Global Business Innovation Programme in Switzerland - AI in Construction

The Global Business Innovation Programme is structured around three main stages and each business will have a designated Innovate UK Business Growth innovation & growth specialist to support them for at least the duration of the offering, including developing a work plan to capitalise on the opportunities identified. The three main stages of the Global Business Innovation Programme are

• Get ready: A two-day workshop to build knowledge and understanding of the market and potential opportunities, including how to do business, cultural aspects, how to protect your IP, and training on how to better articulate your value proposition.
• Visit the market: Explore the opportunities first-hand through meetings with key companies, research organisations, and potential collaborators and partners, through pre-arranged meetings and organised matchmaking.
• Exploit the opportunity: An exploitation workshop and one-to-one support from an Innovate UK Business Growth innovation & growth specialist to help you follow up and maximise the opportunities identified through the programme.

To apply for this programme, you must:

• Be a UK based innovation-led company with ambitions to grow and internationalise
• Be a company with fewer than 250 employees
• Be the CEO, founder, or senior decision maker in the business and able to attend and complete all activities.

Switzerland is ranked first in the world in the Global Innovation index* and is recognised as a European leader in AI, alongside the UK.

AI in Construction is an emerging trend in Switzerland, with established research centres (Design++ and EMPA NEST), designed specifically to de-risk technology and techniques to facilitate the transfer of research to industry.

The innovation visit will focus on Zurich, the region with the highest number of AI companies in Switzerland, and home to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), regarded as a driving force for Swiss innovation and industry

It will host the AI+X Summit on 3 – 4 October, which delegates will attend during the innovation visit. AI has the potential to greatly increase the efficiency, quality and sustainability of the construction sector. This programme presents an opportunity for bilateral R&I collaboration that will support the UK’s Net Zero goals, and help to accelerate ambitious ideas into real-world solutions.

This programme is particularly relevant for companies who are involved in developing or integrating AI solutions in construction that drive business productivity. Areas include, but are not limited to:

• Architecture
• Offsite construction
• Materials
• Energy efficiency
• Project management / risk identification
• Tunnelling underground
• Maintenance
• Supply chain

• Explore and gain insights into the AI in Construction commercialisation landscape in Switzerland.
• Develop a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Switzerland.
• Find potential innovation collaborators and partners and develop your network in the UK and globally.
• Improve your company value proposition to international partners and investors.

• Applications close: 22^nd July 2024
• Get ready workshop: 4^th – 5^th  September 2024
• Visit the market: 30^th September – 5^th October 2024
• Exploit the opportunity Workshop: 21^st January 2025