Schwarzwälder Gründergeist: Strengthening start-ups through networking

Start-ups are an essential part of technology transfer, ensuring that inventions and ideas developed at universities benefit the economy and society. “With the latest scientific findings and inventions, we contribute to solving societal problems. That is why we are committed to an innovation ecosystem in which universities, politics and industry work closely together,” says Prof. Dr. Stefan Rensing, Vice Rector for Research and Innovation at the University of Freiburg.

Three universities contribute their individual strengths

The Black Forest Startup Spirit is one of six start-up networks, the INSPIRE BW Hubs, which are funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts. Together with the Universities of Furtwangen and Offenburg, the University of Freiburg aims to improve the start-up culture at universities, create more visibility for start-ups founded by women and strengthen the region as a hub for start-ups. All three universities contribute their own perspectives and strengths to promote start-ups in the Black Forest, a region that has not been strongly associated with start-ups to date. As a result, a low-threshold approach is key to the initiative. The services offered by the Black Forest Startup Spiritare open to everyone, whether students with no prior knowledge or research teams that have already gained experience in technology transfer.

NXTGN summer tour: Exchange between politics, academia and entrepreneurs

The importance of this work was demonstrated at the beginning of August when the NXTGN summer tour stopped at the University of Freiburg. NXTGN is one of the EXIST Startup Factories funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. With a delegation of politicians, the initiative is visiting five of the six INSPIRE BW hubs. Project participants from Black Forest Startup Spiritorganised an event focusing on networking between the various players. Policymakers, representatives from academia, businesses and start-ups came together at the venue. “The exchange showed that the region has great start-up potential that has not yet been fully exploited. There are also a large number of offers, but these need to be coordinated better,” says Dr. Katharina Engel, project manager of the Black Forest Startup Spirit. The same applies to cooperation between all players in the regional innovation ecosystem. In order to make better use of such synergies, Black Forest Startup Spiritwants to start with the networking event, which serves as a good basis through new contacts, positive discussions and valuable ideas.