What happens when about 30 students and researchers from different disciplines come together to further develop their ideas? They brainstorm, experiment, test ideas with potential customers, discuss business concepts, and ultimately present seven of their own creative business ideas. At the fully booked Start-up Summer School in August, participants spent a week learning all the basics of starting a business. The Start-up Summer School is offered regularly by the Transfer Center enaCom at the University of Bonn and the Start-up Manufaktur at Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.

At the Start-up Open Day in July, numerous visitors had the opportunity to experience everything happening in the start-up scene at the University of Bonn and learn about the resources and services the Transfer Center enaCom offers to all members of the university community. At the event, the enaCom start-up and innovation consulting team presented their work, alongside numerous other start-up enthusiasts who are driving new ideas forward at the university. Among them were the Institute for Entrepreneurship, the “Uni Bonn spielt” community, and, of course, many founders.

The Bonn-based start-up project ReRetina (Eye Clinic, University Hospital Bonn) has won the GeneNovate® Entrepreneurship Program. The award marked the conclusion of the third round of the nationwide program under the National Strategy for Gene- and Cell-Based Therapies (National GCT Strategy) in Munich at the end of June.

Cuba is suffering from an energy crisis: Widespread power outages are paralyzing the country’s infrastructure. This is where the start-up “EnergiKaba” comes in with its solar-powered charging stations for electric rickshaws. Its goal is to ensure mobility independent of the power grid. With the help of these solar charging stations, rickshaw drivers will be able to continue operating even during power outages—which often last for hours—thereby securing their income and ensuring the transport of people and goods in Cuba. Behind the idea for “EnergiKaba” is exist Women fellow Franca-Noemi Kaba Gómez. In an interview, she explains how the project came about across two continents and how she plans to secure (partial) funding through crowdfunding.

The panel discussion “Scientific Entrepreneurs: From the Academic Lab to the Startup World” about transfer opportunities in scientific research attracted over thirty researchers interested in venturing beyond the solely scientific scope of their studies. The event featured a number of principal investigators and post doctorates from the University of Bonn who all have transformed their academic research into entrepreneurial opportunities. The panel discussion was organized in May by the Transfer Center enaCom, the University Hospital Bonn and Nucleate Germany.

FEMTEC, the nationally established career-building programme for female STEM students, will continue and be further developed. For more than 25 years, FEMTEC has supported numerous young women on their path to taking on responsibility, fostering innovation, and assuming leadership roles - and has built a strong network of committed universities, companies, and alumnae. The University of Bonn has been a partner university since 2023 and welcomes the programme’s continuation.

The Transfer Center enaCom at the University of Bonn is successfully continuing its collaboration with the Falling Walls Foundation’s Young Entrepreneurs in Science (YES) initiative: The University of Bonn has once again been certified as a “Young Entrepreneurs in Science Campus.” This recognition affirms the university’s ongoing commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in science.

Want to find out what’s happening in the start-up scene at the University of Bonn? Then stop by the enaCom Start-up Open Day on July 7 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Transfer Center enaCom. Over free drinks and ice cream, you can chat with others, discover new things and spark your innovation!