1.1 Each year, the International Innovation Management (IIM) course at HEIG-VD runs a program that connects HEIG-VD students with innovative Swiss start-ups. The 2026–27 edition focuses on the construction sector and supports start-ups that want to test and develop their activities on the US market. The program is run in collaboration with Swissnex in San Francisco.
1.2 Key dates:
1.3 Participation in the program is free of charge for the selected start-ups. Travel and accommodation costs of start-up representatives who choose to join the field study in San Francisco are at their own expense.
2.1 The program is open to start-ups that meet the following pre-selection criteria:
2.2 The contact person who submits the application must be at least 18 years old and authorised to represent the start-up.
2.3 The IIM team may decline any application that does not meet these criteria, or for any other reason related to the organisation of the program.
3.1 Start-ups apply by completing the online application form on iim.heig-vd.ch before the closing date stated in section 1.2. Applications may be written in English or French. Other forms of submission are not accepted.
3.2 A short video pitch (up to 3 minutes) is optional. It can be submitted through the upload link provided in the application form.
3.3 The IIM team may extend the application deadline in exceptional cases.
3.4 Each start-up may submit one application.
3.5 The start-up remains the owner of all intellectual property contained in its application and in its project. HEIG-VD and the IIM team may use the information submitted solely for the purposes of the program.
3.6 By submitting an application, the start-up accepts these General Terms and Conditions. The IIM team may amend them; applicants will be informed by e-mail of any significant change.
4.1 Each of the three selected start-ups works with a multidisciplinary team of HEIG-VD students (business administration, engineering & ICT, media engineering) enrolled in the IIM course during the autumn semester.
4.2 The scope of the work is agreed between the start-up, the student team and the IIM teaching staff. The students work on a pro-bono, educational basis. HEIG-VD asks the student teams to commit fully to the collaboration for the duration of the program. Any collaboration beyond the program requires a separate agreement between the start-up and the students concerned.
4.3 The work produced by the students (research, analyses, presentations) is delivered as part of a university course. It does not constitute professional consulting, and neither HEIG-VD nor the students give any guarantee as to the commercial results obtained.
5.1 Applications are assessed by the IIM teaching staff and the students, based on the criteria in section 2.1 and on the information provided in the application.
5.2 Incomplete applications, or applications that do not meet the criteria, may be excluded.
5.3 The selection decision is final and does not need to be justified. It cannot be appealed.
6.1 The program is communicated on the IIM website, on HEIG-VD channels and on social media (e.g. LinkedIn). The name of the selected start-ups, a short description of their project, and photos or videos taken during the program may be published. Selected start-ups may ask in writing not to be named or shown in a specific publication.
7.1 Students, teaching staff and any other person involved in the program treat confidential information shared by the start-ups as confidential. Upon request, a start-up may ask the students to sign a confidentiality agreement before sharing sensitive information.
7.2 Apart from the information intended for publication (section 6.1), no information about the start-up or its project is disclosed to third parties without its consent.
7.3 Personal data are processed in accordance with the Privacy Policy below.
7.4 To the extent permitted by law, HEIG-VD, the IIM team and the students exclude any liability for loss or damage arising from participation in the program (art. 100 and 101 of the Swiss Code of Obligations).
8.1 These General Terms and Conditions are governed by Swiss law. The place of jurisdiction is Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland.
This website (iim.heig-vd.ch) is operated by the International Innovation Management (IIM) course of HEIG-VD (Haute École d'Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud), Route de Cheseaux 1, 1401 Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland. We process personal data in accordance with the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP / nLPD) and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Contact for any data protection question: iim@heig-vd.ch.
Application data — When a start-up applies, we collect the information entered in the application form: company name, location, founding year, legal form, number of employees, name and position of the contact person, e-mail address, phone number, and the answers to the questions about the project. We use these data only to assess applications, organise the program and communicate with applicants. The form submissions are stored on the website (WPForms) and sent by e-mail to iim@heig-vd.ch.
Video pitch (optional) — If you upload a video, it is transferred through Dropbox (Dropbox, Inc., USA), which acts as a file-transfer service. Dropbox's own privacy policy applies.
Usage data — We use Google Analytics (Google LLC, USA) to measure how the website is used (pages viewed, device and browser type, approximate location, referral source). IP addresses are anonymised, and the data are used only in aggregated form to improve the website.
E-mail correspondence — When you write to us, we keep your message and contact details to answer you.
We do not sell personal data and do not use them for advertising.
Application data are accessible to the IIM teaching staff and to the HEIG-VD students working on the program. They may be shared with Swissnex in San Francisco for selected start-ups, to prepare the field study. Technical providers (website hosting, Google Analytics, Dropbox) process data on our behalf.
Google Analytics and Dropbox may process data in the United States. These transfers rely on the Swiss-US Data Privacy Framework and/or standard contractual clauses recognised by the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC). The website itself is hosted in Switzerland.
Applications from start-ups that are not selected are deleted at the end of the program edition. Data relating to selected start-ups are kept for the duration of the program and for up to 2 years for documentation of the course, unless the start-up asks for earlier deletion.
The website uses cookies that are needed for it to work, and analytics cookies (Google Analytics). You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; some features of the site may then not work properly.
You can ask us at any time to access, correct or delete your personal data, or object to their processing, by writing to iim@heig-vd.ch. If you believe your data are not processed lawfully, you can contact the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC, www.edoeb.admin.ch).
We may update this policy. The current version is always available on this page. Last update: 12 October 2026.