The first annual meeting of the UNIPRENEURS initiative took place in Dresden, with the Minister of Science of the Free State of Saxony Sebastian Gemkow in attendance. The UNIPRENEURS initiative honors outstanding professors throughout Germany who are particularly dedicated to spin-offs and entrepreneurship at universities.

Berlin/Dresden, September 23, 2024. How can we bolster start-up culture and entrepreneurship at universities and in the region? At the first annual meeting of UNIPRENEURS in Dresden, award-winning university professors from all over Germany tackled this question alongside professors from Saxony and the wider region. At the annual meeting, Saxony's State Minister of Science Sebastian Gemkow emphasized: "Saxony has been focusing on cutting-edge research for over 30 years, because we are convinced that the entire region benefits from a strong scientific landscape. If we want to remain a successful business location, we need to create stronger ties between research and entrepreneurial thinking. The UNIPRENEURS initiative helps to turn spin-offs and the associated technology transfer into economic success stories."

The first UNIPRENEURS received the award in 2023. These winners are outstanding professors from all over Germany, whose work has been exemplary with regard to the establishment of spin-offs. They were chosen after receiving more than 700 nominations in a survey of company founders. "The UNIPRENEURS annual meeting is a unique opportunity to boost the close cooperation between science and industry and the development of start-up ecosystems in Germany," says Marte Sybil Kessler, Head of the Collaborative Research and Innovation Area of Activity at the Stifterverband, which is responsible for organizing the UNIPRENEURS initiative. Matthias Hilpert, the initiator of UNIPRENEURS, adds: "We need innovative and entrepreneurial universities. UNIPRENEURS are paragon examples at their respective universities. They provide support and inspiration on the path to entrepreneurship – not only to students, but also to professors."

At the annual meeting, participants once again emphasized that only through a significant transfer of knowledge and technology can research potential be fully exploited and sustainable economic success achieved. Professor Ursula Staudinger, Rector of TUD Dresden University of Technology, explains: "Through the intensive exchange with business founders from the world of science, we not only learn from the successes of others, but – as the German university with the most patents – we can also provide new impetus for knowledge and technology transfer as well as innovative strength in Saxony. Our university is proud to be part of this dynamic network that is actively shaping the future of the region. With the establishment of the TUD|Excellence Center for Innovation, Transfer and Entrepreneurship (TUD|excite), we are also making significant contributions to strengthening knowledge and technology transfer as well as putting more emphasis on spin-offs." UNIPRENEURS is a joint initiative to bolster spin-offs at German universities, initiated and organized by Matthias Hilpert and the Stifterverband. The Federal Minister of Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, and the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, have jointly assumed patronage of the initiative. UNIPRENEURS is the most prestigious award in Germany for outstanding commitment in the field of entrepreneurship at universities. www.unipreneurs.de

Contact:
Peggy Groß
Press Officer of the Stifterverband
Tel: +49 30 322982-530

UNIPRENEURS Matthias Hilpert

About the Stifterverband
The Stifterverband is a community of around 3,500 committed people, businesses and organizations from industry, science and civil society. It strives to rethink and redesign education and science in order to strengthen society's innovative power in the long term. As a central driving force, it analyzes current challenges, promotes model projects and facilitates their dissemination within diverse networks. It networks business, science and civil society, collaboratively develops ideas and initiates political reforms. Its work concentrates on two areas of activity: Education and skills on the one hand and collaborative research and innovation on the other. https://www.stifterverband.org/english