CONNECT Event Series
CONNECT - Fall Semester 2026
Join a vibrant innovation community!
Beyond the classroom, students will have the opportunity to engage with academics, entrepreneurs, innovators, and industry partners from the wider innovation and startup ecosystem. These guests will share their journeys, experiences, key learnings, and the challenges and setbacks they have encountered along the way.
Participation in events, workshops, and networking opportunities within the CONNECT series is voluntary, but strongly encouraged.
Link to news article and pictures of the Kick-off event (01 September 2026): here and on LinkedIn
Kick-off Event - 01 Sep 2026, 18:00
Invited participants: Students who have applied to enrol in the Minor/LAO for the Fall Semester 2026, as well as students planning to enrol in Spring Semester 2027. Professors, lecturers and UZH staff members involved in the Minor will also attend.
Location: Details will be shared via email
Program
| Time | Session | Topic |
| 17:30 | Doors open | |
| 18:00 - 18:45 |
Welcome address |
Prof Dr. Michael Schaepman, President of the University of Zurich |
|
Topic to be announced |
||
|
"On Light and Bread in a startup" |
Bea Knecht | |
| "Making decisions" | ||
| 18:45 | Group photo | |
The event will conclude with an Apéro featuring food and beverages, a perfect opportunity to meet fellow students, exchange ideas, and expand your network within the innovation community. Participants will also receive exclusive merchandise.
CONNECT: Program
The location will be communicated via email shortly before each event
| Date and Time | Topic |
|
15 Sep, 18:00 |
Dr. Andy Schwarzenbach (HSG / UZH / INSEAD): Entrepreneurial Journey: From idea to exit About the speaker: Dr. Schwarzenbach co-founded HITZBERGER, a healthy fast-food concept, in 2009 after completing his studies and spending five years in management consulting. He grew the company to 12 locations and around 120 employees before selling it to MIGROS in 2017. Today, he supports entrepreneurs and startups. We will discuss his key learnings from the past 30 years in innovation and entrepreneurship. Where? Information on the location will be shared with the students via email |
|
|
Penny Schiffer builds AI systems by day and has spent her career at every stage of a startup's life: as founder, investor, juror, coach and policy advisor. She heads AI & Data Science R&D for Global Wealth Management at UBS, co-founded and built her own AI startup Raized.ai, and for more than a decade has helped decide which Swiss ideas get funded, as a juror for Venture Kick, >>venture>>, the ETH Pioneer Fellowship, the ETH Spark Award, Gebert Rüf's First Ventures and ESA BIC Switzerland, and on the BRIDGE steering committee of the SNSF and Innosuisse. An angel investor, Innosuisse startup coach, board member, and advisor to the Federal Council on space policy, she will tell you how a career like this actually gets built. |
|
09-10 Nov, 18:00 |
Startup Nights (Winterthur) |
| 17 Nov, 18:00 |
Sebastian Bugal has sold phones in Vancouver, tested software, worked as a data scientist and built AI systems at KPMG Switzerland. Along the way he co-founded Kliq Social and was founding engineer at Vezgo. Mercora, where he is building an AI-native operating system for physical commodities trade, is his third startup, at an age when others are just leaving university. In our conversation he tells us what drives him, why he became a founder, where it went well and where it hurt, and what he would advise students. |
|
01 Dec, 17:00 |
Network Event at Wenger-Vieli, Dufourstrasse 56, 8001 Zurich |
