Zurich MedNet is a medical/biotech cluster of the Winterthur Consortium and the Zurich Network.
	The Zurich region is “economic Switzerland,” strong in precision machining and medical devices, especially orthopedic devices.
	Switzerland is one of the countries studied by Michael Porter in The Competitive Advantage of Nations (1990).  It has a solid innovation infrastructure, a strong system of public education and significant capital resources, but it lacks a tradition of entrepreneurship.
	Zurich MedNet has engaged in its activities the Universities of Applied Science in Winterthur and Wadenswil and the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, which is spinning off biotech start-ups.
	The pioneering New Product Design and Business Development (NPDBD) program has been supported by Swiss companies and has graduated Swiss students.  The NPDBD program is a collaborative venture between the Carlson School of Management, the Departments of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, and sponsoring companies.  Teams of graduate engineering and business students and faculty along with company employees work to develop a working prototype of a new product and a business plan.
	Genesis Business Centers, under Harlan Jacobs, is the on-the-ground liaison for building the MBBNet – Zurich MedNet Link in Minnesota.