EPFL a partner of choice for the watch industry
The watch industry turns regularly to Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne (EPFL) to feed its appetite for innovations in microtechnology and materials. More importantly though, companies see the school and its graduates as providing a highly-qualified workforce.
Louis Nardin / BIPH
"Would you know of a good engineer who’s looking for work?" It’s a question watch companies often ask Michel Rappaz, Professor of materials science at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). "EPFL is a recruiting ground for the watch industry," he observes. "Many former students and doctoral candidates have been hired by brands. In fact I’m currently supervising a thesis that’s been written in a Manufacture. Generally speaking, we always try to involve our students in ongoing projects as this enables them to forge links with potential future employers." The school’s first role then, before offering its services in research, is to provide skilled professionals. Which is what the watch industry wants. "A director of a prestigious firm once confided in me that his greatest need was for well-trained staff," recalls Professor Rappaz.
Building partnerships
Brands and contractors regularly call on the school’s competencies. Breitling, Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Asulab, Swatch Group’s R&D laboratory, are just some of the companies to commission the different departments. Materials science, a sector with huge implications for watchmaking, receives numerous requests while the microtechnology department is in demand for ways to improve manufacturing processes. "We look to develop long-term collaborations, two to three years on average," explains Nicolas Henchoz, communications delegate for EPFL’s presidency. "With this in mind, we encourage partnerships between the school and the client that will allow us to take research as far as possible. This merging of skills benefits both parties. We also accept specific contracts, which generally last less than a year."
Depending on the type of agreement, the results of this research will either be 100% owned by the client or can be published, with fees payable according to the partnership terms. At EPFL, contracts are drafted by the school’s industrial relations department. "When working with large companies which can be involved in projects with several institutes at once, we draw up framework agreements which define, for example, questions of intellectual property. This way we simplify the process and avoid having to renegotiate the entire contract each time," says Gabriel Clerc who heads the department. Discretion is the rule, meaning nothing is disclosed as to the amounts involved, or the number or type of projects in progress.
In contrast, the amount put forward by Rolex for the construction of the new EPFL Learning Center, scheduled to open in October 2009, is a secret for no one. The brand has agreed to shoulder around half the total cost of CHF 100 million.
The Alliance programme
In order to strengthen relations between academia and industry, a new structure, the Alliance industrial liaison programme, was set up at end 2006. As an association of specialist hautes écoles and universities in French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland together with key industrial players such as Swissmem, Alliance plays the role of intermediary. "We aim to develop technology transfers between companies and researchers," explains the programme’s director Roland Luthier. "When a company contacts us, we advise them and steer them towards the best research centre for their needs. Our proactive strategy aims to encourage industry to see schools as natural partners. And the schools benefit by becoming partners rather than competitors." This specialised programme, which is set to grow, received a handful of requests last year from the watch sector. ■
