A Customized Program for Young Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow
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For those dream of creating a start-up but are missing key tools for advancing their projects, EPFL Innovation Park is setting up a new training program within CTI Entrepreneurship called “Business Concept.” It is open to all members of the Swiss-French universities. Registration is open until mid-December.
“Business Concept” of CTI Entrepreneurship is being offered as part of the Commission for Technology Innovation, starting in parallel in Lausanne and scheduled to open in Geneva and Neuchâtel in February 2015. EPFL’s Innovation Park has brought together major academic players throughout Western Switzerland to develop a training program designed and delivered by entrepreneurs. These courses focus on operational practices and actual experiences with start-ups. This new approach unites professionals with members of the university and the HES-SO so as to strengthen the culture of entrepreneurship and enhance technology transfer.
This inter-university training program facilitates encounters between people of various professional profiles, ages and skills. “It is also an opportunity to expand one’s networks and career prospects, to learn how to transform an innovative idea into a viable business plan, and to develop necessary skills to transition from academia to the private sector,” says Lan Zuo Gillet, Program Director. The courses are open to the entire university community and will take place on the premises of the College of Management at EPFL in Lausanne, the Federation of French-Swiss Companies in Geneva and Neuchâtel’s SWISS CREATIVE CENTER.
Over the course of 40 hours, this program will address all the important concepts in creating a start-up. The formation of a successful team, product development and services, and customer relations are some of the points addressed. Other pertinent topics are on the program such as financing packages, an overview of the start-up ecosystem in Switzerland, as well as an introduction to support organizations on the local and federal levels.
Paul Edgar Levy, 21, is a student at the University of Lausanne and the President of Start, a student association that holds an annual entrepreneurship competition between EPFL and UNIL students. He knows that one day he will create his own company: “This is why I want to meet entrepreneurs who have experience in the field. They will help prevent me from falling into certain traps. Errors committed during the program are ones I won’t make in real life.”
To dive into the entrepreneurial environment before starting the program in February, a bootcamp is organized for course participants in Lausanne, Geneva and Neuchâtel to meet, exchange and defend their ideas, and form teams. This first exercise in team building and collective intelligence will help define a solid project that will be fostered and developed by each team during 40 hours under the direct supervision of successful entrepreneurs.
For information and registration:
www.cti-entrepreneurship.ch
www.startuptraining.ch
[email protected]
+41 21 6938336