[ Innovation Partnership Grants with China, Japan, South Korea and the ASEAN | Collaboration opportunity ]

ETHZ - the leading house for SERI bilateral science and technology cooperation programmes with China, Japan, South Korea and the ASEAN region - offers Innovation Partnership Grants to support the establishment of cooperation between Swiss researchers from universities, universities of applied sciences or public research institutes with non-academic innovation agents in China (incl. Hong Kong and Taiwan), Japan, South Korea and member states of the ASEAN. These non-academic agents can be corporates, SMEs or start-ups, innovation parks or similar entities with a focus on applied sciences or technical development.
 
The call is open to all scientific disciplines and fields of research. 
 
Innovation Partnership Grants can support activities such as:

• planning a joint R&D project proposal for submission to a national or international innovation-related funding agency (e.g. Innosuisse).
• establishing long-term consulting or training partnerships between two institutions (e.g. management training for an Asian innovation agent conducted by a Swiss university of applied sciences).
• pilot technology or product development activities (e.g. creation of a prototype integrating Swiss knowledge)
• reverse engineering projects (e.g. extraction of knowledge from Asia for educational purposes)

• All senior scientists of Swiss federal and cantonal universities, universities of applied sciences and universities of teachers’ education, as well as public research institutions, are eligible to apply. The Swiss scientist is the main applicant.
• Innovation agent partners in China, Japan, South Korea or the ASEAN region must be senior staff affiliated with a company, start-up, innovation park or similar agency in one of the partner countries.
• Universities from the partner country can participate as third parties.

• Eligible costs: a roundtrip economy ticket; accommodation costs and consumables or equipment for meetings; workshop costs; partial salary costs only for the author of a joint proposal to be submitted to a larger funding agency.
• These grants do not cover research projects, salaries of the PI and doctoral students or exchange of young researchers.
• A financial contribution of each partner is expected and must be made explicit in cash and in-kind.
• Industry partners must cover their own cost.