Creative solutions were developed in intercultural teams - from the recycling of organic waste to sustainable cultivation models. The students received specialist input on business model design, market fit, pitch training, entrepreneurship, sustainable land management and circular practices. They were supported by HNU lecturers such as Prof Dr Dirk Bildhäuser, Prof Dr Julia Künkele and Prof Dr Thorsten Neumann as well as external practitioners such as Dr Tobias Orthen and Azadeh Farajpour from the Ulm start-up betterSoil and Dr Cheikh Ahmadou Mbodji.
Visits to the UGB incubator and the UGB experimental farm provided participants with valuable insights into current start-up processes and agricultural innovation projects on site. It became particularly clear: Agricultural innovation under different climatic, infrastructural and economic conditions poses high demands. Successful concepts must be resource-efficient, locally adapted and realistically realisable.
Finally, the teams presented their business ideas in a pitch session in front of a jury of experts, teachers and project managers. This was a worthy climax to a week full of collaboration, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit.
The FOUNDERS LAB 2025 impressively demonstrates how international cooperation, diversity and entrepreneurial thinking enable sustainable solutions to global challenges. The interaction between business, the environment and society also became clear.
The project was supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
