UZH Innovation Hub

The University of Zurich has always been a place where knowledge changes the world.

Scientific discovery, innovation, and real-world impact has defined UZH for generations – from the pioneering work of Wilhelm Röntgen and Albert Einstein to today's researchers advancing knowledge across all disciplines. This rich living tradition is not a coincidence – it is the result of a university that stands for the power of curiosity, rigor, and the courage to think beyond boundaries.

With more than 23,000 students, 5,500 doctoral candidates, over 6,000 academic faculty members and professors, seven faculties and over 150 institutes, UZH is Switzerland's largest and most diverse university. As a leading, globally oriented research university, UZH combines excellence across a broad range of disciplines with a strong commitment to collaboration, openness and societal relevance. This diversity creates extraordinary potential for innovation.

Today, the challenges facing society demand more than excellent research alone. Real long-term solutions require the ability to connect knowledge across disciplines, going beyond the boundaries of established ways of thinking. It is at these intersections where opportunities exist to combine different perspectives and knowledge in unexpected ways to create meaningful impact.

This is where the UZH Innovation Hub comes in.

We help transform this potential into innovation and meaningful impact for society and the economy – inspiring entrepreneurial thinking, empowering people with innovation capabilities, building concrete pathways for research to make a real difference, and nurturing the ecosystem that enables new ideas to thrive.

We empower curious minds to translate ideas into real-world impact through the full disciplinary diversity of UZH.

We do this through four interconnected core functions:

Bringing together a strong network of internal and external partners who actively contribute to innovation at UZH:

Innovation does not happen by chance.
It requires people with the courage to explore new ideas, the capabilities to develop them, and an environment in which they can thrive. Our 2025 Annual Report provides insight into the activities, results, and achievements made possible through close collaboration with students, researchers, colleagues, partners, and supporters.
Annual Report 2025

Insights Annual Report 2025