Since 2012, the Gründungsradar of Stifterverband for academia in Germany has been examining the climate for business start-ups in academia and showing which universities are particularly good at supporting business start-ups. The modules of start-up anchoring and raising awareness of start-ups, monitoring, evaluation, and start-up networks are examined. The results of the nationwide comparison show that the University of Bremen and the Bremen university start-up network BRIDGE are fulfilling their social obligations with their activities and creating a positive start-up climate.

Bremen is ranked 15th in the overall ranking of large higher education institutions with more than 15,000 students, and the success of individual methodological components is even greater. The university scored particularly well in the area of start-up qualification (9.9 out of 10 points), ranking third there. It is also one of the leading universities in the field of monitoring and evaluation (10 out of 10 points). The University of Bremen ranks sixth in the networking component (9.8 out of 10 points).

Success through Networks and Start-Up Qualification

Professor Michal Kucera, Vice President for Research and Transfer at the University of Bremen, is pleased about the excellent results once again. “We are proud that the University of Bremen is still among the top group in the Gründungsradar in Germany. We need to build on the good starting position and further develop our founding culture with new impulses.”

Dr. Martin Heinlein, head of the knowledge and technology transfer office UniTransfer and managing director of BRIDGE, emphasizes: “Our established programs such as the StartUp Workout have been confirmed in the start-up qualification. We have also taken up the topic of sustainability within the framework of the Bremen-Cardiff Initiative on Entrepreneurship & Sustainability and have also integrated it internationally through our cooperation with Cardiff University.” BRIDGE advises around 160 start-up projects per year and organizes more than 50 start-up awareness and training events with over 1,200 participants, such as the StartUp Workout or the StartUp Lounge.

Many Events Relevant to Start-Ups Also in Teaching

Start-up topics are also playing an increasingly important role in teaching at the University of Bremen. “It’s great to see that we are now offering numerous start-up-related events in teaching. This applies to all faculties of the University of Bremen – whether in terms of career perspectives in the geosciences, in the fields of health, ecology, and social entrepreneurship, or in the field of artificial intelligence,” summarizes Heinlein.

A particularly large number of events take place at the Chair in Small Business & Entrepreneurship (LEMEX). “For years, our student teams working on start-ups have been doing more – and better things! Entrepreneurship on campus has not just become fashionable, it has become a permanent fixture. And the students come from more and more degree courses, so the activity is becoming more and more interdisciplinary,” explains Professor Jörg Freiling, head of the LEMEX Chair.

About Start-Up Funding at the University and in the State of Bremen

The BRIDGE university network is the central point of contact for students, alumni, and members of Bremen universities on the topic of business start-ups. The BRIDGE university network is funded by the University of Bremen, Bremen University of Applied Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven, Constructor University, and Bremer Aufbau-Bank GmbH. The BRIDGE initiative has set itself the goal of improving the start-up climate at all participating HEIs and promoting promising ideas with start-up potential at an early stage.

Since 2007, the network has raised more than nine million euros in funding from the nationwide EXIST program to support a large number of scientific start-ups. The annual CAMPUSiDEEN competition with prizes worth around 20,000 euros rounds out the offer. Since 2003, 800 entries have been submitted in almost 20 years. This makes CAMPUSiDEEN one of the most continuous and largest competitions of its kind in Germany.

UniTransfer is the University of Bremen’s central interface between the university, business, and society. The experts at the knowledge and technology transfer office support cooperations and projects across the entire spectrum of university disciplines. This ranges from business start-ups, the exploitation of inventions, the placement of specialists and executives, the coordination of school projects, the management of the University Foundation and university fundraising.

Professor Jörg Freiling’s Chair in Small Business & Entrepreneurship (LEMEX) provides relevant theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of business start-ups and company foundations.

Further Information:

https://www.stifterverband.org/medien/gruendungsradar-2022
www.bridge-online.de
www.bridge-online.de/existenzgruendungsberatung/gruendungsgalerie
www.uni-bremen.de/kooperationen/uni-wirtschaft/wissens-und-technologietransfer/existenzgruendung
www.uni-bremen.de
 

Contact:

Dr. Martin Heinlein
Head of UniTransfer
Managing Director at BRIDGE
University of Bremen
Tel.: +49 0421 218-60330
Email: martin.heinleinprotect me ?!vw.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de

Meike Goos
University of Bremen
UniTransfer
BRIDGE Start-up Support
Tel.: +49 0421 218-60346
Email: meike.goosprotect me ?!vw.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de