It all began over five years ago. Aarau was among the first smaller cities in Switzerland to launch a Smart City initiative. We were asked, as amplilabs, to participate in the process and became part of the team that put together the concept for Aarau. Our focus was on building an Open Innovation System for the city. We watched closely (and somewhat patiently) as the initiative went through the usual multi-level approval process. The first big celebration came in 2020 when the Konzept and budget were approved. However, words on paper are one thing… doing is a whole other can of worms.
Fast forward to 2023. The time to DO has come. The focus in 2023 was to start building a network of interested parties, define a broad vision, and do some initial activities to get us started. 2024 is dedicated to following through with initiatives, learning from them, and building upon them. Stay tuned for more information on the Think-a-Thons we are organizing this year, the growth of an amazing Startup Community, and our first brick-and-mortar location in the AKB Lab! For more information or to get involved, check out the links below.
We at amplilabs are over the moon about what is happening and what is to come. We are also eternally grateful to be a part of the team making this happen. We thank the City of Aarau and Aarau Standortföderung for bringing us into the project and co-creation efforts. We can’t wait to see what we will as a growing community create in the next few years!