Four universities, one network

In order to further improve the start-up culture at universities in Baden-Württemberg, the state of Baden-Württemberg is funding six so-called INSPIRE BW Hubs with up to 1.8 million euros per year. The focus of these networks is to provide targeted support for founders at universities in Baden-Württemberg. Science Minister Petra Olschowski says in the MWK press release: "Research and knowledge-based start-ups and spin-offs are of strategic importance for securing the competitiveness of Baden-Württemberg as a location for innovation. In order to provide even better support for founders from the scientific community on their way to setting up their own company, we are promoting cooperation between the universities in six INSPIRE BW Hubs."

Four universities from the Bodensee-Alb-Oberschwaben region work together

One of the funded alliances is the "Kilometer1 Hub", in which the HTWG Konstanz, the University of Konstanz, the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University of Applied Sciences and RWU have joined forces. "Our goal is to make the support of start-up projects at our universities more efficient and sustainable through networked cooperation," says Dr. Christina Ungerer, project manager and Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the HTWG Konstanz, which is in charge of the project. The merger will not only strengthen the visibility of start-up support at the individual universities, but also increase the overall attractiveness of Baden-Württemberg as a start-up location.

Support from the idea to the spin-off

In order to inspire students, researchers and academic staff to pursue the alternative career path of founding a company and to support them in the further development of innovative product or business models, the Kilometer1 Hub will establish and expand networking, knowledge transfer and advisory services. The Kilometer1 Hub combines the strengths of four universities with around 21,000 students. "Together, we can give those interested in founding a company access to a huge talent pool and a wide range of specialist areas," says Professor Dr. Wolfram Höpken, Head of the Innovation and Start-up Center LAB4DTE at RWU.

Since 2020, RWU has been supporting students and founders with the LAB4DTE (Lab for Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurship) innovation lab and start-up center in the implementation of innovative ideas through to the founding of their own company. Start-up teams are supported in the early phase of their start-up journey with methodological advice and content-related sparring, for which partners from the networks with relevant expertise are brought in as required.

Support from a broad regional network

The Kilometer1 Hub can build on a broad network. Around 28 institutions, universities from the Lake Constance Science Network as well as cluster and industry associations have supported the application and expressed interest in working with the Kilometer1 Hub. "This broad support shows us that there is a need for targeted start-up support at universities and that we can make a valuable contribution to the sustainable economic development of the region with the hub," says Professor Dr. Guido Baltes, project manager and director of the Institute for Strategic Innovation and Transformation at the HTWG Konstanz.

Together, the four partner universities and their associated partners are optimistic about the future and look forward to accompanying many innovative and future-oriented start-up teams of students and scientists on their way.

Contact persons at LAB4DTE at RWU are Birgit Demuth: birgit.demuth@rwu.de and Christian Baumgartner: christian.baumgartner@rwu.de