Business Meets Biotech at the 10th International Summer Academy for Technology Transfer in the Life Sciences

The event, which took place from September 22^nd to 26^th, 2025, brought together 15 participants from 11 countries for a week of knowledge transfer, idea exchange, and networking.

The summer school, organized by transCampus science to business at the TU Dresden, focused on developing entrepreneurial competencies, enabling participants to effectively pitch their ideas to experts in the business and life sciences sectors. The event kicked off with a talk by Prof. Stefan Bornstein, Member Dean's Office and Representative for International Affairs at the Centre for Metabolic-immunological Diseases and Therapeutic Technologies Saxony (MITS). The MITS is the latest research building of the Faculty of Medicine opened in December 2022 and fostering the collaboration of basic-, clinical- and material-scientists.

Throughout the week, participants engaged in various workshops, where they gained insights into financing strategies in Life Sciences, the differences between spin-offs and licensing, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Experts such as Nadine Schmieder-Galfe from ZELLMECHANIK DRESDEN and Prof. Thomas Crispeels from Vrije Universiteit Brussel provided valuable input to improve the participants' business plans and strategies.

The workshops also covered topics in the biotech sector such as patenting, presented by Matthias Hoffmann from Maikowski & Ninnemann and licensing explained by Prof. Sebastian Wündisch from Noerr LLP Dresden. Dr. Stefanie Possekel and Dr. Karin Taş from Ascenion GmbH explored the multitude of financing strategies in Life Sciences, further enhancing the participants' understanding of successful business strategies.

With the guidance of leading experts, participants identified new opportunities in their work, covering a wide range of Life Sciences. They also gained practical knowledge on how to develop and present business models, as well as set up negotiation strategies. The young scientists and entrepreneurs actively practiced pitching their business models with the help of experts like Konrad Sell or Dorit Teichmann from dresden|exists.

In the evenings, participants and experts came together to network and discuss ideas in an informal setting. They enjoyed well-earned dinners at the Luisenhof “The Balcony of Dresden” and took a funicular ride from Loschwitz to Weißer Hirsch. The Team-Duel also provided an opportunity for participants to gain deeper social skills outside of the academic environment.

The highlight of the event was the opportunity for young entrepreneurs to pitch the results of their own projects on the premises of the Hightech Startbahn in front of life science-, biotech cluster-, and founders-experts, like Jörg Schüler (Hightech Startbahn), Emily Hickmann (DORA GmbH), Daniel Klaue (ZELLMECHANIK DRESDEN GmbH). The expert panel provided valuable feedback, an essential step towards realizing these promising projects. After lunch Prof. Thomas Henle (Lohrmanns Brew) shared his own experiences and insights on starting a business as well as Felix Klee (DermaPurge GmbH) at the Founder’s Corner Q&A session.