Start-up Spring School 2026
Launch your own start-up in five days: That's the Start-up Spring School from the Transfer Center enaCom (University of Bonn) and Start-up-Manufaktur, the start-up center at Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (March 9-13, 2026, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. each day). Here, you will develop your own start-up ideas as part of a team. You will be supported by our experienced coaches and learn everything you need to know about starting a business. In addition, successful founders enrich our program with authentic insights into the real world of start-ups. The Spring School takes place at the Transfer Center (Brühler Str. 7, 53119 Bonn) and at DIGITALHUB (Am Hauptbahnhof 6, 53111 Bonn).
Don't have your own idea yet? No problem—your enthusiasm is all you need!
Any interested member of the University of Bonn and H-BRS is welcome: students, researchers, employees, alumni.
Program
The Spring School offers a varied mix: every day there is a technical input on the planned goal for the day, as well as methodology training with personal guidance. There is also plenty of time for research and individual or team work. In between, you will regularly present your results and progress and receive personal feedback from the trainers and the group.
Secure your spot now!
- You don't need to have your own start-up idea to participate in the Start-up Spring School!
- If you already have your own business idea and would like to work on it, simply contact the organizing team in advance (see contact details below).
- However, the number of participants is limited, so register quickly until February 25, 2026!
Agenda and course content
You will start with an introduction and get to know the other participants. After a creative brainstorming session, you will form teams and develop your first business models—supported by GenAI and Perplexity.
You formulate hypotheses about customer needs and test them directly in the field. Through interviews with potential users, you gather valuable feedback and refine your ideas iteratively.
After further interviews, you will analyze market size, competition, and trends. An inspiring keynote speech and testimonials from successful founders will give you valuable insights.
You develop initial prototypes or mock-ups of your products/services. Then you refine your pitches to present your business idea convincingly.
Professional communication training will prepare you for the stage. You will then present your ideas to a jury of experienced founders and coaches.
After five informative, exciting, and perhaps exhausting days of work at the Start-up Spring School, you will not only have gained important business experience, but you will also receive a certificate for participating in this professional training program.
“For those interested in starting a business, the enaCom School offers the ideal environment to immerse themselves in the start-up world and advance their own ideas. The Summer School was where our Sweeternative team was born, and it helped us immensely in turning our idea into reality.”
Dr. Marcel Hövels, Participant in the Start-up Summer School 2022
“The enaCom School allowed us to run through the start-up project at a rapid pace. There we learned things that no lecture could teach us. Our team then put our summer school project into practice: without summer school, there would be no LightningPose.”
Jakob Vanhoefer, Participant in the Start-up Summer School 2021
Contact
Dr. Alexander Küsshauer
