The start-up engine at the discussion event at the Baden-Württemberg State Representation in Berlin. Science Minister Petra Olschowski: "Baden-Württemberg offers the best conditions for innovative start-ups and spin-offs. With new funding for start-up hubs, we are reaching a new level". The strongest universities in the south-west are joining forces with Gründermotor.
Progressive climate change, the energy crisis and the changing labour market are presenting society with major challenges - innovations are more urgent than ever. Start-ups and spin-offs from the world of science make it possible to transform research results into marketable innovations much more quickly. The potential for this is particularly high in Baden-Württemberg with its strong science and research landscape - but it is far from exhausted. The Ministry of Science is therefore stepping up its commitment once again, as Minister Petra Olschowski announced today (21 September) in Berlin.
"Four universities from Baden-Württemberg are among the top 20 German universities with the highest number of spin-offs, second, third and fifth place in the group of medium-sized universities in the current start-up radar of the Stifterverband der Deutschen Wirtschaft - Baden-Württemberg obviously already offers the best conditions for innovative start-ups and spin-offs. Nevertheless, we want to further strengthen our commitment," said Science Minister Petra Olschowski at a discussion event on spin-offs from universities at the Baden-Württemberg State Representation. "With a further funding programme for start-up hubs, we are reaching a new level: we are bringing together the start-up expertise of our universities, creating better connectivity with federal and business funding initiatives and thus laying the foundation for the SMEs of tomorrow," said Petra Olschowski.
The Minister discussed the special features and challenges of the academic start-up scene with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Start-ups, Dr Anna Christmann, the Managing Director of Gründermotor GmbH, Adrian Thoma, and other representatives from the start-up community: How can innovations be brought from university to the world even faster? And how can federal and state policy, as well as the private sector and the start-up community throughout Germany, work together even better?
In order to strengthen collaboration between universities and intensify cooperation between science and business in the start-up sector, the "Gründermotor" initiative was established in Baden-Württemberg in 2018 and has been funded by the Ministry of Science since 2021. Gründermotor has now joined forces with partner universities in order to compete in the currently advertised Startup Factories" lighthouse competition of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection.
"Strength lies in joining forces. I am delighted that our universities with the strongest start-ups in the south-west have joined forces and will be submitting a joint application to the federal government's lighthouse competition for start-up factories," said the Minister. The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the University of Stuttgart are at the centre of the alliance. The network is completed by the University of Heidelberg, the University of Ulm and the Stuttgart Media University.
"The federal states and start-up initiatives are showing great interest in our competition for start-up factories in the university environment. There is a dynamic here that can generate more spin-offs from science. This is exactly what we want to initiate with this lighthouse project from the federal government's start-up strategy," said Dr Anna Christmann, BMWK Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Start-ups.
"We see this call for projects as a great opportunity - both for us as a start-up driver and for the start-up landscape in Germany. We think that with such a diverse and closely interwoven structure, we will be able to realise a lot of previously hidden potential. Our mission behind our application is to create a colourful, dynamic and fast ecosystem that takes all champions and hidden champions of the Next Generation Mittelstand in Baden-Württemberg to the next level," says Adrian Thoma, Managing Director of Gründermotor GmbH.
"Start-ups are already driving economic dynamism and innovation in many sectors. They are developing new markets, challenging established companies and thus revitalising competition. Start-ups are therefore of crucial importance for the further development and long-term competitiveness of our economy and therefore also for our society. That is why we have the greatest interest in supporting start-ups with all our strength," said Science Minister Petra Olschowski.
Sascha Fritz (Investment Principal, Robert Bosch VC), Ann-Kathrin Stärkel (Head of Strategy and Growth, Flip), Maike Lambarth (Co-Founder and CEO, Cyclize) took part in the discussion in Berlin.
Further information
New promotion
The Ministry of Science will shortly be announcing a further funding programme that will focus in particular on cross-university cooperation in the start-up sector. The aim of the funding is to network the start-up potential available in the state at the individual universities even more effectively and efficiently and to strengthen the connection to the funding of the "Startup Factories" announced by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, the "Gründermotor" initiative and the state accelerators.
The funding counteracts the current fragmentation in university-related start-up support. The universities are to be supported in cooperating in regional university alliances and thus forming the basis for ecosystems with a critical mass of talent and high appeal. Supra-regional thematic clusters should serve as clear and visible points of contact for the economy. The funding should be explicitly based on the existing structures in the universities, but should increasingly develop these into cross-university support and counselling concepts.
In the medium term, this funding should not only increase the talent pool of the individual universities, but also strengthen the attractiveness and visibility of the individual start-up alliances and Baden-Württemberg as a start-up location as a whole.
Commitment to start-ups
In recent years, Baden-Württemberg has launched numerous successful initiatives and measures to strengthen the start-up ecosystem as a whole and to promote innovative high-tech start-ups in particular. In addition to established measures such as the "Young Innovators" programme, which also supported the Tübingen-based company "Curevac" in its early days, Baden-Württemberg now has an extensive network of advisory and support structures. In addition to the 18 thematically focussed state accelerators, these include in particular the universities and colleges, which use practice-oriented teaching and learning formats to help inspire students for entrepreneurial independence and support them in the further development of their ideas and market entry.
The current Innovation Campus projects in the fields of "Artificial Intelligence", "Mobility", "Life Sciences", "Quantum" and "Sustainability" bring together the excellent basic research of universities with the expertise and structures of international companies. This creates a creative environment in which innovative start-ups can develop and grow.
