This year, both events were again held at the Switzerland Innovation Park in Biel/Bienne. The RUAG Innovation Forum is the platform for the defense community in Switzerland. RUAG acted as host and enabled representatives from industry, educational institutions, defense, start-ups and others to participate in a direct exchange of ideas. Developments could be presented directly and the response could be measured. As always, the RUAG Accelerator Program was also promoted. The RUAG Accelerator Program supports startups in particular in the development of new innovative solutions.
We grant start-ups access to the security cluster, its resources and the market. By involving start-ups and small businesses in select initiatives, we can bring products to the market faster and boost knowledge transfer.
180 participants and 23 exhibitors benefited from exciting keynote speeches and insights into promising start-up ideas, partnerships and RUAG projects.
We were honored to welcome distinguished guests such as the Chief of the Swiss Armed Forces, Corps Commander Thomas Süssli, and Prof. Dr. Peter Seitz as keynote speakers. They provided insight into the innovation efforts of the Swiss Armed Forces and the relationship between creativity and innovation.
The national RUAG Student Innovation Award was also presented. Benjamin Mouchet, with his thesis and elevator pitch on "Augmented Reality, a new tool for Wargaming," was thrilled to receive a generous winner's prize.
Start-ups Sharekey and Wearin presented their products to the audience in 5-minute pitches and were also present at the exhibition. Sharekey won the RUAG Startup Innovation Award 2023.
KICKBOX pitch event
The morning was also dedicated to the topic of innovation. In another exciting KICKBOX pitch event, motivated kickboxers presented their innovative business ideas in the form of short pitches and demonstrated their entrepreneurial creativity. The diversity of ideas was particularly impressive this year. While teams 1 and 2 got a preview of a BlueBox from their sponsors, Urs Kräuchi was successful. He received his BlueBox from his sponsor, Hartmut Jäschke, Senior Vice President Business Area Ground.
We would like to thank all participants for their contributions and passionate participation in this eventful day. These events are an important step toward an innovative future for RUAG.
The RUAG Innovation Forum will also take place in 2024, providing a platform for start-ups, educational institutions and industry to drive progress and ideas for sovereign security. Today and in the future.
You can find out more about KICKBOX on RUAG Kickbox (getkickbox.com).
