Zürich Funding at the Frontier: hosted by ARIA and Nucleate Switzerland

We're gathering Zürich's leading scientists, engineers, founders, and technical leaders pursuing research at the edge of what is possible.

Join us for an evening exploring how ambitious science gets funded, and how exceptional technical leaders can shape entirely new research directions.

We'll begin with a short introduction to ARIA from Programme Director Jenny Read, followed by lightning talks from researchers and founders working on ambitious technical problems, before continuing the conversation over food and drinks.

Please note this is a register-of-interest event. Registration does not guarantee attendance, and places are limited and subject to approval.

What is ARIA?

The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is the UK's high-risk, high-reward R&D funding agency, created to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs by supporting research that is too ambitious, speculative, or interdisciplinary to pursue elsewhere.

ARIA operates through Programme Directors: exceptional scientific and technical leaders who spot overlooked opportunities, define bold technical visions, and bring together the people and projects needed to pursue them.

ARIA is now recruiting its third cohort of Programme Directors for a May 2027 start.

Who should attend?

This event is intended for deeply technical people who:

Have experience leading ambitious, outcome-driven scientific or technical work

Enjoy uncovering non-obvious approaches to difficult problems

Care about shaping the future of science and technology

May be interested in becoming a future ARIA Programme Director or applying for ARIA's funding

Schedule

17:00-17:30 Arrival, food & drinks

17:30-17:35 Welcome and introduction from Nucleate Switzerland

17:35-18:00 Lightning talks from researchers and founders based in Switzerland

18:00-18:30 What is ARIA? Programme Directors and funding opportunities

18:30-20:00 Food, drinks & networking

Speakers

Jenny Read (ARIA Programme Director leading the Robot Dexterity programme)

Lightning talks include scientific and technical leaders working on ambitious scientific and engineering challenges in Switzerland

Aswin Ramachandran (Staff of Professorship for Dynamic Systems and Control at ETH Zürich)

Lilly van de Venn (Staff of Professorship for Genome Biology at ETH Zürich)

Georg Keller (Senior Group Leader, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland)

Paula Nunes-Hasler (Group Leader at the University of Geneva + CEO of Talixeon Therapeutics)