Economic Impact & Innovation

With the Innovation Office, the University of Basel consistently pursues the goal of strengthening the transfer of knowledge and technologies into society. A particular focus is on the promotion of start-ups and support through courses, workshops and events that provide targeted assistance to prospective founders. In addition, targeted innovation partnerships with industry are sought in order to overcome systemic challenges by transferring scientific discoveries into practice. Start-ups that emerged from the university were able to attract considerable private investment - over CHF 479 million in 2023 alone, compared to CHF 457 million in 2024. These are significantly higher investments than in 2021 (CHF 82 million) and 2022 (CHF 259 million).

Start-ups are an important driver of economic development in the Basel region. Not only do they generate highly qualified jobs, they also work closely with the university to further develop innovative technologies. This strengthens Basel as a location for innovation. The positive effects can also be seen in the figures: A total of 28 new start-ups were founded in 2023 and 2024, which represents a continuation of the growth trend of recent years.

Propelling Grants, which support outstanding projects with high innovation potential, are also an important component in the promotion of start-ups. Five Propelling Grants, with which the University of Basel provided targeted support for promising research projects on their way to commercialization, were awarded each year in 2023 and 2024.

Over the past two years, the Innovation Office has been able to further expand its activities - both in the area of start-up support, in the expansion of courses and in cooperation with industry. These increased measures have helped to attract more students and innovators from various disciplines.