The Yearly Call for Projects

Context: Swiss Post & University Fribourg

Swiss Post and the Human-IST Institute (University Fribourg) are collaborating since several years on various research projects. To extend their collaboration, they propose this joint call for projects, aiming at gathering new topics around the Post business hurdles. This yearly call will foster collaborative work between Swiss Post and UniFR teams during the next collaboration period 2024-2028. It aims at financing a Proof-of-Concept phase, with the perspective of further financing schemes. In addition to a maximal amount of 100’000 CHF, part-time assistance from a Senior Scientist from Human-IST will be awarded. Researchers from any faculty, as well as Swiss Post employees, are welcome to submit applications. Note that we place strong emphasis on preserving the university's full academic freedom within projects supported by this initiative, with the primary objective of fostering impactful synergies between both institutions.

Scope and desired outcome

The scope of the project can cover any research and innovation aspect including business, while covering an important scientific gap, that could be of interest for Swiss Post. The project will ideally be led by a joint team of UniFR researchers and Swiss Post staff. In case you do not have contact with any counterpart, the contact person of each institution can organize matchmaking. Projects are chosen by the Board (cf. below); decisions need the approval from at least one member of Swiss Post and one member of UniFR.

Target audience

This call is open to professors and postdocs from all faculties of the University of Fribourg. While it is not limited to IT-related projects, Swiss Post especially encourages innovative proposals from other disciplines.

Conditions

This 100’000 CHF call will support in principle 2 to 3 projects depending on the budget requested by each project. A project shall not exceed a 12-month period and shall include at least 1 intermediate milestone. The funds shall only be used to finance the UniFR part of the work. Each project team will submit a project proposal in the form of a max. 5 pages document, including, the scope of the project, the research gap to be addressed, the long-term benefit for each institution, a budget, a planning, and a plan for further financing after the Proof-Of-Concept phase. Any relevant material, such as results of preliminary studies, can be attached. As a matching fund call, this call is primarily addressed to projects gathering additional funding from other sources (intern Post or externally). Projects without matching funds can still be submitted.

The main criteria for ranking of the project proposals will be:

  • Importance of scientific gap and/or business relevance
  • Probability of additional funding in the future
  • Team diversity (Swiss Post/UniFR)

Submission process

  1. GET IN TOUCH

    Get in touch with the person of contact for your institution (UNIFR: Simon Ruffieux, Swiss Post: Giuliana Breu).

  2. SUBMIT A PROJECT SUMMARY

    Prepare a short paragraph outlining your project idea. Clearly describe the research gap and emphasize the expected benefits for both Swiss Post and the University of Fribourg.

  3. WAIT FOR PARTNER MATCHING:

    Be patient, identifying the right partner within the other institution may take some time.

  4. ALIGN THE PROJECT:

    Once a match is established, a joint meeting will be scheduled to align both parties on project goals, needs, and mutual interests.

  5. DRAFT THE FULL PROPOSAL:

    Collaborate with your partner to draft a full proposal using the official template provided.

  6. SUBMIT BEFORE THE DEADLINE:

    The deadlne is usually around October. See Call For Projects 2025 for more details.

Documents