What sets the Gründergarage apart is its cross-university and interdisciplinary collaboration: students from different disciplines worked together to develop innovative solutions and business models. This brought together business management perspectives with psychological, technical and scientific expertise – for example, from business studies, psychology and physics. It was precisely this mix that formed the core of the programme: the more diverse the teams were, the more broadly the problems were considered and the more effectively the ideas could be developed.
From an idea to a business model
Over the course of six face-to-face sessions, the participants worked on real-world problems, validated their ideas through customer feedback, developed business plans and prepared their presentations for the final pitch. They were supported in this process by methods and tools drawn from entrepreneurship, design thinking and business model development. Alongside the technical work, the programme placed particular emphasis on teamwork, entrepreneurial thinking and the ability to present convincingly.
Final pitches to a panel of experts
During the final pitches, the teams presented their start-up ideas to a jury comprising key figures from the regional start-up ecosystem. The jury included Ulrike Hudelmaier, Managing Director of TFU; Tobias Egle, start-up advisor at the Ulm Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK); Thomas Rehmet, Head of the Entrepreneurs Campus at the University of Ulm; and Steffen Reik, Head of the THU Start-up Centre. The jury provided the students with practical feedback on their business models, market potential, feasibility and presentation.
Matching von Mitgründern
Following the final pitches, a co-founder matching session also took place. This gave founders the opportunity to talk to potential co-founders, network and find the right skills to help develop their ideas further. As a result, the pitch day served not only as the conclusion of the elective module, but also as a starting point for potential next steps in setting up a business.
Strengthening the start-up culture in the region
“The Start-up Garage impressively demonstrates the potential that arises when students from different universities and disciplines work together on entrepreneurial ideas,” says Prof. Dr Jens Kolb, Vice-President for Knowledge Transfer and Continuing Education at HNU. “It is precisely the interdisciplinary composition of the teams that leads to creative, well-founded and practical solutions.”
The collaboration between HNU, the University of Ulm and THU strengthens the start-up culture in the region and offers students the opportunity not only to learn about entrepreneurship in theory, but also to experience it first-hand. The final pitches demonstrated how interdisciplinary collaboration, methodological support and entrepreneurial courage can give rise to compelling ideas.
About Gründergarage
The ‘Gründergarage’ is an inter-university compulsory elective module worth 5 ECTS credits. In this module, students work in teams to develop their own business ideas, assess their market potential, draw up a business plan and present their business concept to a panel of judges. The programme is jointly run by Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences, the University of Ulm and Ulm University of Technology.
Contact person
Rebecca Stadelmaier
