InCube Challenge in China: Fostering Youth Entrepreneurship Across Borders

In early 2023, Swissnex in China approached Bühler China, an innovation-driven Swiss multinational seeking to expand its network of academic partners and grow its access to top talent pools. Swissnex proposed a joint initiative to bring ETH Entrepreneur Club’s InCube global student competition to China for the first time, with a shared goal of fostering entrepreneurial talent in young people across and beyond borders. The discussion set in motion a collaborative project that convened a multidisciplinary student team of diverse international backgrounds inside a glass-walled cube at Jiangnan University. They had one mission over five days: to solve Bühler’s real-world challenge of "how to leverage sustainable protein and utilize side stream for future food and agriculture system?"

Over the ensuing days, the students defined, dissected and analyzed the problems under the guidance of experts from Bühler and Jiangnan University. On day 5, Team Bühler stepped out of their cube with their solution: Bioshare, a B2B platform designed for sharing bioreactors. The concept was subsequently pitched to global experts at the AI+X Summit, the flagship event of ETH AI Center.

The following day, Swissnex curated a dedicated pitching event in Shanghai to cultivate connections between these young talents and professionals, researchers, and startups within the local food industry. During the event, the Cubees shared their collaborative experiences from the past five days, recalling how their diverse interdisciplinary backgrounds and perspectives empowered them to overcome challenges. One of the Cubees, Piphany Kuo reflected, “We gained a deeper understanding of sustainability and the relevant industry. Through practical processes, we had the opportunity to experience how startups think and act in the real world.”

The InCube Challenge served as a gateway for participating young minds to broaden their international perspective while introducing ambitious top talents to corporate sponsors. Swissnex in China continuously supports the empowerment of future innovators in establishing a sustainable foundation for Sino-Swiss cooperation in education, research and innovation.