International TUD|excite Summer School

"PATENTS IN SEARCH OF NEW BUSINESS" (24.-28.08.2026, Saxony)

Are you a PhD student, postdoc or researcher - and do you have a technology or patent that you seriously want to drive towards a start-up?

Or do you want to found a company and are looking for a strong technology-driven idea that you can work on with others in an interdisciplinary team?

Then the International TUD|excite Summer School is just the right format for you.

Together with the EUTOPIA team at TU Dresden and the boOst team, the Startup Factory for Central Germany, we at TUD|excite invite young scientists to contribute their technical and/or Business Administration and Economics expertise to our teams of inventors and develop product ideas and business models based on selected patents.

Over the course of a week, international and interdisciplinary teams work on new product ideas, use cases and business models based on selected patents from TU Dresden and other universities, the DRESDENconcept partners and universities from neighboring European countries Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Poland as well as the EUTOPIA network - right up to the final startup pitch.

What makes it special: Here, start-ups do not start with an arbitrary idea, but with real technologies and patents. This makes the format special in this form - and a rare opportunity for anyone who not only wants to understand technology-driven innovation, but also wants to help shape it themselves. Experienced scientists, entrepreneurs and experts from the TUD network support the entire process.

Background

The TUD Dresden University of Technology (TUD) is one of the most patent-rich universities in Europe. Together with our inventors, TUD makes selected patents available to enthusiastic innovators and potential founders to facilitate the step into a startup or into cooperation with established companies.

What can you expect?

Work on real patents and technologies
Interdisciplinary and international teams
Exchange with inventors and scientists
Input on idea generation, business model development and start-ups
Coaching by experienced mentors
Development of a concrete startup pitch
Final presentation in front of an external jury
Supporting program and networking

We are looking for you

You are an early-career researcher (Master's graduate or about to graduate, doctoral student or postdoctoral researcher).
You are a researcher with a technical or scientific background
You are an economist with a background in business administration and generally interested in the topic of start-ups
You are interested in developing innovative product ideas and promising business models in interdisciplinary, international teams.
It is also possible to apply as a team of max. 3 people.
The underlying patents and technologies come from areas such as:

(1) Environmental Protection	(5) Material Science
(2) MedTech/ BioTech/ LifeSciences	(6) Sensortech/ Communication Systems
(3) Agriculture/ Farming/ Natural Materials	(7) Photophysics
(4) Electronics/ Power Engineering

We offer you

By participating, you will not only gain insights, but also work on a possible technology-driven start-up
You get the chance to gain intensive start-up experience in a short space of time
You will learn methods for developing use cases and business models
Direct exchange with inventors, start-ups and experts
New perspectives on career paths in startups, transfer and innovation
The chance to develop a real start-up project from a patent.
Discover Lusatia as an innovative region of the future.
Further support following the Summer School for selected teams
Prospects for admission to further programs, such as the exciteLAB

Zuse Innovators Program for doctoral researchers (Z-IP)

The Summer School is at the heart of the Zuse Innovators Program (Z-IP) and has set itself the task of using high-quality university patents for the founding of start-ups by international founding teams. Participants of the Summer School have the opportunity to benefit from preparatory and follow-up measures and thus become part of the patent incubation program.

TU Dresden has been building a Campus Lausitz for several years and is actively shaping structural change in the region. The Summer School shows perspectives in this transformation region and correlates with the special work of Konrad Zuse as the inventor of the first computer in Germany, who particularly distinguished himself through his inventions and his struggle for patents and the founding of a company of digital innovation.

Organizational notes

Date: August 24-28, 2026

Location: Saxony/Lausitz

Language: English

Costs: Participation in the program is free of charge.

Travel costs: Participants are responsible for their own travel costs. International guests have the option of contacting the ERASMUS program for support with travel costs: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/opportunities/opportunities-for-individuals/staff-training/higher-education-staff-training or their EUTOPIA offices.

The procedure for participation in the International TUD|excite Summer School and the Z-IP is as follows:

July 2026	Admission to the program
Preliminary phase 1st-3rd week of August 2026	Matching of patents & formation of teams Virtual sessions to get to know each other & preparation
Summer school 24-28.08.2026	Onboarding & team building & exchange with inventors Keynote speeches by entrepreneurs and experts Creation of a business model Support from coaches Final pitch with external jury and award ceremony for the best teams Accompanying program
Follow-up support 1st-2nd week of September 2026	Further coaching and qualification of the winning teams with possible inclusion in the deep-tech accelerator exciteLAB