BRIDGE Proof of Concept is aimed at young researchers who wish to develop an application or service based on their research results. These projects can target innovations of all kinds in all research areas. 160 projects have been financed so far. Remarkably, the 121 projects funded between 2017-2020 have already led to 79 start-ups.
Since its launch in 2017, Proof of Concept has been open to BSc/MSc and PhD level applicants. However, only 20% of all project proposals were submitted by BSc or MSc graduates. The BRIDGE Steering Committee strongly believes that we haven’t yet been able to benefit from the full potential of junior applicants. For this reason, BRIDGE is launching a special call in June 2022 exclusively for applicants with a Bachelor’s or a Master’s degree. Approximately 1 million francs have been made available for the call.
The submission deadline is 5 September 2022, and the platform for submitting proposals will open at the beginning of June, in parallel with the regular call for Proof of Concept proposals. Parallel submissions are not permitted, but applicants eligible for the special call can also decide to submit their project to the regular call instead.