Center of Excellence at TUD Dresden University of Technology organizes “International TUD|excite Summer School”

The International TUD|excite Summer School, under the motto “Patents in Search of New Business”, will take place from August 26 - 30, 2024 in Hoyerswerda and Spreetal (Lusatia).The Summer School is an integral part of the Zuse Innovators Program for doctoral researchers (Z-IP), With the support of the Saxon State Ministry for Regional Development (SMR), international doctoral students will be working on inventions in the fields of life sciences, sensor technology and photophysics.

The Center of Excellence for Innovation, Transfer and Entrepreneurship (TUD|excite), headed by its director Professor Andreas Pinkwart, supports doctoral students in the successful practical application of inventions from TUD. TUD|excite guides the early-career scientists along the entire path from securing and exploiting intellectual property rights all the way to the start-up. 

TUD Dresden University of Technology is among the leading universities in Europe in terms of patent applications. Together with their inventors, TUD makes selected patents available to enthusiastic innovators and potential founders in order to help them start up a company or collaborate with established companies. TUD has selected young scientists from its own ranks, from DRESDEN-concept partners, and from universities in the neighboring European countries of Czechia and Poland to develop product ideas and business models based on patented inventions.

The Zuse Innovators Program for doctoral researchers (Z-IP), an incubation program of TUD|excite, has set itself the task of exploiting high-quality university patents for the founding of start-ups by international teams in Lusatia. The one-week Summer School is at the heart of the Z-IP. Thirty young scientists are expected. They will work in interdisciplinary, international teams on patents in the fields of life sciences, sensor technology and photophysics, while generating new ideas and working on business models. The participants are guided by experts from TUD|excite and additionally motivated by input from entrepreneurs from the region. As a send-off after their final pitches at the end of the week, they will receive valuable feedback from investors and business angels. The best teams will be given the opportunity to continue working on their ideas with professional support from TUD|excite and receive a wildcard to join the Dresden accelerator exciteLAB.

This project strengthens both Lusatia as a region undergoing structural change and the Free State of Saxony as a whole, since previously unused university patents can be utilized in the interests of value creation and good work. At the same time, young people are motivated to develop new viable business models from existing inventions.

In addition, contributions to interculturality and international scientific collaboration will be made through cooperation with various DeepTech research areas and the involvement of doctoral students from neighboring countries (Slovenia, Poland and Czechia). This also opens up better options for scalability on international markets. In this way, we maximize the opportunity to boost transformation through high-quality start-up projects and by matching new inventions with medium-sized companies in Lusatia, strengthening the economic development of the Free State of Saxony in a sustainable manner.

In close cooperation with the LAUTECH, the “Lausitzer Technologiezentrum GmbH”, a designated regional innovation and technology center is supporting implementation of the Summer School and networking with important local stakeholders. For instance, participants will be introduced to the “Kulturfabrik” in Hoyerswerda, “Dock3” Lusatia in Spreetal, and the Konrad Zuse Computer Museum (ZCOM) in the region.

The Summer School is made possible by special funding from the Saxon State Ministry for Regional Development (SMR). The funding guideline "Special Regional Initiatives" enables projects that serve the future-oriented development of regions, cities and villages, building culture and innovative building in the Free State of Saxony. The organizers of the Summer School are looking forward to the opening and to the welcome addresses by Thomas Schmidt, Saxon State Minister for Regional Development, and by the Lord Mayor of Hoyerswerda, Torsten Ruban-Zeh.

Thomas Schmidt, Saxon State Minister for Regional Development: ”Transforming innovative ideas and patents into successful business models is a key challenge for our economy and our regions. This is where TUD Dresden University of Technology's Zuse Innovators Program comes in with a convincing concept. I am delighted that the Summer School is taking place in Lusatia, which is currently in the middle of a transformation process. Successful change requires new value chains, strong companies and bright minds who are keen to make the region their home. The Summer School is an excellent starting point for this”.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, Director of the TUD|Excellence Center for Innovation, Transfer and Entrepreneurship (TUD|excite): “TU Dresden is not only the leading German university in terms of patent applications, it also boasts enthusiastic scientists who, with the help of these inventions, want to improve people’s lives and are willing to develop business models and found companies.  We want to leverage this potential with the Summer School and harness it for the economic development of Lusatia and Saxony.”

Kathrin Schlesinger, Managing Director of Lautech: “With the commitment of Prof. Andreas Pinkwart and his excite team, we believe that the initiatives of TU Dresden for structural change in the Lusatian mining area - bundled in the Lusatia Campus of the TU - will find a great enrichment and exciting new impulses with an enormous appeal for young German and international entrepreneurs. Perhaps this particular Zuse Innovators Program will find its consolidation in new assertive ideas for the Zuse Campus. This would indeed be excellent for Hoyerswerda with the “Scheibesee” (Lake Scheibe), and for the region!”

TUD Dresden University of Technology and TUD|excite
Dresden University of Technology (TUD), as a University of Excellence, is one of the leading and most dynamic research institutions in the country. With around 8,300 members of staff and around 29,000 students in 17 faculties, it is one of Europe’s largest technically-oriented universities. Founded in 1828, today it is a globally oriented, regionally anchored top university, developing innovative solutions for the world's most pressing issues. In research and academic programs, the university unites the natural and engineering sciences with the humanities, social sciences and medicine. This wide range of disciplines is an outstanding feature that facilitates interdisciplinarity and transfer of science to society.

In TUD|excite, its new Center of Excellence for Innovation, Transfer and Entrepreneurship, TUD is pooling and expanding its activities in these important future fields, such as in the form of the new ExciteLab. www.tu-dresden.de/forschung-transfer/transfer/ You can find our website regarding the Summer School here:  https://tu-dresden.de/forschung-transfer/transfer/summer-school

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TU Dresden
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TUD|excite
Sarah Haaß
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