UPortunity - the ETH Start-up Accelerator
Empowering ETH founders to launch scalable start-ups with funding, coaching, and access to the ETH Entrepreneurship ecosystem. Find infos and apply here!
Important Information
The application window for the next cohort (starting in April 26) opens on January 7, 2026.
Sign up external page here for a webinar, taking place on January 13, 15:30–16:30 to learn more about the program.
Subscribe to the external page notification list. We'll keep you informed about upcoming info sessions, the opening of the application window and other program updates.
What is UPortunity?
Turn your project into a viable start‑up in just 12 weeks! UPortunity is ETH Zurich’s start‑up accelerator, enabled by UBS, for recent ETH graduates who already have a promising, knowledge‑based project and a functional prototype.
As a UPortunity Fellow, you receive a monthly salary and a project budget, work full time on your venture from a dedicated office space, and get intensive support through a bootcamp, weekly workshops, peer learning, and 1:1 coaching from experienced founders and experts.
The program ends with a Demo Day where you pitch your start‑up to the ETH Entrepreneurship community and potential investors, giving you a launchpad for the next stage of your venture.
Ready to see if UPortunity is for you? Keep scrolling to check the eligibility criteria, program timeline, and step‑by‑step application process
Current Cohort
Detection system for locating people in distress.
Rethinking Renting – Efficient, Fair, Digital
Redefining Prosthetic Fit.
The Organizational Discovery Engine
Chemical manufacturing w/ de novo designed enzymes.
AI-powered anamnesis booths for clinics.
Build Engaging Workplace Training. In Minutes.
Facts and Structure
Facts
- 8 - 12 start-ups per cohort, up to two cohorts per year (Nov - Jan and Apr - Jun)
- UPortunity Fellows receive a gross salary of CHF 9'750 ( CHF 3'250 per month), alongside an allowance of up to CHF 5'000 per team for project-related expenses.
- Free working space for the time of the acceleration program plus another additional 9 months after completing the program
- Participation in the ETH Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (E3) community including networking and investor events
- Membership to the Academic Sports Association Zürich (ASVZ) at the reduced rate for ETH employees.
Structure
- Kick-off with a bootcamp in week 1
- Weekly activities and workshop which address relevant business aspects in business modeling, team building, leadership, sales, marketing, fund raising, and financing (every Monday and Thursday).
- Each UPortunity team will have an experienced (serial) founder assigned giving guidance to the team through the entire UPortunity duration.
- Cohort Chats every Thursday mixed with additional social events.
- Demo Day at the end of the program, where teams pitch their start‑up to investors and the ETH Entrepreneurship community.
Timeline 2nd Cohort (Apr '26 - Jun '26)
Timeline 3rd Cohort (Nov '26 - Jan '27)
Program Regulations
More detailed information about the Program is available in the program regulations:
Download UPortunity - the ETH Start-up Accelerator Program Regulations (PDF, 1.7 MB)
General Information
UPortunity is based on the following principles:
Vision
to become the leading university student accelerator, empowering ETH founders to create scalable Start-up companies.
Mission
to support ETH founders in transforming their ideas into commercial products, thereby benefiting society at large and contributing to the prosperity of Switzerland.
Purpose
to bridge the public-private funding gap, enabling ETH founders to further develop their ideas, achieving market and institutional investment readiness.
Values
to embrace ETH’s core values of respect, excellence, responsibility, diversity,
openness, curiosity and team spirit.
Applications for "UPortunity - the ETH Start-up Accelerator" will be accepted if the following main criteria are met:
- Teams with up to five members (with max three becoming an UPortunity Fellow), provided that the lead applicant is a recent Bachelor, Master, or Doctoral graduate of ETH (within 2 year of finishing his/her degree).
- applicants whose projects have demonstrated a promising business idea and have a functional prototype, with a TRL 4 or higher
- project must be based on knowledge gained by the applicant/s at ETH and not based on ETH Intellectual Property, Technology or research findings
- full time commitment for all applicants
The applications are evaluated based on the following criteria:
- the application meets all eligibility criteria
- at least a prototype has been demonstrated
- a convincing problem-solution fit has been identified
- the business model is commercially viable and innovative; and the
business has the potential to scale - the applicants / founder team demonstrates a strong entrepreneurial mindset
- the proposed project fits the scope of UPortunity
The most promising projects are invited to present their project at the in-person selection day on February 26, 2026 (8am - 6pm).
You must reserve half a day (am or pm, schedule will be communicated 1 week prior).
As compensation for the financial support and services provided by UPortunity, ETH is entitled to a "Fee-OnRaised-Capital" (FORC) of 2% on capital raised by an ETH Start-up (up to a total amount of CHF 4 Mio) that has emerged from or benefited from the UPortunity Program.
The program will culminate in a Demo Day. This will be a showcase event to raise awareness for the start-ups and celebrate the end of the program.
The Demo Day will take place on June 30, 2026. It focuses on celebrating progress and fostering connections.
Application instructions
Before applying, please read the Program Regulations on this website carefully.
The applications must be submitted in the web-based ETH Zurich grant application system ‘eResearch’ .
The application portal closes on February 05, 2026 (5pm Swiss time). We recommend you submit your application a couple of days prior to the deadline to ensure proper processing.
Documents and naming conventions
The following documents must be submitted as part of the "UPortunity" application. Templates will be provided by January 07, and must be used where applicable.
All documents must be submitted as PDF files (max. 15 MB in total) unless otherwise stated. Please use the following naming conventions for your documents and do not forget to add your family name:
- Project_Summary_Your Business name
- CV_ LastName FirstName of Applicant
- CV_ LastName FirstName of Co-Applicant/s (if available)
- PitchDeck_Your Business Name
Video presentation upload
Please upload your video presentation as MP4 to the Polybox, or any other plattform (Google Drive). Please make sure that the link works and the document is accessible. The video should not exceed 3 minutes. Generate a link to the video and paste it into the respective field in the eResearch application tool.
Apply here for "UPortunity - the ETH Start-up Accelerator"
For further information and questions contact
Dr. Cornelia Walther
Lead UPortunity - the ETH Start-up Accelerator
Juan Piffaretti
Program Manager UPortunity - the ETH Start-up Accelerator
FAQ
Find the eligibility criteria here:
-Teams of up to 5 people, but no more than 3 can become full-time “UPortunity Fellows.”
-The lead applicant must be an ETH graduate within 2 years of finishing their degree. Bachelor's, Master's, PhD, MAS and CAS graduates of ETH are eligible to apply as lead applicants.
-The project must have a functional prototype (TRL ≥ 4) and be “knowledge-based.”
-It’s not for ETH IP-based research — the program is for business ideas that come from knowledge acquired at ETH but do not rely on ETH-owned intellectual property.
-All applicants must commit full time.
No, you have to commit 100% to the program, and you’ll be employed by ETH for the duration of the program in a 100% role. If that’s not possible for you, you can still be part of a team that applies to UPortunity, provided that the lead applicant and the co-applicants can be employed by ETH at 100%.
No, UPortunity is only for projects that don’t involve IP partially owned by ETH.
The ETH start-up label indicates that your start-up was founded by ETH graduates and gives you access to the ETH Entrepreneurship Community. You can apply to the ETH start-up label either before or after participating in UPortunity. Find more information about the ETH start-up label here.
For the duration of the program (3 months), joining the workshops (at least one team member) and community events (all team members) is mandatory. The workshops take place weekly, on Thursdays and/or Mondays, and the community events on Thursday evenings. For the rest of the time, it is preferred that you work from the UPortunity office space.
Yes, as part of UPortunity, you and your team can work from the office space. It is located at Hardturmstrasse 161, 8005 Zürich, and is fully furnished with work desks, meeting rooms and a workshop/event space. Most of the program related activities will take place in the UPortunity office space.
The expenses you can cover with the CHF 5'000.- are outlined in the UPortunity guidelines. Since you are employed by ETH, the ETH expense rules also apply. Typically they are used for attending relevant industry events and fairs, marketing costs and expenses needed for prototyping (among others).
