January
ENI's founders café frei[raum] was officially opened. Operated by the student union stuvus, the café offers a variety of coffee specialties and a welcoming atmosphere. Adjacent to the café, the workspace provides students and university staff with a collaborative environment to develop innovative ideas. The space also regularly hosts startup-related events, and university startups can showcase their projects and exhibits in prominently displayed vitrines.
February
Following its successful certification in 2021 as a "Young Entrepreneurs in Science Campus" by the Falling Walls Foundation’s YES initiative, the University of Stuttgart achieved its third re-certification in February 2024. The mission of YES aligns with the ENI-hosted project Elements4Founding, supported by the Vector Foundation. Between 2022 and 2024, the project developed a comprehensive and sustainable approach to raising awareness and providing training in entrepreneurship for doctoral students and postdocs.
February also marked the kickoff of the Young Entrepreneurs Excellence Program (YEEP), a project jointly supported by the Karl Schlecht Foundation and the Vector Foundation. YEEP is an innovative support program designed to guide motivated graduates of entrepreneurship programs as they transition into entrepreneurial careers. The first cohort began in October with a group of promising young talents.
March
Cyclize, a spin-off from the University of Stuttgart, secured €4.75 million in funding. The startup focuses on converting plastic waste—particularly materials that traditional recycling methods cannot effectively reintegrate into the supply chain. Co-founder and CFO Dominik Novakovic is an alumnus of the Intra- and Entrepreneurship master's program offered by the ENI.
April
During a visit from the Minister of Science, Petra Olschowski, Dr. Andreas Wahl, Head of Teaching at ENI, presented the university’s advisory and support services for knowledge-based spin-offs at the founders café frei[raum] on Campus Vaihingen.
ENI also signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, to strengthen cooperation.
May
From May 13 to 15, ENI hosted the Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Research Spring School, offering early-career researchers a unique opportunity to network, collaborate, and exchange ideas with peers focused on the configuration, mechanisms, and evolutionary dynamics of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Sixty participants from across Europe, as well as from New Zealand and Qatar, joined the event.
June
During the über:morgen event at ARENA2036, participants in the interdisciplinary key qualification course "AI Prototyping 101: From Idea to Reality" presented their solutions to the theme "How to get home safer". Ideas ranged from routing algorithms that identify the safest route to wearable smart bands that automatically alert emergency contacts in case of danger. These concepts were developed within just a few weeks and showcased to a large audience. The course was part of the IKILeUS project which was successfully finished in November.
In June, ENI welcomed a delegation from Wuhan University of Science and Technology (WUST). Together with Prof. Brem, they visited the ARENA2036 research campus, the International Center and the Startup Autobahn Expo Day. The cooperation agreement signed jointly with ENI symbolizes the start of a bilateral exchange and strengthens the collaboration between the two institutions.
July
A major highlight was the hosting of the Falling Walls Lab Baden-Württemberg 2024 by the University of Stuttgart, with ENI and its Elements4Founding project as co-hosts. This global initiative by the Falling Walls Foundation promotes science and innovation. Participants had three minutes to pitch their projects to a jury and audience, followed by a two-minute Q&A session.
September
Enerlace, a startup team of alumni from the University of Stuttgart and the Hochschule der Medien (HdM), won second place in the Region Stuttgart University Prize. Enerlace automates the monitoring of wind lidar data through its web application, saving time and enabling the scaling of wind farm development projects. The team is currently receiving the Junge Innovatoren funding through the University of Stuttgart.
October
On October 1, Prof. Alexander Brem, Director of the ENI, took office as the new Vice Rector for Science Transfer and International Affairs. This appointment underscores the University of Stuttgart's commitment to knowledge transfer and global collaboration.
November
What does it take to run a successful crowdfunding campaign? We spoke with founders to learn about the steps they took before launching their campaigns, how they chose the right platform, and their biggest takeaways.
December
In the latest Business Administration Ranking by WirtschaftsWoche, Prof. Alexander Brem ranked 11th among the most research-productive business economists in the German-speaking world. In the "Lifetime Achievement" category, which considers all research contributions over a career, Prof. Brem placed 72nd. The ranking assessed the publications of 3,723 business scholars from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
In December, the RISE IV module series of the Element4Founding project ended with a special workshop in cooperation with colleagues from the transfer center TRACES. Based on the principle of “convincing instead of just speaking”, the workshop focused on the perfect pitch and how it can be successful depending on the context, the audience, the setting and the duration.
Throughout the year, the ENI has participated in various conferences around the world such as Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Program & Conference (BCERC), Academy of Management (AoM) or Strategic Management Society (SMS) and has been involved in the participation and organization of DEI workshops funded by the Diversity Fund of the University of Stuttgart.
With these diverse activities and achievements, the ENI concludes an exciting year. We look forward to tackling new challenges in 2025!
Contact

Hanna Dewes
Research Associate