Academia Industry Training (AIT) Programme 2025-2026

Ten startups from Switzerland—part of the 2025-2026 Academia Industry Training (AIT) Programme—will spend a week in Bengaluru from November 16 to November 21 to discover the Indian market and seek collaborations with a view to solving global challenges at scale in the spaces of sustainability, biotech, medtech, and construction. The cohort, which was chosen via a competitive process and is among the best in Switzerland, will also pitch alongside Indian innovators at the Bengaluru Tech Summit.

In March, Indian startups will similarly spend a week in Switzerland to discover the Swiss market.

Read about the Swiss cohort below, and meet them during their visit in Bengaluru.

What is AIT?

The Academia Industry Training (AIT) India is an early-career development and market discovery programme for Swiss and Indian scientists looking to validate and convert their inventions into viable, marketable innovations. AIT is supported by the Swiss government’s State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI). It is mandated by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), which is the Leading House for South Asia. In Switzerland, it is managed by Startup Campus, while in India we at Swissnex manage and execute the programme.

Why AIT?

For over ten years, AIT India has been supporting multiple Swiss and Indian scientists understand the market potential of their innovation across geographies and helped convert many of them into entrepreneurs. It has enabled them to transform their ideas into viable, successful products. Several of these innovations are in the market across multiple geographies, and AIT alumni have gone on to become successful entrepreneurs and mentors to other startups. AIT is also a great barometer of technological shifts, and has been successful in identifying impactful technologies in key sectors like energy and sustainability. In short, tech in AIT today is tech for the world tomorrow.

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