On July 6th the Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, Phillip Rösler, honored the winners of the national competition »EXIST-Culture of Entrepreneurship: Start-Up Universities«. TU Dortmund is one of the ten winners of the competition. The concept »tu-startup«, presented by TU, City and TechnologieZentrumDortmund, won out over 23 fellow candidates in the final round.
Between 2012 and 2016 TU Dortmund will get a donation of presumably 3.6 m Euro to improve the conditions for economy start-ups and for an optimal supervision of start-up intentions. “We are very glad about the award. It confirms the successful work in start-up promotion which is characterized by the close cooperation with the City of Dortmund and the technology centers in the region”, states Rector Prof. Dr. Ursula Gather.
Udo Mager, manager of the Development Agency Dortmund, emphasizes: “TU spin-offs play a major role and present an important contribution for Dortmund as a location for business. TU Dortmund is well established in the town community which is documented at least by the Master Plan Science, the development of which the council has decided upon last week”.
With the biggest technology park in close vicinity to the campus, TU Dortmund holds all qualifications to realize numerous start-ups in the next years. Apart from that, the plan is to add additional 20 m Euro to the EXIST-project funds for the promotion of innovative start-ups. The goal is to turn Dortmund into a national model location for economy start-ups.
60 representatives from Dortmund science, business development institutions, technology centers, Chamber of Industry and Commerce Dortmund, companies and TU took part in the preparations. Between November 2010 and April 2011 they conceptualized the application »tu-startup« and compiled 22 measures for the establishment of a culture of start-ups at the university under the direction of the Rectorate and the Research and Knowledge Transfer Office. The measures, including start-up consulting and science, are bundled under the umbrella brand »tu-startup«. In addition, a training program for all faculties with start-up potential – especially in engineering sciences – is to be initiated. And a TU-entrepreneurship foundation is supposed to be established in cooperation with the public sector and companies from the region, to be able to support innovative start-ups at the early stages in an optimal way and to establish a permanent positive start-up climate on the campus and in the region.
Since 2002 TU Dortmund has very successfully been coordinating the network »Start-Ups from the Economy in Dortmund and the Region« (G-DUR). Since then the network partners have been successfully supporting more than 120 start-ups. The partners are the Research and Knowledge Transfer Office, the Transfer Office of Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the Development Agency Dortmund with its start-up competition »start2grow« as well as the technology centers in Dortmund and Unna/Hamm.
Caption: After the announcement of the jury’s decision in Berlin (f.l.t.r.): Sebastian Hanny (coordinator business start-ups TU Dortmund), Prof. Andrzej Górak (Prorector Research, TU Dortmund), Angela Märtin (Research and Knowledge Transfer Office, TU Dortmund) and Michael Asche (Head of Research and Knowledge Transfer Office, TU Dortmund).