How can scientific research be turned into an innovative business idea? Eight doctoral students from the SNI PhD School explored this question last week during the two-day SNI workshop “From Lab to Startup” at the “Roter Turm” hotel in Solothurn.

Drawing on their own research projects or personal ideas, the participants developed business concepts and learned to recognize their potential and communicate it persuasively. They received individual guidance and support from Anna-Elina Pekonen and Dr. Arielle Flinois from the University of Basel’s Innovation Office, as well as from Mauricio Campos, a coach and management consultant.

“From my side, I was really amazed to see how quickly the participants picked up business concepts and used them to sharpen their ideas. By the end of day two, each of them was on stage pitching a solid idea, which was really rewarding to watch.”

Dr. Arielle Flinois, Innovation Office, University of Basel

In addition, the young researchers gained insights into the real world of startups. The co-founders of Rhynexa and NanoZymeX, Dr. Katrin Martin and Dr. Boris Sevarika, shared their practical experiences in founding startups.

The workshop focused on the task of convincing investors of a potential startup’s merits — which involves not only making complex scientific content understandable but also evaluating a potential market and translating all of this into compelling pitches. At the end, the doctoral students presented their concepts and impressively demonstrated how scientific findings can be translated into innovative and viable startup concepts.

The team of Timon Baltisberger and Raif particularly impressed the jury. The two won the pitch competition with their idea to automate the adjustment of optical components. This will enable experiments to be set up more quickly and accurately — which could save a lot of time and, consequently, money.

Many thanks to the excellent coaches and congratulations to all participants — we’re excited to see if you’ll continue to pursue your ideas.