Celebrating universities as seedbeds for startups at the annual ESCNRW Congress

Last week, the NRW startup and innovation community came together in Düsseldorf to explore the power of universities as engines of entrepreneurship and innovation – and to celebrate the progress made within the "Exzellenz Start-up Center.NRW" initiative.
The event featured inspiring discussions on startup financing, the potential of the new EXIST Startup Factories, and the crucial role of universities in fostering Entrepreneurial Transfer from ´science. The six ESC universities – and the startups emerging from them – are living proof of the huge entrepreneurial power that North Rhine-Westphalia is home to. 

BioThrust and FibreCoat, both spin-offs from RWTH Aachen University, are two lighthouse examples of this success. They not only transformed groundbreaking research into innovative businesses but also help shape the NRW start-up ecosystem far beyond its borders. Thank you to Konstantin Kurz, Alexander Lüking, and Robert Brüll for joining us in Düsseldorf!

While it was inspiring to see the progress made at all ESCNRW universities over the past six years, the panel discussion with the rectors and vice-rectors also made one thing clear – this is only the beginning. As our Vice-Rector for Transfer and Translation, Prof. Matthias Wessling, emphasized:

“We have to keep pushing technology transfer by embedding the entrepreneurial spirit into teaching and research.“

That’s why we remain committed to empowering researchers to become the next generation of entrepreneurs who create real impact for industry and society.

Thank you to the Projektträger Jülich, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH and the Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Industrie, Klimaschutz und Energie des Landes NRW for organizing such an inspiring event!