Vice Presidency for Innovation (VPI)

Introduction

For more than 20 years, EPFL has been a key player in innovation in Switzerland. The Vice Presidency for Innovation is dedicated to this role and, in particular, to the development of platforms for interaction between EPFL researchers and students, and business and industry.

The VPI is in charge of the deployment of the Switzerland Innovation Park Network West EPFL, which is closely linked to the expansion of EPFL’s other campuses. It is the interface with industrial milieus, in particular through the EPFL Innovation Park, a place of interaction and proximity between companies – start-ups and large enterprises – and the campus.

To promote technology transfer and the commercialization of its research, the Vice Presidency for Innovation has put in place a set of instruments and measures to encourage entrepreneurship as well as students’ entrepreneurial spirit.

And finally, the VPI has recently launched a social entrepreneurship initiative to address the most pressing challenges faced by our society. The initiative includes the creation of the Yunus Social Business Center – the only one of its kind in Switzerland. Our partner in this initiative is none other than Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and the father of microfinance.