1. Please briefly introduce yourself and your current job.
My name is Rubina Zern-Breuer and I have been in charge of the new Transfer Centre at the University of Stuttgart since February, 1. Now everyone is probably asking: What is to be transferred? Short answer: It's about the transfer of knowledge, of technology, but also of ideas. To this end, we are uniting various areas under this umbrella: a central career service for students (for transfer via heads), the area of business relations to promote cooperation between the university and external parties, as well as the areas of start-up and IP management. In addition, the Transfer Centre will also be active in the area of knowledge transfer.
2. How did you get involved in entrepreneurship?
The topic of innovation and innovation research has accompanied me for some time now - I have mostly worked at the interface between science, society and other actors (business, administration) and built up an innovation lab at my last university. I have now taken over the operational area of Startup in the Transfer Centre here at the university and I am very pleased to be able to build this up with our EXIST team and in close cooperation with ENI and TTI.
3. What tip would you give to students who are enthusiastic about founding a company, or who have already taken the first steps towards self-employment?
My tip would be to talk to other people about your ideas early on, get feedback and ideally also approach coaches at our university in good time and shape these ideas together (the EXIST coaches at the Transfer Centre are happy to help here ;)). Expanding your own networks is also essential - contacts are priceless and should also be used to find a mentor. And by the way: If your idea doesn't make it, that's okay too. It's better to fail early on and learn from it than to stick to it frantically.
Contact
Melanie Minderjahn
Research Associate, PR Manager