How to collaborate with the industry 

The KTT Service supports you in setting up collaborations with industrial partners by identifying funding and by providing and negotiating the appropriate agreements. Collaborations can be directly financed by the industrial partners or co-financed with funds from Innosuisse.

The most commonly-used funds for collaborating with industrial partners are:

Innosuisse vouchers: Test the feasibility of your idea (innosuisse.ch)

Innosuisse with partner: Innovation projects with implementation partner (innosuisse.ch)

Innosuisse

Innosuisse is the Swiss Innovation Agency.

• Innosuisse promote science-based innovation in the interests of industry and society in Switzerland.
• Innosuisse finances different types of innovation projects among those also research collaborations between the University and companies.
• Innosuisse also support SMEs wishing to collaborate with universities with dedicated coaches for setting up an innovation project.

Standard agreements 

We have a series of standard agreement to facilitate collaborations between our researchers and companies.

NDAs

We have a standard template for non-disclosure agreements if you need to exchange confidential information between the University and a third party (company, public institution, or a person not employed by the University) and no other agreement is in place to protect the confidential information. When a person is not employed by the University and is working in a laboratory, a specific agreement signed with the University shall be put in place.

Our policies for exchanging confidential information are:

• The confidentiality is valid only for information labeled “CONFIDENTIAL”.
• Information remains the proprietary of the parties and no license or transfer of intellectual property shall be mentioned in an NDA.

Standard NDA

Please use track changes if you modify anything and submit the document to techtransfer@unifr.ch for approval.

Standard template NDA

Collaboration projects between research partners

We have a standard agreement for collaborations projects with academic partners.
Standard Agreement Collaborations

Contact Legal Services at servicejuridique@unifr.ch for additional explanation regarding the document. 

Industry-funded research projects

We have a standard agreement for direct collaborations between the University and industrial partners. Collaborations between University and industry follows these principles:

• Application-oriented research in fields of mutual interest
• Priority right to file patent applications for Company with exclusive right in a field of use. UNIFR keeps IP rights outside of company field of use.
• Publications: Right to publish within reasonable deadlines
• Financing of project cost through partner. Costs include all the direct laboratory costs (salaries, consumables, travel, etc.) + 15% overhead

Standard industry-funded collaboration agreement

Publicly-funded R&D projects (Innosuisse)

We have a standard agreement for the regulation of intellectual property within Innosuisse projects. The main principles are:

• Innosuisse pays the University to help industry
• Commitment of company to collaborate
• Company contribution cash and/or in-kind
• IP conditions: Priority right to file patent applications for company with exclusive right in a field of use.
• Publications: Right to publish within reasonable deadlines

Standard Innosuisse IP agreement