Insights Into the Kick-off of the Rise V Workshop Series

On April 2 and 3, 2025, around 20 early career researchers from a wide range of disciplines came together on the campus of the University of Stuttgart to take part in the workshop “RISE x YES: From PhD to Innovator”. The workshop is part of the RISE series, organized by the Elements4Founding (E4F) and QCLUB-2 projects of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Science (ENI). The kick-off was organized and hosted in collaboration with the Young Entrepreneurs in Science Initiative of the Falling Walls Foundation. The two days formed the kick-off for the RISE V workshop series. During the two days, participants were able to gain practical insights into entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, develop essential skills in conflict management and teamwork, and build valuable networks for their innovation journey.

We began our journey at the ARENA2036 research campus. After an interactive game to get to know each other, the first session began: Your Innovation Skills. Together, we addressed questions such as: What do we mean when we talk about 'entrepreneurship'? What are the first steps on the way to your own spin-off, and what does it take beyond financial resources? After the joint lunch break, founders Andy Clifton from enerlace and Florian Schilli from sat.io reported on the reality(s) of starting a business and shared their perspectives on important topics - from workload to the importance of meaningful work. Our colleagues from the TRACES transfer center of the University of Stuttgart presented support options for prospective founders - from startup coaching to support in the search for co-founders. At the end of the day, we reflected on the most important findings of the day during a joint check-out.

The second day of the workshop began in a familiar atmosphere - after an initial mood assessment, we focused intensively on the topic of conflict management. The participants learned more about understanding conflicts, empathy and applied effective communication techniques for resolving conflicts in teams in a practical exercise. A special tour of ARENA2036, led by research coordinator and RISE I alumnus Muhammad Saeed, generated additional interest.

After lunch, Charles Degutis from Robert Bosch Corporate Research gave exciting insights and answered questions about the world of intrapreneurship - innovation activities within a stable corporate framework. In the following session on teamwork, participants reflected on successful startup teams and used Belbin's team role model to appreciate and utilize diversity within teams. The workshop concluded with a feedback session where participants reflected on their experiences and noted their next steps.

A big thank you to our speakers, Florian Schilli, Andy Clifton, Charles Degutis, and Muhammad Saeed for their spontaneous guidance through ARENA2036. Thanks also to all participants for their engagement, and the great organization team for an all-round successful workshop!

RISE V is an initiative of the Elements4Founding and QCLUB projects at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Science (ENI), combining our experience from four successful editions. Our mission is supported by the Vector Foundation, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the expertise of our network partners, such as the Transfer Center (TRACES), the Falling Walls Foundation, as well as the participating experts and coaches.

Thanks to the generous support of our partners, we are able to offer all our workshops free of charge. Our aim is to create a practical, inclusive environment for all participants to try out innovation and rethink within a protected framework.

Missed the Kick-off?

The core idea of RISE is to make our workshops modular so that they fit flexibly into the busy working day of early career researchers. It is therefore also possible to take part in some modules and skip others.

RISE V continues on April 16, 13:00-17:00, with the topic “Design Thinking”, with coaches from the Design Factory Stuttgart. We cordially invite all interested researchers to attend.

Register now via Eveeno!