In November 2020, "Entrepreneurship at the University of Stuttgart" was the first event in the field of start-ups for both of the Clusters of Excellence at the University of Stuttgart. Invited by the Vice Rector for Knowledge and Technology Transfer Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Middendorf and the Vice Rector for Research Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jan Knippers, Philipp Häßler (ENI) and Marcel Werle (ENI) provided information on how to start your own company, protect your ideas and where to seek advice. In January 2021, this topic was then continued with a panel discussion on "How to combine first founding activities with your role as a researcher".
Due to the successful events and the interest in the topic, the idea arose to establish a corresponding start-up series for the doctoral researchers in both Clusters of Excellence: The EXC – Start-Up Series was born. The series, which is jointly organized by the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Science (ENI), the Cluster of Excellence SimTech and the Cluster of Excellence IntCDC, comprises the following components:
EXC – Start-up Talks
The EXC – Start-up Talks will feature discussions on current start-up topics with active and successful founders from the respective areas of the clusters. Topics will include such as success factors, collaborations and the path from research to market. The discussion, which are organized and moderated by Marcel Werle and Philipp Häßler, involve other experts from the University of Stuttgart’s start-up network.
EXC – Start-up Lectures
The EXC – Start-up Lectures are designed to introduce researchers to topics that are necessary for starting their own business. These include legal aspects, IP, financing and market analysis. Experts from within the University and from Stuttgart’s ecosystem will give the lectures.
EXC – Start-up Workshops
EXC – Start-up Workshops provide an interactive opportunity for researchers to develop a commercial perspective on their own research and potentially advance initial business ideas based on their research findings. The workshops will apply state-of-the-art start-up methodologies such as lean start-up.
EXC – Start-up Q&A
Once a month, the EXC – Start-up Q&A take place. Here, PhD researchers have the opportunity to ask Marcel Werle and Philipp Häßler their questions about starting a business.
The aim is to promote the founding of start-ups from research and its results.
Mia Zsohár graduated from the University of Konstanz with a bachelor's degree in Literature-Art-Media with a focus on Media Studies. During her studies she supported the Department of Media Studies in research and teaching. She spent one semester at the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest in the field of Media and Communication Studies, focusing especially on communicative processes in (social) systems and media. She graduated with a Master of Arts in Corporate Communications at the Stuttgart Media University and collaborated in various practical projects with entrepreneurs and NGOs. She also gained practical experience in the insurance industry and at the ARENA2036 research campus in the areas of communication, event and project management. As of January 2023, she is a research associate at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research at the University of Stuttgart in the Elements 4 Founding project.
Kathrin Lichius completed her industrial engineering studies at the cooperative state university in Stuttgart and the Open University in England. As part of this study, she also completed internships in New Zealand and France. Subsequently, she worked as a project coordinator in the product development department and product strategy at Mercedes-Benz AG and gained valuable practical experience in development and innovation processes in the automotive industry. She acquired intercultural competence during a sabbatical with the organization Ingenieure ohne Grenzen e.V. as a project manager in Kenya. She also earned her MBA in Engineering Management at the Wilhelm-Büchner-Hochschule. In addition, she works as a lecturer for agile project management and leads as a simulation game manager through management simulation games. Since May 2022, she has been working as a research assistant at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research at the University of Stuttgart.