Funding Programs

The Bern Medtech Collaboration Call 2027 is jointly announced by CSEM SA (CSEM), the University of Bern (UniBE) and Insel Gruppe AG (INSEL) within the framework of the collaboration credit of CHF 2 Mio for the year 2027 made available by the Canton of Bern under the Collaboration Agreement of March 21, 2023 between these three institutions.

The purpose of this call is to exploit the synergies between the medical and clinical expertise of UniBE and INSEL and the microtechnology and -electronics know-how of CSEM to develop, valorize, and ultimately commercialize digital health tools, innovative therapies, and disruptive medical devices, thereby helping the Canton of Bern become a leading medtech innovation hub and fostering the creation of medtech start-ups and high-quality jobs in the region.

Funding framework: 

• Funding amount: up to CHF 300,000 per project 
• Duration: up to 36 months
• Eligible participants: Researchers who are members of the medical faculty of UniBE and/or INSEL
• Submission deadline: 18 September 2026

Evaluation criteria:

• Projects must be in collaboration with CSEM
• Projects being related to CSEM Medtech technologies are preferred
• Project proposals must be submitted in English and shall not exceed 5 pages
• The content of formally correct proposals will be evaluated according to the following overarching criteria: (i) General consistency with the purpose of BMCC2027, (ii) feasibility, (iii) originality, and (iv) academic benefits.
• The budget for subcontractors (if any) shall not exceed 20% of the total budget.

Further information is available via the CSEM website.

The 2026 call for proposals from the Digitalization Commission for UniBE Digital Venture Fellowship and Network Projects will be published at the beginning of the spring semester 2026. Whether additional Perspective Projects for mid-level faculty or, if applicable, Profile Raising Projects will be announced in 2026 is currently still open and has not yet been finalized.

In the 2026 application wave for network projects, DigiK evaluates the submitted applications with regard to the following criteria, which also determine the structure of the content section of the application:  

1. novelty of the project idea and the overarching research objective compared to the state of (inter)national research; 
2. Synergy potential for existing research units and centers from different faculties, con-cretized in a research program that addresses an overarching research goal, which is achieved through cooperation and close integration of the research work of the par-ticipating groups; 
3. profiling potential for the University of Bern in research in relation to the Digitalization Strategy 2030 and other strategic goals; 
4. Importance of interdisciplinarity for achieving the project objectives and adequacy of the cooperation between the groups involved to achieve this interdisciplinarity; 
5. Sustainability of the network project in the sense of a long-term locational advantage for UniBE that extends beyond the project and attracts excellence; 
6. qualification of the applicant with regard to research and implementation of the pro-ject idea;
7. impact on the training of young academics at various levels;
8. feasibility of the project during the funding period, outlined by project milestones, re-search content and a related financial plan.

Eligible to apply for funding for network projects are members of the University of Bern with a research component in their full-time employment and with an existing contract term or a contract term planned in the course of a tenure procedure that covers at least the 4-year funding period of the network proposal.  

Funding framework: 

• Funding amount: CHF 2,000,000 to 3,000,000
• Duration: up to four years
• Submission deadline: 18 September 2026 

Further information is available here.

The University of Bern aims to strengthen the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Bern across all disciplines.

The goal of the UniBE Digital Venture Fellowship is to promote the transfer of innovative research and teaching by means of innovative, human-centered, digitalization-related products or services into society and the economy and to support entrepreneurial early-career researchers. During the Digital Venture Fellowship, the underlying research of the innovation is to be continued in order to validate the technical feasibility (proof-of-concept) and to prepare for commercialization.

In alignment with the University of Bern’s Digitalization Strategy 2030, the Digital Venture Fellowship encourages participants to leverage digital transformation as a catalyst for scalable, sustainable, and impactful innovations, while addressing societal, environmental, and economic challenges.

Funding framework: 

• Funding amount: Max. CHF 100'000 per application
• Duration: 12 months
• Application deadline: 18 September 2026
• Communication of first round selection results (based on submitted written applications): 27 October 2026
• Second round of jury deliberation (in-person shortlisted candidates’ pitch presentations): 2 November 2026
• Final decision by the University's Executive Board: expected by the end of 2026

Further information is available on the University of Bern Funding Schemes page.