UniBE Digital Venture Fellowship 2027: Call for Proposals

The UniBE Digital Venture Fellowships are entering their 2nd round. Projects can be submitted until 18 September 2026. The program supports early-career researchers in turning their research results into innovative digital products or services with real-world application with up to CHF 100,000. The focus is on proof-of-concept development and preparing projects for further funding or market entry. With these fellowships, the University of Bern promotes the transfer of innovative research into society and the economy and supports academic entrepreneurship at the University of Bern, the Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and the University Psychiatric Services (UPD).

Grants & Awards

18. September 2026

PhD Defense: Simone Poncioni Advances Clinical Bone Strength Assessment Tools

On April 02, 2026, Simone Poncioni successfully defended his PhD thesis: “Improved Homogenised Finite Element Analysis for HR-pQCT-based Individual Fracture Risk Prediction.”

People MSB – Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Biomechanics

02. April 2026

Davide Scandella wins Falling Walls Western Switzerland Pitch Competition

With his pitch ‘Breaking the Wall of Tumour Margins in Surgery’, Davide Scandella, PhD Student with ARTORG’s Artificial Intelligence in Medical Imaging (AIMI) group, won this year’s Falling Walls Lab Western Switzerland pitch competition in Fribourg on April 21, moving on to the finale later this year.

Grants & Awards AIMI – AI in Medical Imaging Artificial Intelligence

23. April 2026

ARTORG Spin-Off TightValve receives Gebert Rüf Stiftung InnoBooster Grant + UniBE Venture Fellowship

TightValve, a MedTech spin-off of ARTORG’s Cardiovascular Engineering Group (CVE), is one of five recipients of the Gebert Rüf Stiftung’s InnoBooster Grant. TightValve’s CEO Lukas Glaus also received the University of Bern’s Innovation Office Venture Fellowship.

Grants & Awards CVE – Cardiovascular Engineering Surgical Technologies

13. April 2026

Interview with Polymechanic Fabio Spena

Fabio Spena began and completed his apprenticeship as a Polymechanic at the University of Bern in 2015. Today, he works in the ARTORG Center workshop—currently on a 60% contract, which allows him to pursue his vocational baccalaureate at the same time. In this interview (in German), he explains what makes working at the university special for him and why he values the close connection between the workshop and research so much.

People MDP – Mechanical Production Workshop

04. April 2026

PhD Defense: Ethan Dack Lays Groundwork for Clinically Meaningful AI Models

On March 17, 2026, Ethan Dack successfully defended his PhD thesis: “Developing Robust and Generalizable AI for Diagnostic Support Across Medical Imaging Modalities.”

People AIHN – AI in Health and Nutrition Artificial Intelligence

17. March 2026

DDM & ARTORG Join EU-Funded Doctoral Programmes Advancing AI in Healthcare

DDM and ARTORG Prof. Mauricio Reyes and his research group at the ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, are among the recipients awarded funding through the prestigious MSCA awards. The funded project will train 15 doctoral researchers, preparing them to become the next generation of translational AI scientists in radiotherapy.

Grants & Awards MIA – Medical Image Analysis Artificial Intelligence

01. April 2026

ARTORG & IMPLANZ receive Innosuisse Innovation Project Grant

The ARTORG Center and its spin-off company IMPLANZ AG receive an Innosuisse Innovation Project Award for a project aimed at advancing more predictable and scalable dental implant treatment.

Grants & Awards MSB – Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Artificial Intelligence Biomechanics

30. March 2026

Two ARTORG Research Groups receive BRIDGE Proof of Concept Grant

The ARTORG Center’s Gerontechnology and Rehabilitation (GER) and Organs-on-Chip Technologies (OOC) groups each receive a BRIDGE Proof of Concept grant, securing CHF 130,000 in funding for a researcher’s project for the coming year.

Grants & Awards GER – Gerontechnology & Rehabilitation OOC – Organs-on-Chip Technologies In-Vitro & Organs-on-Chip Rehabilitation & Neural Engineering

26. March 2026

Finally suitable language test for Swiss children

A Bernese research team – including Philipp Aebischer, Hearing Research Laboratory group head – is developing a new speech intelligibility test in the Swiss dialect and providing reliable data on the language comprehension of children aged four to seven years for the first time. Read more in the uniAKTUELL article (in German only).

Media Research HRL – Hearing Research Laboratory

05. March 2026

Inaugural Lecture PD Dr. Franca Schmid: The Brain's Vascular Wiring

We are pleased to invite you to a special academic event at the ARTORG Center. Join us on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, for the inaugural lecture of CVE group member PD Dr. Franca Schmid: “The Brain’s Vascular Wiring: How Network Topology Enables Function and Fails in Disease.”

Events CVE – Cardiovascular Engineering Biomechanics

11. March 2026

Annual Report 2025

Our Annual Report 2025 is available now! Read what our 13 specialized research groups were working on last year, what we have achieved in our commitment to advance healthcare innovation and check out our 18 graduates who defended their PhD thesis in 2025!

Media Research AIHN – AI in Health and Nutrition AIMI – AI in Medical Imaging ARSL – Acoustic Robotics Systems Lab CBE – Computational Bioengineering CVE – Cardiovascular Engineering GER – Gerontechnology & Rehabilitation HRL – Hearing Research Laboratory MDP – Mechanical Production Workshop MIA – Medical Image Analysis MSB – Musculoskeletal Biomechanics MSL – Medical Sensing Laboratory NRG – Neuro Robotics Group OOC – Organs-on-Chip Technologies UGE – Urogenital Engineering

02. March 2026

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