EPFL.

Entrepreneurial spirit, innovation and a quest for excellence and responsibility. These values have united EPFL and Lombard Odier for many years. 

In 2014, Fondation Lombard Odier created the Fondation Lombard Odier EPFL venture fund that enables the EPFL to instigate, finance and develop ambitious strategic initiatives without having to wait for funding from public sources, sponsors or private patronage. This fund is perfectly aligned with Lombard Odier's heritage expressed over its 200-year history: to strike a balance between preservation and growth, risk management and rewards.

As part of such seed funding, Fondation Lombard Odier supported the Venice Time Machine project, a visionary initiative involving researchers in the Humanities, Basic Science and Computer Science. Initiated by Professor Frederic Kaplan, leader of the EPFL’s Digital Humanities Lab, the Venice Time Machine project aims to build an interactive model of the city of Venice throughout its more than 1,000 years of history. Historical records, photos, maps, paintings and other objects from the State Archives and other important Venetian repositories have been made available for the scholarly community in a user-friendly database, with the potential to expand access to a larger audience.

More recently, Fondation Lombard Odier became a founding partner of the Center for Digital Trust (C4DT), a partnership between research, industry, the public sector and civil society to define and realise a common vision: re-inventing trust mechanisms that will contribute to prosperous, peaceful societies in the digital age. It is a hub that enables exchange, serves as a common think tank and facilitates collaboration between EPFL scientists to create impact through interdisciplinary research. In addition, C4DT is a centre of expertise that offers training sessions and streamlines knowledge and technology transfer.

Besides supporting the core costs of the centre, Fondation Lombard Odier finances a project developed by ICRC to digitise the search for missing persons from armed conflict and violence. Through its partnership, ICRC and EPFL have challenged themselves to analyse publicly available data to identify missing persons where conventional methods may have failed.

In March 2019, we took part in EPFL’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Our Lombard Odier Foundation sponsored the construction of an outdoor amphitheatre at the entrance of the southern campus. Christened the Agora Lombard Odier, it can accommodate up to 800 people. The opening ceremony was held on Place Maurice Cosandey, named after EPFL’s first president.