Strengthening the entrepreneurial spirit in Aachen
Sciencepreneurship workshop creates new perspectives for researchers
Aachen, 23 July 2024 On 15 July, the workshop “The Impact of Your Research” took place in Aachen, putting a spotlight on innovative approaches to sciencepreneurship. The event, organized by Young Entrepreneurs in Science in collaboration with RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich, aimed to develop the entrepreneurial potential in academic research.
RWTH Aachen University welcomed doctoral students, postdocs and academic staff from various disciplines to its campus. To ensure access for a broad audience, the event was free of charge with the support of the BMBF and required no prior entrepreneurial knowledge. The particular focus of the workshop was on social impact and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset among researchers. Young Entrepreneurs in Science promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and offers training in start-up concepts to empower participants to explore entrepreneurial opportunities.
Valeria Ruf, Head of Young Entrepreneurs in Science, said: “ Our joint initiative demonstrates how groundbreaking innovations can be fostered through interdisciplinary collaboration, enabling scientists to transform their research findings into successful startup ideas. This not only promotes scientific progress but also has a lasting impact on society.”
RWTH Aachen University has shown a strong commitment to promoting sciencepreneurship. The university supports innovation through RWTH Innovation GmbH, a subsidiary of RWTH and RWTH Aachen University Hospital, which acts as a central transfer unit to promote the translation of research results into industry applications. With the help of the “Exzellenz Start-up Center.NRW”, an initiative of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, start-up support at RWTH is constantly being expanded and professionalized. Since 2019, the RWTH Innovation Entrepreneurship Center has supported a total of 72 EXIST Transfers of Research and EXIST Business Start-up Grants. Last year, RWTH counted 104 start-ups having roots at RWTH and having taken advantage of the university's start-up support.
“At RWTH Innovation we support students and researchers at RWTH Aachen University and Uniklinik RWTH Aachen in protecting their inventions, starting their own businesses and getting in touch with industry companies. One of our goals is to carry the entrepreneurial spirit into the university. The YES Workshops are a great tool to reach our researchers, equip them with important skills and ignite the entrepreneurial spark. Seeing how quickly the participants of our joint workshop translated their research into practical applications has been truly inspiring”, explained Christina Mertsch, Head of Entrepreneurship at RWTH Innovation.
