The public award ceremony will take place on 12 November. The two winning innovation projects will be awarded during the Swiss AgeTech Conference in Zurich. Additionally, all winning and shortlist projects will have the opportunity to present their innovation with a stand. More detail can be found under Swiss AgeTech Konferenz 2026.

Each winning team (one social and one technological innovation) will receive: 

• Consultancy voucher 

  Margerite, the AgeTech consulting company, is offering each winning project a consulting voucher. This can be redeemed, for example, for a product review or a compact design sprint workshop (e.g., for further development of the product / idea). Equivalent value: 3500. 

• Collaboration voucher 

  The IAF Institute for Ageing Research provides each winning project with a cooperation voucher. This can be redeemed, for example, for a (co-creation) workshop with the target group / stakeholders, a short study, or a joint project proposal. The scope of a (co-creation) workshop or study includes preparation (including recruitment), implementation, evaluation, and documentation; implementation is carried out by experienced scientific staff. Equivalent value: CHF 4,000 

• Professionally produced video 

  Each winning project will receive a professionally produced video for their innovation project sponsored by the IAF Institute for Ageing Research. Equivalent value: CHF 2,000 

• Presentation and networking opportunities 

  The winning projects will present their innovations at the public award ceremony during the Swiss AgeTech Conference in Zurich. 

In addition, the winning teams and all shortlisted projects will receive a pitch coaching from the City of Zurich and have the opportunity to present their innovations at a stand at the Swiss AgeTech Conference, where they will benefit from networking and discussion opportunities. Where possible and subject to availability, they will gain access to the network of partners, sponsors and the jury; in particular, opportunities for discussion will be utilised during planned events. 

The jury selects the two winning teams of the  Age Innovation Prize  according to the selection criteria and consists of experts from the sectors of industry, innovation, social services, and public services. The list of jury members can be found in the section Jury on the Age Innovation Prize 2026 . 

To be eligible, submissions must meet the following conditions:

• Deadlines according to the application period are met.
• Submissions must be complete and submitted in English.
  (Submissions in German, French, or Italian will be translated into English using AI tools. The organizing team accepts no liability for any inaccuracies in the translation.)
• The innovation project must be based in Switzerland. Only Swiss innovation projects (Swiss nationality or Swiss place of work of at least one person significantly involved in the submitted innovation project) will be considered for this call.
• The innovation project addresses a technological or social innovation with a focus on people aged 60+ and addresses needs, challenges, or opportunities in later life. It addresses at least one urgent age-related need (e.g., independence, social participation, quality of life, health).

The innovation project (a project idea, innovative project, start-up, or product) must address at least one urgent age-related need, e.g., in the areas of independence, social inclusion, quality of life, or health. Applicants explain in their answers and documentation how their innovation project addresses the selected area.

The application must consider the following four selection criteria and describe how the submitted innovation project already meets them or intends to meet them in the future:

Relevance and Impact

• How does your innovation project use technology or social solutions to address specific needs and challenges faced by aging populations?
• What potential impact do you anticipate, e.g., on improving the independence, social inclusion, quality of life, or health outcomes of older adults?

Innovativeness and Uniqueness

• What makes your innovation project unique and innovative?
• How does it introduce novel approaches, methodologies, or technologies to address specific needs and challenges faced by older people?

Feasibility and Sustainability

• Please outline the (technical) feasibility, economic viability or social sustainability, and practicality of your innovation project at its current stage, including any challenges or barriers you anticipate and your strategy for overcoming them.
• What challenges do you anticipate and how do you plan to address them?

User-Centric / Participatory Design

• How does your innovation project prioritize the preferences, abilities, and limitations of older adults in its design and / or implementation, considering factors such as usability, accessibility, and user feedback?
• Please provide examples of how you have incorporated user-centered design principles (for technological innovation) or participatory design principles (for social innovation) into your project.

Applications will only be accepted via the official form on the registration page. No other applications will be considered.

The application consists of two parts:

1. A fully completed form on the on the Age Innovation Prize 2026 registration page and
2. the supplementary «pitch deck» document.

The innovation project is to be presented as briefly and concisely as possible in the «pitch deck». No more than five A4 pages may be used for this purpose. The document should include the following points:

• Cover sheet (e.g., name of the innovation project, contact details, introduction of team/founders)
• Initial situation and solution (e.g., problem definition, research object, hypothesis, need, working methodology and procedure)
• Presentation of the innovation project (e.g., features, added value, impact, development maturity, milestones, market launch)

Optionally, the «pitch deck» can elaborate on the selection criteria or the innovation area.

The «pitch deck» can be created in PowerPoint or Word and uploaded directly via the registration form as a PDF (or in its original format).

After the initial evaluation of all innovation projects, the jury will select a shortlist. These projects will have the opportunity to live pitch on-site in Zurich in front of the jury end on 2 September 2026. More details on the exact time and location will be provided in due course. Please make sure someone from your team is available on that day.

Each project is allocated 20 minutes, consisting of a 5–7-minute presentation and 13–15-minutes of questions and answers. Prepare the key messages of your innovation concisely and keep an eye on the time.

All deadlines and dates mentioned are mandatory. For reasons of force majeure (namely events or actions beyond the control of the Age Innovation Prize), the call may be cancelled or carried out in another form, and dates or locations may be changed. Events and programs as well as exchanges with the network will be initiated as and when possible - they are not part of the guaranteed basic services for the nominees.

No travel or transport costs will be reimbursed.

Marketing and communication
The costs of official communication and marketing measures and any other activities such as events and supporting programs will be borne by the Age Innovation Prize sponsors and the participating parties.

An image for the winning projects of the Age Innovation Prize 2026 can be provided by the IAF. This image is not a trademarked logo.

Intellectual property
The rights to use submitted materials are transferred to the Age Innovation Prize for all communicative measures free of charge, e.g., LinkedIn posts, media announcements.