101 young researchers submitted their projects in response to the 1st call for BRIDGE Proof of Concept. SNSF and CTI will finance 11 innovative ideas.
BRIDGE Proof of Concept helps young researchers to apply their research results and gain the confidence needed for a market launch. In the context of this first call, a panel composed of experts in applied research evaluated 101 proposals in a two-stage process. After the first round of evaluation, 31 researchers were invited to continue to the second level - a presentation of the project and subsequent interview. The projects, submitted in February 2017, were deemed to be of very high quality. Based on the evaluation of the interviews, the SNSF and the Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) will use the available budget to support 11 projects that have a particularly strong scientific basis, a convincing implementation plan and a high economic or societal potential.
Each of the 11 young researchers will receive up to 130,000 Swiss francs in funding to implement their project.
The second call for Proof of Concept was launched in January 2017. Young researchers can submit their projects until 13 March 2017.