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Entrepreneurship at TU Dortmund University

The International Research and Entrepreneurship Office supports international students and researchers who want to start their businesses here in Dortmund.

Are you dreaming of developing your own business? Do you want to transform your scientific results into a real-world company? Or are you a founder and looking for business opportunities and partners to settle down here in Dortmund.  Then find out more about services and contacts at TU Dortmund University on this website!

Start your entrepreneurial journey here in Dortmund: TU Dortmund University offers a broad variety of services to promote entrepreneurial activities, both in academics and in practice aiming to support the transfer of knowledge into the industry and society. 

One-Stop-Shop Principle

Center for Entrepreneurship and Transfer (CET)

The Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) bundles all entrepreneurial related activities and expertise at TU Dortmund University. To this end, it combines targeted research with tangible practice: It promotes the teaching of entrepreneurial skills and support students, alumni, and scientists in the implementation of their business ideas or the transfer of their results into the economy.

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Get inspired

Entrepreneurial action

Are you interested in building competencies in the areas of agility, entrepreneurship and innovation management? The CET imparts knowledge for entrepreneurial thinking and action. For this purpose, it offers various workshops on topics such as design thinking and agile project management. Find out more about our qualification offers.

Start-up programs

Dreaming of starting your own business? At CET we offer a three-stage start-up program to drive your business forward. You can participate as a team or as an individual founder. In addition, one can start with a simple start-up idea or a validated start-up project. Our incubator leaves nothing to be desired: Workshops & know-how, coaching, mentoring and networking! Find out more about our start-up programs.

Technology programs

Within our technology programs, prospective scientific founders receive particularly intensive training and support. Our portfolio includes several offerings that are oriented to the various steps of a typical start-up process from research or focus on specific topics. We look forward to meeting you and your ideas! Find out more about our technology programs.

Get connected

Consulting for funding programs

Are you looking for funding opportunities to start your business? In personal discussions, we review the potential of your ideas and research results, provide support in drawing up a business plan or advise on funding programs. We are also at your side with help and advice when it comes to patents and other intellectual property rights. Do not hesitate to contact us! Find out more about our consulting services.

Here you will find further information for university related funding programs:

Infrastructure

Good ideas need space. That's why we provide interested founders and young start-ups at CET with infrastructure for developing and testing their products and business models - from MakerSpace and DataSpace to CoWorkingSpaces.

Partner network

Are you looking for opportunities to putting your project into practice or collecting venture capital for your business?

At the CET you benefit from a comprehensive network of regional industry partners ranging from the investors, tech-hubs to corporates and small and medium-sized enterprises. We are your navigator in finding the right partner for your specific needs. Feel free to contact us directly or visit one of our numerous networking events.

Career Services

Looking for a co-founder? Companies and start-ups can use Stellenwerk to bridge the gap between business and science, present themselves as potential employers to the approximately 33,000 students and graduates, and thus recruit qualified junior staff.

Contact

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Location & approach

The campus of TU Dort­mund University is located close to interstate junction Dort­mund West, where the Sauerlandlinie A 45 (Frankfurt-Dort­mund) crosses the Ruhrschnellweg B 1 / A 40. The best interstate exit to take from A 45 is “Dort­mund-Eichlinghofen” (closer to South Campus), and from B 1 / A 40 “Dort­mund-Dorstfeld” (closer to North Campus). Signs for the uni­ver­si­ty are located at both exits. Also, there is a new exit before you pass over the B 1-bridge leading into Dort­mund.

To get from North Campus to South Campus by car, there is the connection via Vogelpothsweg/Baroper Straße. We recommend you leave your car on one of the parking lots at North Campus and use the H-Bahn (suspended monorail system), which conveniently connects the two campuses.

TU Dort­mund University has its own train station (“Dort­mund Uni­ver­si­tät”). From there, suburban trains (S-Bahn) leave for Dort­mund main station (“Dort­mund Hauptbahnhof”) and Düsseldorf main station via the “Düsseldorf Airport Train Station” (take S-Bahn number 1, which leaves every 15 or 30 minutes). The uni­ver­si­ty is easily reached from Bochum, Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Duisburg.

You can also take the bus or subway train from Dort­mund city to the uni­ver­si­ty: From Dort­mund main station, you can take any train bound for the Station “Stadtgarten”, usually lines U41, U45, U 47 and U49. At “Stadtgarten” you switch trains and get on line U42 towards “Hombruch”. Look out for the Station “An der Palmweide”. From the bus stop just across the road, busses bound for TU Dort­mund University leave every ten minutes (445, 447 and 462). Another option is to take the subway routes U41, U45, U47 and U49 from Dort­mund main station to the stop “Dort­mund Kampstraße”. From there, take U43 or U44 to the stop “Dort­mund Wittener Straße”. Switch to bus line 447 and get off at “Dort­mund Uni­ver­si­tät S”.

The H-Bahn is one of the hallmarks of TU Dort­mund University. There are two stations on North Campus. One (“Dort­mund Uni­ver­si­tät S”) is directly located at the suburban train stop, which connects the uni­ver­si­ty directly with the city of Dort­mund and the rest of the Ruhr Area. Also from this station, there are connections to the “Technologiepark” and (via South Campus) Eichlinghofen. The other station is located at the dining hall at North Campus and offers a direct connection to South Campus every five minutes.

The AirportExpress is a fast and convenient means of transport from Dortmund Airport (DTM) to Dortmund Central Station, taking you there in little more than 20 minutes. From Dortmund Central Station, you can continue to the university campus by interurban railway (S-Bahn). A larger range of international flight connections is offered at Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is about 60 kilometres away and can be directly reached by S-Bahn from the university station.

The facilities of TU Dortmund University are spread over two campuses, the larger Campus North and the smaller Campus South. Additionally, some areas of the university are located in the adjacent “Technologiepark”.

Site Map of TU Dortmund University (Second Page in English).