Elements4Founding: the essentials at a glance
- Project to raise awareness for and promote entrepreneurship activities
- Aimed at PhD and post-doc researchers at the University of Stuttgart
- Duration from 2022 to 2024
- Accompanying research for validation and evaluation of the formats
Our Motivation
Research shows that more than one third of doctoral and post-doc students have ideas for founding a company, but usually do not put them into practice. Yet research transfer produces many promising technologies and breakthrough innovations - and successful companies that can have a lasting impact on society.
Existing approaches at universities to promote research transfer mostly focus on the target group of students. So far, there are hardly any approaches that explicitly address PhD students and post-docs. Elements4Founding closes this gap.
Various obstacles prevent researchers from starting their own businesses - these range from a lack of awareness of their own entrepreneurial qualities to a lack of expertise in finance or marketing to a lack of orientation along the development and start-up process.
Is Elements4Founding right for me?
If you are a doctoral or postdoctoral student at the University of Stuttgart or one of our partner institutions, are interested and curious about the topic of start-ups and want to network beyond the boundaries of your discipline, you've come to the right place. In our modular workshops and formats, we raise awareness of the topic of science transfer and support you in developing yourself and your career path. To this end, we bring you into contact with experts, role models, founders, like-minded people and coaches. If you would like to follow up our formats with more intensive support or coaching, we will also put you in touch with the right contacts. You can find all upcoming formats below.
Workshop Series RISE V - Career Path Innovator
We host this kick-off bootcamp together with our partners from the Falling Walls Foundation's Young Entrepreneurs in Science Initiative. After a brief introduction to the RISE program, you will get your feet wet in a workshop atmosphere. Throughout the two days, you will learn all about the foundations of bringing your research into practice - what it takes to transition "From PhD to Innovator", how to build strong and agile teams, and how to navigate through conflict along the way.
We are happy to welcome role models from industry and science on both days, including Florian Schilli from sat:io and Charles Degutis from Robert Bosch Corporate Research.
> When & Where: April 02-03, 9:00-17:00 at ARENA2036, Pfaffenwaldring 19, 70569 Stuttgart
Since the beginning of RISE, more than 50 researchers have taken part in our workshops on the Design Thinking method. Conducted by our colleagues from the Design Factory Stuttgart, this module is designed to enhance your understanding of Design Thinking, to develop a new perspective on your research, and to think like an innovator by undergoing the Design Thinking process in a team, solving a challenge from everyday life.
> When & Where: April 16, 1:00-5:00 p.m. at ARENA2036, Pfaffenwaldring 19, 70569 Stuttgart
From research to development to the market - especially in the early stages of innovation, the road is often unclear, bumpy, and can seem like giant task. For this module, we invited an expert with much experience in product management to give you insights and an overview on how to break down the steps of product management. You will get the chance to work on your own idea and find inspiration for a realistic roadmap.
> When & Where: April 30, 1:00-5:00 p.m. at ARENA2036, Pfaffenwaldring 19, 70569 Stuttgart
As researchers, many of us are driven by motives beyond economic interests - we want to have an impact. But what does this mean? How can our innovation from research and science help to tackle the 'grand challenges', and how do we achieve a balance? This workshop will help you to get a better understanding on the impact potential of your idea and show you that social businesses are still viable.
> When & Where: May 14, 1:00-5:00 p.m. at ARENA2036, Pfaffenwaldring 19, 70569 Stuttgart
Customer centricity is one of the most important paradigms when you are interested in making a change with your research. This workshop is designed for you to understand how we put potential customers into focus to develop viable and sustainable business models. Together with our colleagues from the Transfer Center (TRACES), we will guide you through the process and give you helpful tools to understand and develop customer centric business models.
> When & Where: May 28, 1:00-5:00 p.m. at ARENA2036, Pfaffenwaldring 19, 70569 Stuttgart
Especially in the context of research and science, considering a spin-off raises big questions: How do I protect (my) intellectual property? Which legal rights and obligations do I have to consider as an employee, and which options for financial support are there? The general answer: It depends. To get to the root of this topic, we invited experts from the legal field and TRACES who deal with these questions on an everyday basis, who will help you to make the right considerations.
> When & Where: June 25, 1:00-5:00 p.m. at ARENA2036, Pfaffenwaldring 19, 70569 Stuttgart
In the last module of RISE V, we will train you in an essential soft skill: presenting your idea confidently and precisely towards several audiences. This hands-on workshop is followed by an informal get-together to which we warmly invite all RISE-participants to close the RISE workshop series together with us, reflect upon the past three months and think of future activities in a relaxed setting.
> When & Where: July 09, 1:00-5:00 p.m. at ARENA2036, Pfaffenwaldring 19, 70569 Stuttgart
Previous Workshops and Events
sustain(ATHON) - Sustainability Hackathon on October 30-31, 2023
The sustain(ATHON) took place from 30 to 31 October and was a remarkable event, and also part of RISE II. Eight teams participated and took on challenges in the areas of Digital Repair Cafe, prevention of heat stress on human health, smart building operation, efficient life cycle analysis and hotspots for energy and water consumption.
The event also included inspiring workshops from Design Factory Stuttgart and the Transfer Center TRACES. Congratulations to the winning teams: SmarG (first prize, €2,000, sponsored by IVS), RepaiRables (second prize, €1,000, sponsored by Engie) and Alpha (audience prize, €200, sponsored by Luxor Solar).
The picture shows Team SmarG, which won first prize.
Image: (c) University of Stuttgart
Design Thinking Workshop on March 27, 2024
Under the motto “Innovation through co-creation”, the coaches from Design Factory Stuttgart guided the participants through this workshop. They learned about the most important principles and concepts of the Design Thinking method, including strengthening trust in the process, promoting active listening and building empathy towards the users. Using an example, they went through the iterative design thinking process once in teams and built the first prototypes for their solutions.
Image: (c) University of Stuttgart
Startup Talk with roboloon and MESHPARTS | July 03, 2023
The Startup Talk featured two high-tech startups, roboloon and MESHPARTS, the event showcased the potential of innovation and entrepreneurship. The founders shared their own unique journeys with their twists und turns, giving some valuable tips and advice.
Alexandru Dadalau Founder of Meshparts (left) Daniel Wibbing Co-Founder of roboloon (right)
Image: (c) University of Stuttgart
Research, Innovation, Science and Entrepreneurship: About RISE I
Research, Innovation, Science and Entrepreneurship - that's what RISE is all about. Over a course of nine sessions, the following topics were discussed:
- Discovering Entrepreneurship & Innovation
- Team Building & Research Transfer
- Design Thinking & Customer Value
- Social Entrepreneurship x Falling Walls Foundation
- Business model, financing and intellectual property
- Pitch Training x Falling Walls Foundation
- Impactful Research
- An excursion to AI Express in Böblingen
We were supported in RISE I by the Vector Foundation, the AI Xpress Startup Center, the Startup Coaches of the University of Stuttgart, the Young Entrepreneurs in Science Initiative of the Falling Walls Foundation, the Design Factory Stuttgart and many other experts who shared their time and expertise with us.
Prof. Dr. Alexander Brem
Image: (c) University of Stuttgart
RISE: Teambuilding and Idea Baseline on October 19, 2023
In this module, participants came together with other researchers and scientists in a team-building atmosphere; they exchanged thoughts on an initial idea or a current research project, as well as reflecting on their personal skills within a research or business team.
RISE: Social Entrepreneurship on October 9, 2023
Is successful entrepreneurship compatible with social entrepreneurship? What constitutes social entrepreneurship? Can my ideas have an impact on society? Many aspiring founders have already asked themselves these questions. Together with coaches from the Falling Walls Foundation's Young Entrepreneurs in Science Initiative, the participants set out in search of answers to these questions.
RISE: Science and Business Communication on October 23, 2023
This module was all about finding potential customers - and especially how to reach them. Participants gained an understanding of the market in which their ideas could be successful, mapped their stakeholders and found out the importance of target group-oriented strategic communication and its alignment with strategic business goals. They have taken away some useful tools and processes that have helped them to build a communication strategy for an early stage company.
RISE: Business Model Strategies and Pricing on November 30, 2023
On the path towards technology transfer, prospective founders need to design their business model and pricing and also be flexible enough to redesign it. This workshop was specifically designed to provide an initial insight into the strategic approach. Participants learned about value creation through different business model patterns and were given practical exercises based on the St. Gallen Business Model Navigator. Afterwards, our colleagues from TRACES, the transfer center at the University of Stuttgart, gave them some helpful guidelines and exercises on how to find a suitable and adaptable pricing model for future products.
RISE: Legal Matters and Intellectual Property
In this recurring module, participants learned more about intellectual property (IP) and legal status, e.g. how to determine if their idea is truly original? How to legally establish a company based on an innovative idea? For this particular topic, we invited experts who provided participants with an overview of legal matters. This workshop provided knowledge about the basics of IP law and IP protection as well as knowledge about legal forms for spin-offs.
Falling Walls Lab Baden-Württemberg on July 10, 2024
On July 10, a group of up-and-coming researchers gathered at ARENA2036 at the Vaihingen Campus in Stuttgart to present their groundbreaking innovations and research ideas at the Falling Walls Lab Baden-Württemberg. This event offered young researchers the opportunity to present their projects in front of a renowned jury and an enthusiastic audience. The Elements4Founding project co-hosted the event with the Wissensfabrik. Click here for our detailed recap.
Winners of the lab (from left to right): Andra-Lisa Hoyt, Kian van der Enden, Julius Kernbach and Tiffany Cheng.
Image: (c) Photo: Jan Potente
Our Network
QCLUB-2 cooperates with the Graduate Academy of the University of Stuttgart (GRADUS) and is carried out in close collaboration with various departments of the University of Stuttgart and beyond, including the Elements4Founding project, the NXTGN initiative, the Transfer Center of the University (TRACES), the start-up advisors of the faculties, TTI GmbH and the Falling Walls Foundation's Young Entrepreneurs in Science Initiative (YES). As part of the QSENS cluster for future, the project is funded by the Clusters4Future funding line of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Contact
Andreas Wahl
Dr. rer. pol.Head of Teaching
Mia Zsohár
Research Associate