Our academic network

Collaborating with the world’s brightest minds


We understand the importance of collaboration to achieve true innovation. That’s why we partner with leading academic institutions around the world to advance sustainable construction.

Driving the next generation of decarbonized construction


At Holcim, we are working with a network of over an extended network of universities around the world. Working in a range of fields from civil engineering to sustainable construction and materials science, our academic network is an incubator for next-generation technologies. These collaborations help us expand our ranges of innovative, low-carbon building products and solutions on our path to net zero.

We are committed to making our collaboration mutually beneficial for our partner institutions and our business to benefit our industry and society as a whole. Each year we mentor more than 20 PhD students in sustainable design and construction. We are delighted to count some of these bright minds among our current employees, helping them turn their visionary innovations into a reality.
 

Learn more about our open innovation

Interested in joining our academic network?

We are continuously expanding our academic network and looking for innovative institutions to join us in building a progress for people and the planet.

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Successful collaborative projects

ETH Zurich: creating a low-carbon building lifecycle

We work in close collaboration with ETH Zurich to develop innovative ideas for sustainable construction solutions. Together with ETH, at the HiLo innovation unit in Switzerland, we developed a new lightweight floor system that reduces material use by 50% and embodied CO2 by up to 80%.

Building new opportunities with École des Ponts ParisTech

In 2006, together with the École des Ponts ParisTech and Fondation des Ponts in France, we founded a Chair for material science for sustainable construction. This partnership has since attracted 9 PhDs, over 30 interns and 5 new recruits to our Innovation Center in Lyon.

MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium

We are a founding member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Climate and Sustainability Consortium created in 2021. The group works to accelerate innovation by ensuring that technologies are invented, prototyped and implemented faster than ever before.

Reevaluating business performance with Oxford University

In partnership with the Oxford Saïd Business School, we are part of the Oxford Initiative on Rethinking Performance (ORP). The initiative targets applied research to improve business performance in the long term, focusing on management, accounting and reporting as the three key components of corporate purpose.

Holcim Foundation: uniting the world’s ambitious thinkers


The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction promotes thought leadership on topics like infrastructure space and re-materializing construction. We hold dynamic forums for established and budding architects, engineers, urban planners and construction specialists. The Foundation also presents awards for the most innovative sustainable construction projects.

Discover our partner institutions around the world