With StartUpLab@FH, the BMBF is funding the establishment of start-up centres at UAS. StartUpLabs serve as a meeting place for members of the respective UAS who are willing to start a business. They create space for experimenting, validating, and testing innovative ideas.  

The third status meeting of the current 35 StartUpLabs took place in November 2024. The event focused on the role of the StartUpLabs as innovation centres and support structures for those interested in founding a company at UAS. With its varied programme, the meeting provided a platform for inspiration, networking, and solution-oriented collaboration.

In addition to the presentation and tour of the StartUpLab in Jena, the programme included pitches from other StartUpLabs as well as keynote speeches on the importance of social entrepreneurship for the region (Martin Hellmann, start-up consultancy at the University of Erfurt), on sustainably anchoring start-up topics in university teaching (Heike Hölzner, HTW Berlin), and on the start-up ecosystem in Jena (Sebastian Händschke, Head of the Digital Innovation Hub Photonics in Jena).

The two-day meeting also included a workshop in which the participants developed practical solutions for navigating the route from the lecture theatre through the StartUpLab to actually starting a business. The three start-ups Perceptec, Career Captain, and Cascaritas, who all benefited from Kickstart funding through a StartUpLab, talked about their respective start-up experiences.

The event once again emphasised the importance of universities of applied sciences as places where entrepreneurial thinking and action is encouraged. Through funding lines such as StartUpLab@FH, the BMBF contributes to the sustainable integration of start-up culture and innovation into the university landscape.