HUB Entrepreneurship and Innovation
As a powerful force for innovation and change, universities are ideally placed to instil the entrepreneurial spirit. They give everyone the means to make a relevant and significant contribution to the life of our region and the future of our society.
Our mission
The HUB Entrepreneurship and Innovation, created in June 2019, is the central element of the system aimed at stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit within its entire community (students, researchers, professors from the seven UNIL faculties as well as administrative and technical staff and alumni). Instilling the entrepreneurial spirit is one of the priorities of UNIL's management, which supports above all a vision of entrepreneurship serving a sustainable and inclusive future.
The 3 pillars
The University of Lausanne's strategy for promoting entrepreneurship is based on 3 pillars:
- The « Inspire » pillar is for the UNIL community. Its objective is to foster and nurture entrepreneurial vocations.
- The « Educate » pillar targets UNIL students. Its objective is to encourage an offer of optional courses for Bachelor and Master level students from all interested faculties. The offer is based on an interdisciplinary education and focused on sustainable entrepreneurship and social innovation.
- The « Activate » pillar targets all project leaders. The objective is to support ideas and projects aligned with the values of the Institution. Projects that have a social and environmental impact are therefore favored. (Visit our website ucreate.ch).
The 4 core values
- Contribution refers to the desire to support and promote ideas and projects capable of making a positive social or environmental impact and thus driving change for a sustainable future..
- Interdisciplinarity implies that the system put in place is aimed at the seven faculties and all the disciplines taught within UNIL and, on the other hand, that projects relating to several disciplines are encouraged..
- Diversity presupposes that a variety of projects can emerge, whether or not they are technological in nature, whether they are aimed at profitability or whether they are non-profit, or whether they are carried out by students, members of the PAT or the intermediary body
- The collaboration stems from the existence, in the canton of Vaud, of a well-established ecosystem made up of a set of actors active in one way or another in the promotion of entrepreneurship. In a collaborative dynamic, the University forges links and creates bridges in order to generate synergies with these different actors..
Who are we talking to?
The aim is to give everyone the opportunity to enrich themselves with the attitudes and skills that come from the world of entrepreneurship, impact and innovation. In a changing world, the latter are seen as increasingly important by employers.
To illustrate, examples of entrepreneurial attitudes include: curiosity, collaboration, creativity and courage.
UNIL students are the core target of the entrepreneurship strategy, since its main aim is to provide them with useful tools for their transition into the professional world and the development of their careers.
For those who will be working in companies, they will be asked to be proactive and even to act as ‘intrapreneurs’, i.e. as entrepreneurs within the very structure that employs them by developing proposals for development and opportunities for change.
Others will become entrepreneurs or self-employed at some point in their career (20% of alumnae and alumni within five years of completing their studies, according to the latest GUESSS study, carried out in 2018).
Want to take an entrepreneurship course? Take part in our interdisciplinary courses.
Do you have an idea that you want to turn into reality? Join our UCreate programme.
The majority of academic staff employed on long-term contracts will be integrated into the non-academic professional world. Just like Bachelor and Master students, researchers can benefit from the skills and tools associated with the entrepreneurial spirit. On the other hand, the fruits of their research can lead to innovative ideas or discoveries likely to lead to useful applications for society - including entrepreneurial-type projects.
Do you have an idea that you want to put into practice? Join our UCreate programme.
Administrative and technical staff (PAT) are in a particularly good position to identify problems related to their professional activity.
A structure that supports entrepreneurship can give them the opportunity to develop ideas or projects that will encourage innovation and change within the organisation that employs them, improving ways of doing things and processes. A culture of this kind is also likely to encourage their development.
Would you like to find out more about our employee programme? Find out more about Impulse here.
They are an immense asset for UNIL and a key potential component, which can be involved in various ways (depending on their career path and ambitions) in terms of support for entrepreneurship.
As agents of change, entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, alumni are an important source of inspiration for the community. In this respect, our initiative, which brings together the testimonies of 100 alumni, demonstrates the richness and diversity of post-UNIL entrepreneurship. They can also contribute to the activities of the support scheme - as trainers, coaches, mentors or jury members. Finally, as business decision-makers in the region, they are ideal partners for sponsoring projects or helping to launch events.
Would you like to find out more about the "100 entrepreneurs UNIL"?
Plus d'informations ici.
Our activities
Stakeholders and partners
The HUB also relies on existing structures to fulfil its mission, with numerous partnerships and collaborations with the regional and Swiss entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem.
The HUB works in close collaboration with key players in innovation and entrepreneurship in the region.
The HUB also collaborates with a set of partners in the entrepreneurship and social innovation cosystem, with private companies and participates as a jury for awards in these fields.
