"We do research with a down-to-earth approach"

Martin Winkler will be on stage at the SME Forum on November 15, 2024. He is a professor at the ZHAW School of Engineering and develops innovations as a scientist together with companies - sometimes with a very down-to-earth approach. At the SME Forum, Winkler, together with representatives of the Strickhof Wülflingen and the Swiss Technical College Winterthur, Winkler will demonstrate how the local economy can benefit from Winterthur as a location for education.

Martin Winkler, what is a specific example of an innovative product that your institute has developed together with a company?
Martin Winkler: I could give many examples here. In our group, we have developed an innovative ski wax for the Olympics and World Cup the coating of heart catheters to an anti-slip coating on paper, we have already carried out many projects with the industry and brought them to a successful conclusion. I would like to go into more detail about an anti-slip coatinghcoating for vehicle safety, which was developed with an SME from Aargau in two large larger developed and improved in two major projects. We were able to ensure that the coating can be produced in consistent quality and that its tribological properties, i.e. its sliding friction properties, have been improved so that it reliably prevents the load from slipping even under the most adverse conditions in the truck. The recyclabilityiof the product was also investigated and improved. I will tell you more about this at the SME Forum.

This project was supported with research funds from Innosuisse the federal agency for the promotion of innovation. Isn't it a huge administrative burden for an SME to submit a project to Innosuisse for an SME?
For the industrial partners, the administrative effort is limited. The greatest effort is involved in submitting the project. However, the project application is usually written by the research partner, i.e. us. The industrial partner provides the business case and demonstrates why this new or improved product will give them a decisive competitive advantage. As a rule, we manage the project in consultation with the industrial partner for the duration of the project. At the end of the project, some additional work is required, but this is also very manageable for the industry partneras it more or less only has to confirm that it has provided its contractual services, denn Innosuisse wants the project to be processed by both project partners. For example, the testing of the product or part of the development can be carried out by the industrial partner. In most cases, this is work that has to be done anyway during the development of a new product and therefore only represents a small additional burden for the project partner.

Martin Winkler is a professor at the ZHAW School of Engineering, develops innovations as a scientist together with companies and thus brings out the strengths of Winterthur as a center of education.

SMEs sometimes need a solution quickly, isn't the research too long-term? How much time does it take to implement a project with you?
Yes, that's right. I have worked in SMEs myself for several years and knowhow fast-moving the SME world can be. Innosuisse Projects are indeed designed for the medium term and also involve a certain entrepreneurial risk. This is precisely why Innosuisse steps in and helps by paying our research expenses and thus reducing the entrepreneurial risk.
Writing an application takes a certain amount of time if you really want to have a chance with the project sponsor. However, a decision on acceptance or rejection is made quickly (within approx. 6 weeks).

Innosuisse Projects are usually designed for 1 to a maximum of 3 years, i.e. they come into question if you want to develop in a certain direction or expand into new markets and need to acquire the necessary technology to do so. The necessary research infrastructure is also often not available, which is where we can help with ourer state-of-the-art infrastructure.
If it is more about short-term developments or simply damage analyses, there is always the option of using us as an extended workbench and utilizing our services for a fee.

As your examples show, exciting and practical innovations can arise at the interface between business and research. What is needed to better exploit this potential?
First of all, we need innovative entrepreneurs with smart ideas. Here I see a great potential, especially in Switzerland and especially in the greater Zurich area. This potentialtial should be exploited and this treasure should be raised. This requires a little courage and no fear of contact. Many of us university of applied sciences lecturers have beene time in the industry and, contrary to popular belief, our work is not exclusively exclusively teaching, but also in research and development. Normally follows initial contact is usually followed by a joint brainstorminground in which the possibilities of cooperation are discussed. Initial ideas, even unconventional ones, can be discussed and evaluated here. Until then, everything is non-binding. Of course, company secrets remain between us, if you want to be on the safe side, conclude a confidentiality agreement beforehand.
What else is needed? More events like the SME Forum so that fears of contact can be overcome. The promotion of small projects and feasibility studies by the canton, for example, would also be very helpful, but that's another topic.

There are various institutes at the ZHAW that develop solutions in practical application areas, both at the School of Engineering and in other departments. Where can an SME get in touch with an idea for a collaboration so that it reaches the right address?
That is indeed a good question, as the ZHAW is a large university with a broad-based organisational structure. It certainly helps to find out about the different departments and institutes on the homepage. As a rule, each institute usually lists its expertise in one form or another on the homepage.
But then there are also corresponding contact pointsthat forward inquiries from industry to the institutes. For the ZHAW, this is Martin Jäkel, bt the School of Engineering this is Andreas Binkert.
If a request to a working group that does not have the relevant expertise, it usually forwards the request to other groups that may be better able to help.