazione Agire based in Manno.

The list for 2025 again includes 150 hubs, which were evaluated by alumni and external experts such as investors, entrepreneurs and scientists, according to the FT article. The German UnternehmerTUM in Munich leads the ranking for the second year in a row. The non-profit organization offers programs that support start-ups with the basics of building a company.

The country with the most hubs in the ranking is the United Kingdom with 29, most of which are based in London. There are 19 centers in Germany and 24 in Spain and Portugal combined, two of which are among the top 20 in the overall ranking.

The full special report Europe's Leading Start-up Hubs 2025 is due to be published in March. ce/gba