Thanks to Prof. Andreas Pinkwart

We bid farewell to our founding director, Prof. Andreas Pinkwart, thank him for his close collaboration, and wish him all the best in his professional and personal future.

When Prof. Pinkwart joined us in March 2023, he brought with him a wealth of experience from the worlds of academia, politics, and innovation—including stints as a minister, Rector, and researcher. During his time at TU Dresden, he played a key role in shaping the establishment and further development of TUD|excite. He placed great importance on dialogue with staff from various departments and fostered open and constructive collaboration.

Under his leadership, the structures for knowledge and technology transfer at TU Dresden were further developed, and with the establishment of TUD|excite, knowledge and technology transfer, innovation promotion, patent management, and corporate collaborations were, for the first time, organizationally consolidated into a single Central Unit. This further strengthened the framework conditions for translating scientific findings into economic and societal applications.

His vision always extended far beyond TU Dresden and was focused on strengthening the entire regional innovation ecosystem. Among the projects he initiated are the ExciteLab, a private-sector accelerator for high-tech startups; the Startup Factory boOst; and the concept for the TUD|InnoX Campus. These projects make important contributions to the promotion of innovation, startup culture, and technology transfer.

© André Wirsig

Dr. Xaver Heinicke, Head of excite|Facilitate: “Over the past three years, Prof. Pinkwart has achieved an extraordinary amount with his consistently positive, motivating, and approachable manner. Time and again, he has succeeded in bringing people along on the journey, inspiring them with new ideas, and driving change forward with openness, energy, and confidence. For this, he deserves our deepest gratitude and highest recognition.”

What we as a team will especially remember are the many small moments in between: the conversations in the hallway at the TUD|excite Space or during team lunches, the recognition shown after successfully completing projects, the “arm-in-arm” moments at important events, the encouraging and motivating words during difficult project phases, and the joint search for pragmatic solutions.

Prof. Andreas Pinkwart is leaving TU Dresden to be closer to his family in North Rhine-Westphalia. We respect this decision and thank him for his dedication and the ideas he has brought to the table during his time at TU Dresden. We are confident that he will remain connected to Saxony as a hub of innovation and that we will continue to find common ground in the future.