Institute Leadership Anchors the Mindset
Every meaningful collaboration starts with a mindset. For Prof. Thomas Utz, Co-Director of the Institute, the purpose of a thesis is clear: it should generate real-world value. “It’s about dual impact: students’ personal growth and tangible contributions to entrepreneurial challenges.”
Utz doesn’t see himself as a project broker. Instead, he acts as a bridge-builder between academia and industry. In his view, theses should not be isolated exercises but embedded in long-term partnerships – often leading to follow-up projects or even spin-offs. The key ingredient? Trust and students who don’t just participate, but help shape the work.
Having taken a non-traditional path to academia himself, Utz believes deeply in combining application and reflection. Research must be usable. Practice must be thoughtful. Thesis projects are, for him, the place where both meet.
Program Management Creates the Right Structures
But mindset alone isn’t enough – structures must support it. That’s where Prof. Urs Sonderegger comes in. As Head of the Bachelor’s Program in Industrial Engineering, he’s responsible for creating the framework in which quality work can flourish.
“Our role is to enable. We create the conditions for collaboration to actually happen.”
Sonderegger sees his job not simply as administrative oversight, but as a form of facilitation. That means: clear processes, accessible topic listings, and a program culture that encourages practical engagement. With experience both in academia and industry, he ensures the program connects both worlds and that students are prepared to navigate them.
Project Leadership Joins Innosuisse-Project
Turning these frameworks into lived experience is the role of Samuel Böhni, project manager at the IDEE. He works at the operational core – where ideas become action. Böhni understands that students enter with different needs: some have their own topics, others seek guidance. And companies, too, often need help framing meaningful challenges.
That’s why Böhni has joined an Innosuisse-funded project in collaboration with Studyond and partners like ETH Zurich, the University of St. Gallen, Economiesuisse, and the Swiss Employers’ Association. The project aims to make topic matching more inclusive.
Böhni sees himself as a facilitator, creating access and managing expectations. For him, educational equity is not a side concern:
“Not everyone has a network – but everyone should have the chance to find a meaningful topic.”
What he manages operationally builds directly on the strategic principles set by Utz and Sonderegger – a continuous loop of alignment between vision and action.
Students Delivering Real-World Impact
So what does this ecosystem look like in action? Simona Nallbani and Andri Baumgartner offer two snapshots. Nallbani, a part-time BSc industrial engineering student, completed her bachelor’s thesis with an industrial start-up. For her, the impact was tangible: “I could see how my analysis directly influenced the company’s decision-making. That was incredibly satisfying.”
She highlights communication as a crucial skill. Navigating the university-industry interface requires not just knowledge, but the ability to translate it between worlds.
Baumgartner, a student in his fourth semester, already has a topic in mind: the strain photovoltaic systems place on local power grids – something he’s seen in his own engineering work. For him, relevance is key: "I don’t just want to do research. I want to talk to people and see the problem firsthand.”
Both students take a thoughtful approach to AI. Nallbani uses tools like ChatGPT and DeepL Write for writing support; Baumgartner remains cautious. What they share is a clear belief: their voices must lead.
Whether already submitted or still in the works – for both, the thesis is not a box to tick. It’s a chance to make a real difference.
What We Learn from OST: Transfer is a Team Effort
OST shows what’s possible when impact is taken seriously. Strong theses don’t happen by chance. They result when mindset meets structure, and when all participants take ownership. Each role matters: from strategic institute leadership to practical program facilitation, from process-oriented project guidance to the student driving the work.
The IDEE offers a clear example of how this can be realized: through an institutional culture that sees transfer not as an add-on, but as a core responsibility.