BRIDGE: Over 100 proof of concept applications received
The first call for project proposals for the BRIDGE Proof of Concept support project drew considerable interest. Over 100 applications were submitted. The call for project proposals took place from 17 October to 12 December 2016. The first projects will start from 1 March 2017.
Around one-third of the applications were submitted by cantonal universities, around 20% from universities of applied sciences, ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne each accounted for 17% of incoming applications, 7% came from EMPA and 3% from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI).
The largest proportion of incoming applications (36%) related to Life Science. The remaining applications were equally distributed among ICT, Micro/Nano, Engineering and Social Sciences. Innovations are expected to come mostly from the area of Life Sciences (46%) and Enabling Sciences (26%), followed by Micro/Nano (16%) and Engineering (15%).
Next steps:
The evaluation panel will continue its examination of incoming applications until the end of February 2017. The first projects are expected to begin from 1 March 2017. The next Proof of Concept call for project proposals will start already in January 2017.
The call for Discovery project proposals was launched on 20 December 2016. All applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by 27 February 2017, and Full Proposals by 10 April 2017. The first projects will then be able to start from 2 October 2017.