Catalyst GER: Research with Societal Impact – Now in Germany for the First Time

February 12, 2026

Many researchers in the humanities and social sciences work on topics of great societal significance — and face the same questions: How can findings create impact beyond academia? Who could benefit from them? And how can research be sustained and funded in the long term? This is exactly where Catalyst GER comes in.

Catalyst GER is not a conventional accelerator, but a space of possibility for humanities and social science researchers to make their work societally impactful and sustainably viable — without any pressure to found a company, without expectations of scaling or profit, and without turning away from academia. The programme is free of charge and accessible with a low barrier to entry. Participants can join even without a concrete project idea — curiosity is enough.

The approach has been tried and tested across Europe and is now being implemented in Germany for the first time. Participants receive guidance and practical tools to develop ideas from their research further and embed them in society.

All information on the programme structure and registration is available at https://www.traces.uni-stuttgart.de/ueber-uns/projekte/catalyst/ 

Contact

This image showsMarcel Fortwingel

Marcel Fortwingel

 

Head of Start-up BW Women Lab
Programm-Manager CxO Academy @ NXTGN Startup Factory

This image showsSebastian Donath

Sebastian Donath

 

Start-up Coach

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