The University of Potsdam's Startup Service welcomed doctoral students, postdocs and academic staff from various disciplines to its co-working space. 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. What made the workshop special was its innovative approach to promoting an entrepreneurial mindset among scientists. Young Entrepreneurs in Science promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and provides training in startup concepts to empower participants to explore entrepreneurial opportunities.
On the first day of the workshop, participants were introduced to entrepreneurship, discovered their entrepreneurial strengths and exchanged ideas with experienced sciencepreneurship role models. The second day was dedicated to the design thinking process, where they applied design thinking principles to refine ideas and create prototypes, which were then presented.
Valeria Ruf, Head of Young Entrepreneurs in Science, said: ‘Our workshop in Potsdam shows how interdisciplinary collaboration can foster innovation and turn researchers into sciencepreneurs.’
‘We are proud to work with Young Entrepreneurs in Science to promote an entrepreneurial mindset among our PhD students and postdocs. This workshop is a crucial step in integrating entrepreneurial thinking and action into academic practice,’ emphasises the Startup Services team.
The University of Potsdam has shown a strong commitment to promoting sciencepreneurship. The university supports innovation through the centralised Potsdam Transfer facility, which facilitated 36 start-ups last year and manages a total of 70 EXIST start-up grants. In addition, the University of Potsdam is involved in 36 active patent projects, which underlines its commitment to entrepreneurial success and scientific progress - as the Young Entrepreneurs in Science workshop impressively demonstrated, alongside 14 other international partnerships in the sciencepreneurship sector.
The workshop was supported by the University of Potsdam, the Universitat Jaume I, the Potsdam Science Park, the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), the Brandenburg University of Technology, the Hasso Plattner Institute School of Entrepreneurship and the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg and demonstrated a common endeavour to translate academic research into practical applications.
For more information on upcoming workshops and to participate, please visit Young Entrepreneurs in Science
About Young Entrepreneurs in Science
Young Entrepreneurs in Science was founded in 2018 to raise awareness of an entrepreneurial mindset within research. Through a series of carefully designed workshops on entrepreneurial skills and creativity methods developed for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, Young Entrepreneurs in Science strives to encourage researchers to explore alternative career paths as entrepreneurs and thus initiate a paradigm shift in science. By imparting entrepreneurial know-how in sixteen different workshop modules, Young Entrepreneurs in Science has so far conducted almost 250 workshops, reaching more than 4000 participants from 110+ partner universities and research centres to empower scientists to take the step towards becoming a ‘sciencepreneur’. https://youngentrepreneursinscience.com/
About Startup Service of Potsdam Transfer
Potsdam Transfer's Startup Service acts as a central contact point for innovative founders in the Potsdam region. The aim is to transform promising business ideas into successful companies. Comprehensive support is offered in all phases of founding a company - from the initial idea to market launch. The service is aimed in particular at students, alumni and academic staff at the University of Potsdam who wish to realise their entrepreneurial ambitions. Researchers who want to turn their innovative projects into marketable products or services will also find valuable support here. This includes workshops, individual coaching sessions and access to a broad network of investors, mentors and industry experts. In addition, support is offered in the creation of business plans, the search for financing and the development of marketing strategies. For further information, please visit the website or contact the programme directly.
Contact
Dilara Ekinci - PR Young Entrepreneurs in Science
E-mail: dilara.ekinciufalling-wallspcom
Alisa Fluhrer - Partnerships Management Startup Service | Potsdam Transfer
E-mail: alisa.fluhreruuni-potsdampde