Fellows

DSI Fellows are researchers from universities around the world who work with a DSI Community. The DSI Fellowship Program aims to promote interdisciplinary collaboration on all issues related to the impact of the digital transformation.

Dr. Zhuo Lin will work as a Fellow of the DSI Community Work from mid-March to mid-May 2026.

Zhuo received his PhD in Management from the University of Cincinnati. During his time as a DSI Fellow, he will work on a research project on founders of failed tech startups. Tech startups play a vital role in enabling digital transformation by developing and spreading new technology. Zurich, in particular, hosts the largest startup community in Switzerland with over 800 startups. Yet, the majority of startups ultimately fail (Ucbasaran et al., 2012). Despite this, many founders go on to launch new ventures after a failure (Lafontaine & Shaw, 2016). This raises an important question: how can entrepreneurs improve their chances of future success?

Zhuo’s ongoing research, in collaboration with Huimiao Zheng and Becca Arwine (University of Cincinnati), focuses on one critical factor: founders’ ability to communicate their learnings from failure to potential investors. Research shows that investors favor founders whose company's failure results from external circumstances rather than a lack of skill (Zunino et al., 2022). However, it remains unclear how founders can persuade potential investors that they can use lessons learned from failure to perform better in their next venture. By exploring how entrepreneurs communicate their learnings, this research seeks to identify ways to improve entrepreneurial resilience and long-term success, and ultimately contribute to digital transformation by enabling more innovative startups to thrive in the tech industry.

Dr. María Vasquez Callo-Müller will work as a Fellow of the DSI Community AI & Laq from May to December 2026.

María is a legal academic and expert consultant specialising in digital trade, intellectual property, and AI governance. As a DSI Fellow of the DSI Community AI & Law, she brings extensive experience advising governments and international organisations on digital trade and data policy, including the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Policy Support Unit, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ). She is the author of Intellectual Property in the Age of AI: Data, Copyright and Trade Secrets (Edward Elgar, 2026). María holds a PhD in Law from the University of Bern, an LL.M. from the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition (Munich), and a Master of Advanced Studies in International Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute, University of Bern. She is admitted to practice law in Peru.

During her time at the DSI, María will research digital trade in the context of AI. The current digital trade framework – largely reflected in trade agreements – risks becoming insufficient as societies and economies adapt to the AI era and governments shift toward a more securitised geopolitical landscape. Her research situates digital trade at the intersection of AI-driven technological change and current geopolitical dynamics, aiming to contribute to policy discussions on how digital trade frameworks can remain effective and adaptive. 

Here you find an overview of former Fellows.