School:Hamburg University of Technology
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Promoting student innovation and entrepreneurship
Hamburg University of Technology is a technical university in Germany that is educating future engineers. On top of its engineering degrees it also offers degrees focused on management sciences. These are exclusively master/graduate programs. Half of them are aiming at shaping industrial engineers (M.Sc. International Management and Engineering, M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering & Management, M.Sc. International Production Management). The remaining programs focus on Innovation & Technology Management (M.Sc. Global Innovation Management, (Part-Time) MBA Technology Management). Only one program is specifically tailored to develop entrepreneurial skills and attitude (M.Sc. Global Technology and Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship (GTIME)). TUHH also offers cooperative degree programs (dual@TUHH), in which students work for a company alongside their studies.
In different modules of several studies (post- and undergraduate) the topic of I&E is promoted. This happens through the eyes of strategic management as well as in any engineering courses which includes cutting edge technology. Moreover there are courses, which focus exclusively on the topics of I&E and encourage a hands-on mentality, where students are motivated to develop their own innovative ideas and show how their ideas could become reality. The modules related to I&E are mostly taught by three institutes: the Institute of Entrepreneurship, the Institute of Technology and Innovation Management and the Institute of Innovation Marketing. These institutes also center the I&E research efforts in addition to the Center for Frugal Innovation. Along with these three pillars of I&E ,the Institute of Strategic and International Management conducts business management courses for students from a technical background to inculcate innovation into their respective study fields. The Institute of Product Development and Design Technology promote innovation specifically in fields of aviation, medical technology and plant engineering. Furthermore, students have been inspired by the B.Sc. in Green Technologies program, demonstrating their innovative and entrepreneurial skills by founding the Klima AG.
An important anchor point in the I&E ecosystem of Hamburg is the Startup Port empowered by the TUHH, an Hamburg wide joint project . It provides specific courses aimed at shaping the skills and mindset of nascent entrepreneurs, pitch events and consulting services for founders during their start-up process. It also hosts events and talks, where students can get inspired. Tutech Innovation GmbH is an institution TUHH is closely cooperating with and offers services similar to the ones of Startup Dock. These two facilities are located next to each other and accommodate most of the educational offerings of the Institute of Entrepreneurship. All three together form the Center for Entrepreneurship at TUHH. A new innovation facility which further promotes the establishment of a vivid start-up scene in the vicinity of TUHH is the Hamburg Innovation Port.
Further support is given through the WorkING Lab@TUHH. A place of joint creative work, which is intended to unite many interest groups around the TUHH to support creativity in new technologies of digital product development and generative manufacturing. Various workshops by University associations as e.g. the Career Center allow students to prepare themselves professionally and also to use professional facilities to prototype and bring their ideas to life.
Inspired students can also take part in various extracurricular clubs to work together in Teams on innovative ideas. Especially known is our award-winning working group e-gnition, which develops an electric race car and takes part in the Formula Student. Other student groups are also working on projects like small robots which play soccer (HULKs - RobotING), fully automated cocktail machines (Advanced Cocktail Engineering) and many more. A newly founded student club, which arose from the UIF-cohort 20/21 is the "Ideenschmiede Hamburg". It offers students opportunities to network outside of the curriculum and learn from the experiences of others in the field of innovation & entrepreneurship. In this way, they deal with important questions regarding personal development and later career choices. They learn to solve real problems with practical methods. We think entrepreneurially and thus consider our own ideas in the light of a potential business start-up.
The UIF cohort 2023 , conducts the Impact Week Sustainability , an one week sprint program, where students from diverse backgrounds would work together in groups and learn design thinking , prototyping and implement it towards having a more sustainable campus. The program takes place from 31st May to the 7th of June. The event comprises of a kick-off event where the participants will get to know each other and learn about the current status and projects at the university from external speakers. At the second workshop, we will let students develop their own projects using design thinking to improve sustainability on campus. We want to get straight to the first implementation with subsequent feedback, which will continue throughout the week. In the third and fourth workshops, participants will be able to discuss the progress of their projects and potential obstacles.
Encouraging faculty innovation and entrepreneurship
The faculty at TU Hamburg is encouraged through multiple collaborations with innovative companies in Hamburg. One way this unfolds is that a lot of PhD candidates write their thieses in cooperation with a company to have a direct impact on the economy and the university lectures will then be enriched by the research.
Furthermore, faculty members can work on projects at the Start Up Port and possibly create their own start-ups. Also, they are welcome to further educate themselves on I&E related topics in the workshops provided by the Startup Port, Tutech Innovation GmbH and Northern Institute of Technology Management (NiT). However, it is rather unlikely that a lot of faculty members attend courses at NiT, since these are focused at upskilling employees of established companies.
Some collaborations are also with research facilities as well, may that often be fundamental research. These include the Helmholtz Center Geesthacht, the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). This might not create a start up at first, but it opens the university to a greater spectrum of technical possibilities that will spark conversations and collaboration at the university itself. Thereby research efforts are primarily focused on the objectives pursued by the following research centers:
- Research Center for Integrated Biotechnology and Process Engineering
- Research Center for Climate Protecting Energy- and Environmental Engineering
- Research Center for Regeneration, Implants, Medical Technology
- Research Center for Medical Technology
- Research Center for Maritime Systems
- Research Center for Aeronautics
- Research Center for Product-Oriented Materials Development
- Research Center for Logistics and Mobility for Sustainable Value Creation
- Research Center for Digital Production, Logistics, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)
- Collaborative Research Center Tailor-Made Multi-Scale Materials Systems
The I3 Program is fostering the collaboration between different scientific fields. Interdisciplinary oriented projects including scientists of TU get funded. A new initiative at TUHH is the introduction of the newly founded Future Lectures, which address emerging research challenges, highlight the societal impact of innovative research, and spark new research ideas and discussions within the university.
Actively supporting the university technology transfer function
Students that have established a concept find help in extra consultancy. These consultants help the new becoming entrepreneurs to develop a solid business model. An incentive is that the government of Germany offers a start-up scholarship for those students with the most promising concept, called EXIST Founder Scholarship. As already mentioned these services are provided by the two institutions Startup Port and Tutech Innovation Gmbh, which are separate entities but very closely cooperating with TUHH. Consequently, these are specifically designed to foster technology transfer from TUHH to local and global industry. In the future, Hamburg Innovation Port will be an additional means for enhanced technology transfer.
Furthermore, the Northern Institute of Technology Management is educating employees of established companies on the latest innovation and creativity practices, such as agile design methods.
Moreover, at the Technical University of Hamburg , professors of every department are open to questions and help regarding entrepreneurial endeavors.
Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration
Through shared ownership of companies the university ensures that projects that started in the university can be translated in the private sector of Hamburg (Start Up Port, Tutech Innovation GmbH).
Moreover, companies are always engaging in projects which offers students a possibility to work on real-life challenges. One example is the project LOMIS in which an institute was working with Lufthansa Technik AG. The project delivered insights for Design Thinking in Open Innovation projects.
Furthermore, the Career Forum at TUHH is a job fair where students can get in touch with various companies, learn about job opportunities in different industries and practise their interviewing skills. The Fishing for Experience program allows the students to work on entrepreneurial tasks in international and interdisciplinary teams with attractive companies in Hamburg Metropolitan Region.
Most of university-industry collaboration is done at the research level. A prominent example in this case is the ZAL Center of Applied Aeronautical Research which connects the TUHH to two the biggest employers of the region, Airbus S.A.S. and Lufthansa Technik AG.
Lastly, the Hamburg University of Technology (TU Hamburg) is taking on a global perspective with its newly established UNU Hub, "Engineering to Face Climate Change," marking the start of a vital collaboration with the United Nations University to position TU Hamburg as a global center for research and innovation, where international expertise and technical innovation converge to tackle climate change through engineering solutions.
Engaging with regional and local economic development efforts
The Center of Applied Aeronautical Research (ZAL) thus also displays TUHH's efforts to effectively cooperate with regional an local partners in order to stimulate economic development. The ZAL conducts research in different topics like: Drones, 3D-Printing and aircraft cabin systems that are designed in virtual reality.
Similarly, the Research Center for Maritime Systems and the Research Center for Logistics and Mobility for Sustainable Value Creation are characterized by a close cooperation to local companies located in the Hamburg's sea port. Since the industries related with the port are the main drivers of wealth for the region a prosperous collaboration is key here.
In addition there are several projects which are conducted with different local partners like DESY, who are focusing on research in fundamental physics. Further partners are the Fraunhofer Society and German Aerospace Centre DLR. Some institutes of TU have key roles concerning the innovation park of Harburg.
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