From 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., more than 100 scientists, founders, technology transfer experts, and politicians will come together for the first time with a specific goal: to sign a call to action that calls not only for legislative changes, but also for a cultural shift and new approaches in academia, business, and government at the European, German, and Bavarian levels.
A 30-year-old regulation still prevents professors, postdocs, and doctoral students in Germany from founding companies as a recognized official duty, even though the Bavarian Higher Education Innovation Act of 2022 already establishes technology transfer and startup creation as core university functions.
At the same time, the Science Entrepreneurship Network (SEN) will be launched — a permanent platform for networking and exchange.
Insights from TUM
In this context, the hosts Isabell Welpe, Startup Ambassador at the TUM School of Management and Professor of Strategy & Organization, and Prof. Theresa Treffers will present three research projects from their department:
- Entrepreneurship Impact Ranking: The first comprehensive survey of all alumni startups from universities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, England, France, and Sweden — featuring analyses of relative performance, deep tech, and the migration of founders between innovation ecosystems.
- Global Deep Tech Observatory. A comprehensive database of all deep tech startups worldwide, linked to publications, patents, and funding.
Experimental Space Chair: A joint initiative of TUM and the Bavarian State Ministry that tests new legal and structural models for technology transfer, startup creation, and international multiple affiliations at universities.
From Lab to Launch
Jan Mittendorf, Managing Director of TUM Venture Labs for Software & AI in Heilbronn, will represent the local startup community, as many registered patents in Germany remain unused. The Dieter Schwarz Foundation is sponsoring the event to counter this trend.
It’s worth taking a look at other European countries, specifically the United Kingdom. Numerous researchers from the universities of Cambridge, Imperial College London, Oxford, University College London (UCL), the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and King’s College London will be on site to present one of the world’s most successful technology transfer ecosystems and offer concrete insights for the German context.
Please check the website for more information.
If you're interested, you can register here.