Zurich gets a center for the creative industry
Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) is establishing the Zurich Center for Creative Economies at its location in the Toni-Areal. The founding partner is Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB).
The Zurich Center for Creative Economies (ZCCE) is to become an internationally leading center of excellence in research, teaching and consulting. The ZHdK has been successfully positioning itself in this field for around 15 years. The ZKB is funding the initiative with a total of CHF 1.9 million over the next six years. This will enable existing ZHdK initiatives to be linked and a professorship, a senior fellowship program and support programs for start-ups and spin-offs at the interface between studies and the job market to be established.
If the ZCCE establishes itself successfully, the ZKB will support the university with further contributions of CHF 1 million until 2024. A prerequisite for this is that further partners and funding are acquired. The ZHdK asserts that the partnership between the ZKB and ZHdK "in no way impairs the freedom of teaching and research". Academic freedom has been contractually confirmed. The Zurich University of Applied Sciences Council has approved the collaboration.
The creative industries combine future-oriented sectors and form an important part of the labor market for ZHdK graduates. It is therefore of strategic importance to the university. With innovative companies and a dynamic start-up scene, Zurich is a national and international hotspot for the creative industries. Around a third of Swiss added value is created in the canton of Zurich.
