Supporting Inventiveness and Entrepreneurial Spirit - Innovation in Academic Education and Research

At KIT, innovation is not only considered to be the transfer of research results to industry and society, it also is a fixed constituent of our research and teaching activities. As potential founders of startups, students can learn everything necessary about methods, property rights, the structure of an organization, and project funding. By attending seminars and workshops, they can obtain profound business knowledge during education already.

Innovation is in the focus of the Institute for Entrepreneurship, Technology Management, and Innovation (ENTECHNON). Study programs there are aimed at training responsible entrepreneurs in the context of new technologies and emerging needs. We convey knowledge about entrepreneurship and technology management that enables students to successfully develop and commercialize inventions. In small teams, students also advance their social competences and learn to be successful in business. Course highlights are the Joint Entrepreneurship School organized in cooperation with Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and intensive training for prospective entrepreneurs within the upCAT Accelerator Program. ENTECHNON also conducts empirical innovation research to validate innovation theories or innovation-supporting management methods.

Students are also encouraged to work on and with their inventive spirit at many other institutes of KIT. IPEK – the Institute of Product Engineering organizes the Integrated Product Development seminar, for instance. It combines research and education with systematic innovation work in a specific way. In small teams and in cooperation with prominent industry partners like Bosch, Thyssenkrupp, or BMW, future engineers learn to implement a realistic development project in their own responsibility.