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There are many events and assistance available for startup creation within EPFL and Switzerland.

• Swiss innovation agency, Innosuisse, has a dedicated startup training page full of events broken down to 4 modules:
  https://www.innosuisse.ch/inno/en/home/start-and-grow-your-business/start-up-training/start-up-training_modul1.html
  1. Module 1 Business Ideas
  2. Module 2 Business Concept
  3. Module 3 Business Creation
  4. Module 4 Business Growth
• Venturelab in collaboration with Innosuisse has a dedicated program for startups and entrepreneurship which covers events, courses, coaching, and a team of trainers. All information is available in https://www.venturelab.ch/innosuisse
• TTO of EPFL supports startup creation through different grants and programs such as Enable program, Innogrant, innovation-park, and EPFLinnovators. https://tto.epfl.ch/support_su_en
• Many other grants are available for innovative startups:
  1. NCCR-robotics provides a spin-fund grant for robotics startups https://www.nccr-robotics.ch/industry/spin-fund-grant/
  2. Innovaud provides coaching and grants for startups created in the region of Vaud, where EPFL is http://www.innovaud.ch/en/support/start-up/
  3. Venturekick provides a 3 stage funding for startups https://www.venturekick.ch
  4. Bridge, proof of concept allows researchers to fund their project for developing research results and bringing into a marketable product http://bridge.ch/en/proof-of-concept/
  5. Enable program: The grant should be pivotal for your invention or technology to bridge to private sector funding through industrial collaboration, licensing or start-ups. The grant is designed to help you as a scientist or engineer to develop a business-minded perspective on your work, to explore potential markets and applications.
     The enable team will provide guidance throughout the project with the shared objective of bringing it to the next level. Amount of the grant: up to 50’000.- CHF per project. Duration: up to 9 months. http://enable.epfl.ch
  6. Helping with presentation and pitching your idea: Regular International Toastmasters Club at EPFL Lausanne:
     https://toastmasters.epfl.ch/

• TTO of EPFL is very active in this area with patenting possibilities of national, European, US, and PTC. TTO has a dedicated page for patents https://tto.epfl.ch/patents
• The TTO together with the inventors evaluate the invention (patentability, commercial potential, industrial partners, etc.) and elaborate, case by case, appropriate strategies for licensing.
• After the initial evaluation, TTO in collaboration with the Patent Office in Bern provides a full day of patent search for similar technologies.
• Researchers should be aware of publishing their results which are patentable or intended to be patented, Invention disclosure guidelines from TTO https://tto.epfl.ch/invention_disclosure