People
Jeremia Geiger
OPERATIONS | INNOVATION CONSULTANT
Education – MSc ETH in Mechanical Engineering | BEng in Production Management
Skills – Innovation Consulting | Software dev. | CAD | Rapid Prototyping | DesignThinking
Languages – German (native) | English (business) | Turkish (advanced) | Thai (basic)
I grew up in an entrepreneurial environment with two industrial family enterprises. This both prepared the ground for a higher education in mechanical engineering and shaped my understanding of industrial processes and challenges. Since my first full-time employment in 2015, however, I have discovered my passion for innovation.
My expertise is leading ambitious multidisciplinary engineering teams, with skills ranging from product design, software development and data-science to moderating, public speaking and presenting. In my spare time I enjoy trail running and traveling the globe.
Claas Ehmke
CONSULTANT
PhD Candidate at Multi-Scale Robotics Lab at ETH Zurich
Education – MSc ETH in Robotics, Systems, and Control | BSc in Electrical Engineering
Skills – Electronics expert | software dev. | data science & machine learning | CAD | PCB design
Languages – German (native) | English (business)
Born with a deep curiosity and passion for engineering challenges, Claas developed his first robotic system when still a high-school student. His inventor's mindset led him through many successful projects, following a highly developed intuition towards innovative solutions. He is an expert in electrical engineering, with strong hands-on hard- and software skills and an affinity to medical technology and autonomous systems.
Claas is that kind of inventor who seeks challenges and opportunities on all levels, skilfully juggling with multiple projects simultaneously, while never getting tired of leveraging his engineering skills to create handy tools that make our everyday-life easier. Mindful of a balanced life-style, in his leisure time he enjoys cooking delicious meals, as well as sports and hiking in the beautiful Swiss Alps.
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Philipp Kopp
ADVISOR
Development Team Lead at Align Technology
Education – MSc ETH in Robotics, Systems and Control | BEng in Mechatronics
Skills – Software development, computer vision and machine learning expert
Languages – German (native) | English (business)
With entrepreneurial drive winged by a truly critical mind and strong deep tech skills, Philipp is a natural leader. For those who work with him he is an abundant source of inspiration and empowerment. His sense for opportunity, an impartial curiosity to explore the boundaries of what's possible, and a deep passion for novel technologies have been the cornerstones of Philipp's career. Before commencing graduate studies, he already co-founded his first deep tech startup in the fast-paced field of computer vision and machine learning.
Since his teenage years, Philipp has been into martial arts and kickboxing. But if he ever takes a break from his ambitious work or hobbies, you will find him in travel mode, exploring new territories around the world.
Jasan Zughaibi
HONORARY ADVISOR
PhD Candidate at ETH Zurich & MPI for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany
Education – MSc ETH in Robotics, Systems and Control | BSc in Physics Engineering
Skills – Control and systems engineering expert
Languages – German (native) | English (business) | Arabic (bilingual)
Jasan is an expert in the various topics of control theory and its applications. He is an experienced system engineer with a portfolio of awarded projects in robotics. Driven by a deep curiosity about complex dynamic systems, his engineering skills cover the various disciplines of robotics. Jasan is currently pursuing his PhD in a collaboration of Multi-Scale Robotics Lab at ETH Zurich and Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Tübingen, Germany.
Being a passionate hobby photographer and adventurous mountaineer, he enjoys most of his spare time outdoors in the Swiss mountains.
« We build too many walls and not enough bridges. »
Isaac Newton
About Us
PAPAIA Organization
As an organization, we are inspired by the concept of evolutionary and in particular Teal Organizations, as described and by Frederic Laloux in his best selling book Reinventing Organizations. The following quote from the book illustrates our approach to operations and management:
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“When trust is extended, it breeds responsibility in return. Emulation and peer pressure regulates the system better than hierarchy ever could. (...) In a forest, there is no master tree that plans and dictates change when rain fails to fall or when the spring comes early. The whole ecosystem reacts creatively, in the moment.”
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We build on trust and fundamental agreements, operating as responsible peers while following the paradigm of self-organization.
« Extraordinary things begin to happen, when we dare to bring all of who we are to work. »
Frederic Laloux
About Us
PAPAIA is a Teal Organization
As an organization, we are inspired by the concept of Teal Organizations, as described and by Frederic Laloux in his best selling book Reinventing Organizations. The following quote from the book illustrate our approach to operations and management:
​
“When trust is extended, it breeds responsibility in return. Emulation and peer pressure regulates the system better than hierarchy ever could. (...) In a forest, there is no master tree that plans and dictates change when rain fails to fall or when the spring comes early. The whole ecosystem reacts creatively, in the moment.”
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We build on trust and fundamental agreements, operating as responsible peers in the absence of a classical hierarchy.
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« Extraordinary things begin to happen, when we dare to bring all of who we are to work. »
Frederic Laloux
Our assets
Expert
Engineering
We combine expertise in the agile development of high-technology products. Our combined expertise becomes holistic, spanning across the various disciplines of robotics and mechatronic systems engineering: mechanics and design, electronics and signal processing, systems and control, software and apps, machine learning and AI, and their applications in IoT settings.
Experienced
Teamwork
As a team, we perform as a single team body – all driven by passion and dedicated to excellence. In our approach to tackle technology and development challenges, we combine strong theoretical foundations with a very hands-on solution driven mindset and strong skills in rapid prototyping.
Vibrant
Ecosystem
Switzerland has continuously been ranked as the most innovative economy on the planet [WIPO]. Deeply rooted in the Zurich technology ecosystem, we are part of a vibrant hub of innovation and network of ambitious people. Where bold ideas meet highest expertise in the various academic research institutes and a well established technology industry.
« You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. »
Arabic proverb
« .لن تكون قادراً على قطع المØيط إذا لم يكن لديك الشجاعة أن تخسر مرآى الشاطئ »
Arabic proverb
Our journey ...
... begins back in early 2020, in the first weeks of the global crisis evolving around Covid-19. We were working on a remote controller solution for ventilators, serving patients and ICU personnel in hospitals around the globe.
In a team of six graduate students at ETH Zurich, joining forces and working together in close collaboration with a major industry player, operating at the forefront of medical equipment.
The empowering feedback we received in combination with the contacts growing out of this fruitful collaboration, led the path to a first development contract with Zurich based healthcare startup Gerisana Care. Others quickly followed.
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« Talent wins games,
but teamwork and intelligence win championships. »
Michael Jordan
How we work
The Four Agreements
Our mode of working is marked by our four fundamental agreements of blind trust, excellent expertise, transparent communication, and strong commitment. We developed them to an equal extent and brought them to a high level throughout many successful projects. The agreements enable us to play out great teamwork.
Blind trust – we trust each other blindly. Like the players in a football team, we know if we hit the ball in a certain direction, who will be there to take it and push forward in the best way possible towards the goal. We see trust not as a skill, but an attitude. And this too one can develop.
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Excellent expertise and skill – sharpened by years of experience in diverse settings, in corporate or academic environments, all of us excel in their disciplines. Each one of us led and contributed to highly distinguished and awarded projects. For reference, check out the links in the short profiles section below.
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Transparent communication – has internal and external aspects. Internally we cherish an open feedback culture. We say what we think. And we challenge when we doubt. Externally we likewise support a culture of open communication across levels of hierarchy and personal preferences. We act according to needs and mutual objectives, not by any hidden agenda.
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Strong commitment and ambition – are the driving forces of our endurance towards success. Have you ever wondered about why certain activities are just fun and leave us with a feeling of joy and contentment, while others drain our resources and make us want run away? We believe a secret key to this riddle is following our passion. We respect feelings for what they are and use them as guides on our way towards success. We are united in a strong commitment to creating novel solutions for challenging problems that serve a sustainable purpose.
All associated members of our Papaia collective pursue their individual career paths and are in regular employment with external companies or public research organisations. We founded Papaia in early 2022 as a container to continue our success stories and serving a wider range of clients.
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Our Mission
Our ambition is excellence in service for our clients.
Our vision is not flooding the planet and its markets with new products and services, but help our clients excel in their business operations – driven by our understanding that innovation very often appears to be a natural result of a journey, where we simply let go of any tension and barrier standing between us and our boldest imaginations.
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We learned that the innovation challenge often boils down to those of human relationship. This is why in our work we focus on building trust between all actors as a foundation for any enterprise we undertake.
Building on trust, our mission is to empower our clients' own innovative strength, spreading the spirit of open collaborative creation.
Our Vision
Joining forces and uniting our strengths, we intend Papaia to continue developing into a hub with a threefold vision:
Short-term. A platform for an ambitious team to tackle challenging problems.
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Mid-term. A cradle for novel promising project ideas.
Long-term. A renowned reference for how to approach the world's most pressing challenges, regarding technology, society, and the environment.
Our Commitment
All of us at Papaia share a deep sense of responsibility for the planet, human kind, and all living beings, including animal and plant life, and biodiversity as a whole. With our work we intend to act accordingly. This attitude reflects on our own business strategy, our operations and how we direct our cashflows.