Prize for optimal start-up support

Entrepreneurship

9/7/2023
Reading time 3 min.

For their committed support of start-ups, Prof. Klaus Diepold, Prof. Markus Lienkamp, Prof. Hana Milanov and Prof. Helmut Schönenberger have been honored as Unipreneurs. TUM was the only university with four representatives at the presentation of the awards, which recognizes outstanding entrepreneurship activities at universities.

The new Unipreneurs Prof. Klaus Diepold, Prof. Hana Milanov, Prof. Helmut Schönenberger and Prof. Markus Lienkamp.

The Unipreneurs awards are one of the most prestigious honors for scientists who give time and advice to start-up teams at German universities. The jury selected 20 winners from among more than 700 nominations submitted by young entrepreneurs. Award winners from TUM included:

Prof. Klaus Diepold, Chair of Data Processing, Board of Directors of the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM)
Prof. Markus Lienkamp, Chair of Automotive Technology, Co-Director of the Munich Cluster for the Future of Mobility in Metropolitan Regions (MCube)
Prof. Hana Milanov, Professorship of International Entrepreneurship, Board of Directors of the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM)
Prof. Helmut Schönenberger, Vice President for Entrepreneurship at TUM, CEO of UnternehmerTUM

Unipreneurs is an initiative of the investors Matthias Hilpert and Martin Schilling, the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, the German Startup Association, the Bitkom industry association and Startupdetector. Official patrons of the awards are the German Federal Minister of Economic Affairs Robert Habeck and the German Federal Minister of Research and Education Bettina Stark-Watzinger.

Early self-reliance at CDTM

Prospective entrepreneurs receive optimal support at TUM. Students in any field can attend entrepreneurship seminars at any time – up to and including the Entrepreneurship Master Class, which combines a master’s thesis with start-up projects.

In addition, the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM), a joint institution of TUM and LMU, offers the add-on study program Technology Management, which brings students together with industry partners to work on problems from the world of business. At the same time, they learn how to create innovations and start their own companies. A key factor is the opportunity for the diverse teams to assume responsibility at an early stage. The CDTM has already produced around 1000 alumni. Many of them have launched successful start-ups, including several unicorns – i.e. companies with a valuation exceeding one billion dollars – such as Personio.

Around 70 new start-ups every year

In the various start-up phases, all teams at the university have access to the appropriate programs and coaching offered by TUM and UnternehmerTUM, the Center for Innovation and Business Creation. Just one floor above the TUM Incubator, the Entrepreneurship Research Institute investigates factors behind the success of newly launched companies. This gives new start-ups direct access to the insights gained through this research. The high-tech workshop MakerSpace provides the optimal infrastructure to build prototypes. UnternehmerTUM invests in the most promising young companies with its own venture capital fund.

The TUM Venture Labs open up a new dimension in start-up support in 12 important deep-tech fields from quantum technology to healthcare to aerospace. They offer the founding teams direct contact to leading-edge research in their areas, the specific technical infrastructure they need, training programs, expertise for their target markets and global networking with the industry and with investors. Every year around 70 technology-based companies are founded at TUM, among them is Celonis, the first German start-up to reach a valuation of 10 billion dollars.

Further information and links

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