Meet the partners of the Microtech Booster, a program supported by InnoSuisse.
This year, we present you our 6 Booster partners. This month, it’s Bernat Palou‘s turn, director of the ARCM association, to introduce himself.
You are active in the NTN Innovation Microtech Booster steering committee. Can you introduce yourself ?
I am Bernat Palou, the director of ARCM, the Leading House of the Microtech Booster.
Native of Catalonia, Spain, I arrived in Switzerland 12 years ago and have two young children. Curious and open-minded, I am passionate about innovation and I like to undertake and bring people together. I also like to do sports, especially in the mountains.
What is your professional background ?
I studied industrial engineering at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona, completed with an exchange in Germany as part of the prestigious Unitech program, aimed at engineers wishing to develop themself in management.
After a semester at the Polytechnic University of Aachen and a 6-month internship at Schott AG in Mainz, I arrived in Switzerland at the end of 2010 to follow my partner who was finishing her studies at EPFL.
I started immediately at Innobridge, a small consulting company in technical innovation, spin-off of CSEM. I worked a lot to support CSEM start-ups like Osmotex and Xemtec, but also in consulting mandates for large groups.
In 2015, I joined the CSEM as a business developer, specialized in aerospace, aeronautics and life sciences applications. After 1 year, I accepted the challenge to take over TT-Novatech in order to launch ARCM. During this time, I continued to train myself, notably by following a course in strategic innovation at ESADE and several courses at Innopark-Yverdon.
In which company do you work ?
ARCM (Association de Recherche Communautaire des moyens de production Microtechniques) is a non-profit, neutral and independent association.
Its goal is to federate the actors of this industry in order to allow collaborative innovation in the region and to keep their competitiveness. ARCM coordinates collaborative projects carried out by experts (including UAS) and organizes discussion meetings for these members. Since its inception in 2017, we have grown to 80 members by 2021.
What position do you hold there ?
I hold the position of director.
In what area are you active ?
As mentioned above, we are active in microtechnical production means, as the name of the association indicates.
What are your services ?
We propose to federate our members in order to allow research and development sharing their costs, in order to make innovation accessible to all. We also want to encourage exchange and sharing between the players in the ecosystem.
What motivated you to become a Microtech Booster partner ?
The goal of the NTN Innovation Booster program and ARCM are very similar, so it was natural for ARCM to apply as a Leading House and program manager.
What are your wishes for the Microtech Booster ?
I would like the Microtech Booster to animate and federate all the Swiss microtechnology players in order to launch new project ideas that could become real innovations for the industry.
I also hope to see multidisciplinary and multi-regional work teams collaborating.
What do you expect from the Microtech Booster for your company ?
The recognition of the partners involved, as well as the possibility of hosting some of the projects at ARCM.
