The KIT Innovation Day on June 28, 2017, is a platform for everybody who is interested in innovation. Kick-off speeches from research, pitches about technologies and foundations as well as an exhibition on innovations encourage the visitors to exchange experiences, develop new ideas, and meet potential sponsors. The evening highlight is a kickoff speech by Professor Dr. Michael Kaschke, Chairman of the Board at Carl Zeiss AG, entitled “Jeder Konzern war einmal ein Start-up – was bleibt davon erhalten?”, pointing out that every corporate group once began as a start-up and shedding a light on what finally remains of this initial phase.
“Transferring scientific insight to practical application is what all members of KIT see as their contribution to mastering the big challenges of today’s society,” Professor Thomas Hirth, Vice President for Innovation and International Affairs at KIT underlines. “With the Innovation Day, we provide a platform to the players at KIT and from the entire region where they can advance their ideas and find suitable implementation partners.”
Under the motto “Creating Innovation”, the Innovation Day brings together students and research assistants of KIT, company founders, industry partners, investors, and network partners. It features “live performances” of the many innovations at KIT and promotes the exchange about projects and new ideas. A number of seminars and workshops that provide information, e.g. about financing options, patents, communication, and negotiation strategies are offered on the Innovation Day. Exciting research projects conducted at KIT in the fields of energy, information, and mobility present their approaches and results. A gallery of innovation introduces selected research and founder teams. Current KIT technology projects are presented at the R2B tech pitch and the most recent spin-off projects, such as novel ideas for early cancer diagnosis, drinking water treatment, multi-functional nanofur, and sensitive robot fingers, can be checked out at the start-up pitch.
The evening program includes the award ceremony for the Start-up Award and the Innovation Award of KIT, the kickoff speech by Michael Kaschke, Chairman of the Board at Carl Zeiss AG, and finally a late-night discussion on the various aspects of innovation.
The complete program of the Innovation Day and the link for interested person to register free of charge (registrations welcome until June 21, 2017), can be found under the following link:
http://www.kit-neuland-innovationstag.de
NEULAND – the Innovation Day at KIT – was created as part of the KIT Founders Forge project and has meanwhile evolved into the central event relating to the third core task of KIT: innovation. It serves as a showcase, a technology and start-up exchange, and a place where partners, friends, and sponsors from sciences, industry and society meet. The KIT Founders Forge project is funded within the scope of the “Culture of Entrepreneurship” EXIST-IV program by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.