Ten years ago, Zurich University of the Arts created an incubator for the arts and design. What began as an outgrowth of the research project "Cultural Entrepreneurship" became, in 2016, a dedicated support centre for creative practitioners: the Z-Kubator. The decision to invest systematically in the entrepreneurial potential of artists and designers was anything but obvious at the time. Today, looking at what this small team has achieved in a single decade, I can say with conviction: it was one of the most forward-looking decisions this institution has made.

As an artist myself, someone who studied painting and has experienced firsthand the tension between creative practice and economic reality, I know how essential it is for arts graduates to find their own path into professional life.

ZHdK graduates are in demand across a wide range of fields – as designers, cultural entrepreneurs, curators, founders, and creative leaders. What we see in the Z-Kubator's alumni network is living proof of this.

The creative industries are an enormously significant economic force. According to the Zurich Centre for Creative Economies, roughly every eighth employed person in Switzerland works in the creative economy. Zurich is Switzerland's creative capital: nearly one in three of the country's creative-industries jobs are located in the canton, and almost every fourth business in the city operates in the creative industries. In addition to this, a significant portion of creatives are embedded in other industries. The Z-Kubator plays a vital role in helping our graduates claim their place in this ecosystem.

Over the past ten years, the Z-Kubator has supported over 1,200 ZHdK members and alumni. The coaching and support programmes have stimulated approximately CHF 2.5 million in alumni fundraising, and seen its alumni launch professional activities in nineteen countries on four continents. The first-ever Minor in Entrepreneurial Thinking and Practice at a Swiss arts university, launched in 2024, is a direct outcome of the pioneering work done by the Z-Kubator team.

None of this would have been possible without the sustained commitment of our partners. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Zürcher Kantonalbank, our principal partner, whose generous and continuous support has been instrumental from the earliest days. Equally, the City of Zurich and the Righini Fries Foundation have been essential pillars of this work.

I believe that universities are increasingly becoming places of encounter – a third space alongside the workplace and the home, where social experience and intellectual exchange take on a particular intensity. The Z-Kubator embodies this idea. It is a space where artistic vision meets entrepreneurial thinking, where disciplines converge, and where graduates are empowered to shape their own futures.

This publication celebrates a first decade. It also marks the beginning of the next chapter.