The Transfer Center enaCom and numerous startup teams from the University of Bonn were present at this year's Startup Open Air. On August 27, 2025, Germany's largest open-air startup festival once again attracted many founders, investors, and anyone who wants to experience the startup world up close and help shape the future at the Bonner Bogen. The event takes place once a year and is organized by DIGITALHUB.DE.

Activating the body's antiviral defense system: A novel RIG-I ligand developed at the University of Bonn's Faculty of Medicine and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) helps the body recognize and fight off certain viruses at an early stage. This molecular structure has potential for the prevention and treatment of viral infections. Based on the research results, there are now plans to develop and market an antiviral nasal spray to protect against viral respiratory infections. In this interview, Prof. Dr. Gunther Hartmann, Director of the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology – Immunology in Translation – at the UKB, and co-inventor Dr. Christine Wübben talk about their experiences in patenting and further developing the invention into a marketable product.

Five days full of creativity, team spirit, and entrepreneurial thinking: At the Start-up Summer School in August, around 20 students and doctoral candidates worked intensively on their own business ideas—from the first sketches to the development of a sound business model to the final pitch in front of a jury. The Summer School was organized by the Transfer Center enaCom at the University of Bonn and the Startup Manufaktur at the University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg.

EXIST Women enters a new round in 2026. The funding program offers women start-up assistance on their path to founding a business. In addition to numerous workshops, individual coaching, and access to new networks, there is a financial grant of up to 9.000€. Whether you have your own idea or not, women interested in starting a business can apply until August 17. The EXIST Women Program is an initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

Learn the necessary steps from idea to start-up in just one week! At the Start-up Summer School organized by the Transfer Center enaCom and the Start-up-Manufaktur at the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (H-BRS), experts will show you the tools you need to start your own business. All students, scientists, alumni, and employees of the University of Bonn and H-BRS are welcome to participate, regardless of their field of study. The Summer School will take place from August 11 to 15 in Bonn. Anyone can register, with or without their own idea.

At the #Hack4Surgery hackathon, 12 teams developed solutions for real-life challenges in the emergency room. The event took place on 6 June 2025 at the Bonn Surgical Technology Center (BOSTER) of the University Hospital Bonn (UKB). With the help of machine learning methods and based on real, anonymised patient data, around 35 students and doctoral students from the University of Bonn developed predictive models to support doctors in making key decisions in everyday clinical practice. The first #Hack4Surgery was organised by BOSTER together with the Transfer Center enaCom and the Bonn-Aachen Institute for Information Technology (b-it).

Encouraging scientists to become sciencepreneurs and connecting research with entrepreneurship — this is the mission of the Transfer Center enaCom at the University of Bonn. This year, the university has once again been recognized with the title “Young Entrepreneurs in Science Campus.” The certificate is awarded by the Falling Walls Foundation’s Young Entrepreneurs in Science (YES) initiative to academic partner institutions that provide sustained support for entrepreneurship.

Doing good and earning money at the same time? How social or sustainable start-ups – known as impact start-ups or public benefit corporations – can emerge, was the topic of the networking event “Future Founders – Networking for a Better Future.” The event took place in May at DIGITALHUB and marked the launch of the new impact start-up cluster SoNaR, a joint project of the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, the University of Bonn, and Alanus University.