Past Life Science Days
Zurich Life Science Day – Where you meet industry
The flagship event of our network is the annual Zurich Life Science Day (ZLSD).
ZLSD epitomises our mission to reduce the existing gap between academic research and the life science industry. The event brings together more than 1500 life scientists and dozens of companies each year.
Held since 2010, the central format of ZLSD is the program of talks given by representatives of various companies from diverse fields of industry. Talks aim to provide career advice to attendees and to expose a broad range of opportunities. To further encourage the career development of students, one-on-one meetings with selected companies and CV checks also feature in the programme. Moreover, the central venue of the Irchel Lichthof is turned into a company exhibition fair with booths from local and international pharmaceutical, biotech, consulting and start-up companies available to interact with students; answering questions and sharing about the company. On occasion, the company exhibition has been the sparking point for a conversation between a company and a student that lead to the student joining the company later on, successfully bridging the gap between academics and industry in a very literal way!
Another exciting feature of the ZLSD has been the key-note opening lecture, given by a high-profile scientist, sharing about their personal career development. Past speakers have included Nobel Laureates Prof. Dr. Tim Hunt (cell-cycle), successful corporate executive Prof. Dr. Paul Herrling (Novartis), Prof. Dr Martin Chalfie (GFP).