What ETH Student Project House does

ETH Student Project House (SPH) is a university-affiliated innovation facility operated by ETH Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland, founded in 2016 to provide extracurricular maker and project infrastructure for ETH students. The organization operates four physical locations across two campuses (Zentrum and Hönggerberg), including a five-floor Makerspace with Digital Fabrication, Electronics, Textile, and Open Studio areas, a dedicated Metal Studio, a Wood Studio, and a biosafety level 1 Life Science Lab. Core offerings include makerspace access, project support coaching (seven coaches), events and workshops, a materials shop, and progressive onboarding through events such as Open Days where 1,377 students attended in 2025.

The technology stack is built around professional-grade fabrication equipment — FDM and DLP 3D printing (Prusa Mk4S and Prusa SL1), laser cutting, CNC machining, PCB milling, electronics prototyping, and life science instrumentation — with the notable digital addition of Andy Pawsibility, an LLM-powered chatbot launched September 2025 that uses text and image generation to route students to appropriate SPH services. The Digital Makerspace further supports student-led AI, AR, VR, IoT, and app development. SPH engaged 3,300+ Makers & Innovators in 2025 and has supported 616 projects over its 10-year history, with 113 active and 122 alumni projects currently listed.

The business model is non-commercial: SPH is funded through a 50:50 split between ETH Zurich institutional funding and philanthropic support from donors and sponsors. Machine access is free for ETH students; revenue comes only from cost-recovery materials sales (PLA at 0.05 CHF/g, resin at CHF 2 base plus 0.15 CHF/g) and a minor expert services fee (CHF 40 per hour for personal-material laser cutting). The customer base is exclusively ETH Zurich students, with geographic restrictions explicitly excluding postdocs, ETH staff, EPFL, and UZH students from Makerspace access. Recent strategic moves include the September 2025 Andy Pawsibility launch, the May 2026 HSG partnership announcement, and a formal leadership transition to Dr. Lucie Rejman.

Name

ETH Student Project House

Legal name

ETH Student Project House

Website

https://sph.ethz.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ETH Student Project House is a university-affiliated innovation facility at ETH Zurich that provides free extracurricular maker, life science, and digital fabrication infrastructure exclusively to ETH students across four campus locations in Zurich.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Maker Space Services

akta.pro primary industry

Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming) (EDAEAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios) (EDAMADAC), Maker / DIY Electronics & Physical Computing Platforms (EDAFANAC)

Keywords

• Student innovation hub
• Maker space services
• Life science laboratory
• Digital fabrication tools
• Extracurricular project support

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding: 50:50 funding split between ETH Zurich and philanthropic support from donors and sponsors. The space operates as a university-supported initiative with external charitable contributions.
2. Materials Sales: Students pay for materials consumed (filament, resin, wood, metal, PCBs) at cost. Machine usage is free; only material costs are charged.
3. Expert Services (Minor): Fee-based expert assistance for personal material cutting on laser cutter (CHF 40/hour credits), available via chatbot booking.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ETH Student Project House (SPH) is a physical maker-innovation facility operated by ETH Zurich that provides students with free access to professional-grade maker equipment, including a multi-location Makerspace (Digital Fabrication, Electronics, Metal, IoT, Textile, and Wood studios), a biosafety level 1 Life Science Lab, project coaching from seven dedicated coaches, and community events and workshops. SPH supplements its physical facilities with Andy Pawsibility, an AI chatbot that routes students to appropriate resources, and a Materials Shop where students purchase consumables at cost.

Product overview

ETH Student Project House operates as a physical maker-innovation hub for ETH Zurich students, offering a multi-location ecosystem centered around its Makerspace & Lab facilities. The core offering includes open makerspace studios (Digital Fabrication, Electronics, Metal, IoT, Textile, Wood), a Life Science Lab (biosafety level 1), and a Digital Makerspace (AI, AR, VR, IoT). These physical facilities are supported by Project Support coaching services, Events & Workshops programming, and Materials Shop access. A notable digital innovation is Andy Pawsibility, an AI chatbot that serves as an entry point to guide students toward appropriate SPH resources. The organization celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2026 and has supported over 3,300 Makers & Innovators in 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Makerspace & Lab

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,300+ student makers engaged in 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core, growth and support.

• ETH ZurichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore institutional partner providing 50% of SPH funding. ETH Rector Günther Dissertori serves as Patron and officially opened the 10-year anniversary celebration, acknowledging the founding team and highlighting SPH's unique mindset of making things happen before knowing exactly how.
• University of St. Gallen (HSG)growthStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint collaboration announced at 10-year anniversary for future expansion. Currently hiring Innovation Catalyst for HSG ETH Student Project House in St. Gallen.
• BioIncubate ProgramsupportStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent-run incubation program supporting biotech and life science projects. Multiple SPH projects (Fempatch, hephaistos.bio, Parallelized Microfluidics, Smart WC) have participated in BioIncubate Ignite and Forge Track programs.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TU Delft Maker Space: University-hosted makerspace at TU Delft providing students with 3D printing, laser cutting, electronics, and woodworking facilities. Comparable as a leading European university makerspace offering free tool access and project coaching to enrolled students.
• Stanford Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school): Stanford's design thinking and innovation studio that supports student-led project work through dedicated physical space, coaching, and maker resources. Directly comparable as a university-hosted makerspace/innovation lab serving students with tools and mentorship.
• Fab Foundation: Global non-profit that supports the Fab Lab network of digital fabrication makerspaces. Directly comparable as both operate shared maker facilities with 3D printing, laser cutting, electronics, and life-science-adjacent equipment for educational use.
• UCL Engineering Makerspace: University College London's student-facing makerspace providing 3D printing, laser cutting, and electronics prototyping. Comparable as another UK university makerspace with a free-access, student-restricted model and integrated project support.
• EPFL Co-create and Makerspaces: EPFL's portfolio of student makerspaces, fab labs, and co-creation spaces serving Swiss university students with digital fabrication and prototyping tools. Directly comparable as a fellow Swiss federal-university innovation hub with shared equipment and project support.
• Carnegie Mellon University Makerspaces: CMU's distributed university makerspaces including Tech Spark and the Maker Ecosystem. Comparable as a research-university maker network offering fabrication tools, electronics, and project support to students across disciplines.
• Imperial College Advanced Hackspace: Imperial College London's student makerspace offering 3D printing, laser cutting, electronics, and project mentorship. Comparable as a top-tier European university innovation facility with similar free-access model and dedicated coaching staff.

Others

• ETH Zürich D-INFK: ETH Zurich's Department of Computer Science, which hosts adjacent AI/AR/VR/IoT student initiatives overlapping with SPH's Digital Makerspace. Comparable as a sibling ETH unit that shares the same student population and complements SPH's digital fabrication offerings.
• BioIncubate (ETH): Student-run biotech incubation program at ETH that has supported multiple SPH life-science projects. Comparable as an adjacent, ecosystem-enabling partner program within ETH that channels SPH life-science projects toward commercialization.

Broad incumbents

• MIT Media Lab: University-affiliated research lab at MIT that operates physical maker/innovation spaces and supports cross-disciplinary student projects. Comparable as a flagship university innovation hub offering tool access and project mentorship, though broader in research scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/studentprojecthouse

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ETH Student Project House