Being engaged in both fundamental and applied research, the University of St.Gallen (HSG) boasts a broad spectrum of research activities and maintains close partnerships with business, industry and academic institutions around the world. Strategic cooperation projects with partners from practice are essential for HSG research. These collaborations offer scientists of varying experience level attractive research conditions in terms of direct knowledge transfer. Below you will find an overview of selected industry partners:
The Bosch Lab is a joint initiative of the Bosch Group, the University of St.Gallen (HSG), and ETH Zürich. The Bosch Lab was established in 2012 as the Bosch IoT Lab. The three partners consider this cooperation between science and practice to be an important cornerstone for exploring the unfolding opportunities offered by emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things and AI.
With its interdisciplinary research, the lab investigates how European product companies can thrive in a world of hardware, software, and service. More specifically, it examines how emerging technologies and corresponding business model innovation can create sustainable competitive advantage for these enterprises. In addition, the lab develops, implements, and evaluates smart, connected systems that have the potential to create a meaningful impact for the better.
The research spans multiple disciplines such as information systems, technology and innovation management, as well as applied computer science. The team closely collaborates with researchers and industry experts from domains such as health, mobility, and energy. The transdisciplinary results have been published in renowned journals including Information Systems Research, Nature Communications, and New England Journal of Medicine AI.
As part of the Institute of Technology Management, the lab is in close contact with local industry. Hence, the aim of the lab is also to create societal value for the Swiss workplace and its job-intensive manufacturing industry, particularly in the context of rapid change driven by digitalization.
The Hilti Lab for Integrated Performance Management is since 2013 a cooperation between HSG and Hilti AG with the aim of promoting knowledge transfer between science and practice. The focus of the lab is on deepening the understanding of the interrelationships between control systems and the behavior of actors in the entrepreneurial environment. The goal is to effectively integrate leadership behavior and control systems into goal-oriented management processes (Integrated Performance Management) to enable quantum leaps in organizational performance.
Through empirical research, innovation and knowledge transfer, the lab develops, designs and implements management models that make a significant contribution to improving the performance of cooperating partners.
Founded in 2009, the SBB Lab is a competence center for service and transport management between state and market at the IMP-HSG. Through research, teaching and practical projects, we contribute to the ability of pluralistic organizations to act in network industries with complex demands.
To this end, we develop the basis for the design of scope for action and development for companies and authorities through research, teaching and practical projects and have also been running the cross-institute HSG Center for Mobility since 2020. The management of the SBB-financed Research Fund has also been part of the mandate since 2009. This fund uses a competitive process to support research into current issues relating to Swiss transport that have been neglected in the Swiss or international context. Finally, the Lab's task also includes promoting young talent in the transport sector. To this end, we offer interested students the opportunity to study current transport management issues in depth as part of selected lectures and bachelor's/master’s and dissertation theses.
The University Act enables HSG to generate additional funds to complement basic public funding and tuition fees. The University is aware of the fact that cooperation with sponsors and companies must not affect the academic freedoms of teaching and research. It therefore accords great value to precise rules and contractual regulations, which safeguard the following central principles in particular:
You can find the HSG basic principles of self-financing in this document (only available in German language).