The UNIPRENEURS initiative recently honored Prof. Dr. Jan-Paul Lüdtke from the University of Applied Sciences Wedel and Prof. Dr. Franz Xaver Kärtner from the University of Hamburg (together with DESY/CFEL) for their outstanding commitment in the field of entrepreneurship. Both award winners are part of the Startup Port network, were selected from a total of 700 nominations and are representative of 20 award-winning professors from all over Germany.
Prof. Dr. Jan-Paul Lüdtke from the University of Applied Sciences Wedel honored
Prof. Dr. Lüdtke, Head of the E-Commerce course and project manager for the start-up culture at Wedel UAS, was honored by the UNIPRENEURS initiative for his outstanding commitment to entrepreneurship. With the start-up support program “Startup Bridge”, which is closely linked to the Startup Port, the start-up culture has been deeply anchored in everyday university life at FH Wedel since 2020: “I accept the award on behalf of all colleagues with whom we have successfully promoted the topics of start-up and innovation culture at FH Wedel in recent years,” Lüdtke thanked everyone involved. Through the partnership with Startup Port, Wedel UAS is strengthening its position in the Hamburg metropolitan region as an institution that has been facilitating successful start-ups for decades. These include start-ups such as “VAARHAFT”, “toern”, “Immerzed”, “Detach Entertainment” and “Female Lights”.
As part of his tribute, Lüdtke highlighted the planned establishment of the Startup and Technology Center (GTZ) in Wedel, which will also become part of the Startup Port. The direct access to expertise in important future topics speaks in favor of the GTZ. These include Industry 4.0, sensor technology and smart systems, data science and artificial intelligence, environmental technology, 3D printing, virtual and augmented reality, smart grids, digital marketing and e-commerce as well as digital innovations in the healthcare sector. Thanks to the connection to the laboratory infrastructure and the teaching staff, founders can draw inspiration from the Startup Port platform network and receive important support in order to quickly create a prototype and a minimum viable product. “I am committed to building a network between established companies and start-ups for a more innovative and efficient economy in the entire district,” concludes Lüdtke – the Startup Port will actively support him in this.
Prof. Dr. Franz Xaver Kärtner from the University of Hamburg (with DESY/CFEL) honored
Prof. Dr. Franz Kärtner was also honored by UNIPRENEURS for his entrepreneurial spirit. The scientist conducts research at the Cluster of Excellence “CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter” at the University of Hamburg and heads the working group “Ultrafast Laser and X-ray Physics at the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL)” at DESY. Kärtner is the founder of the start-up “Cycle GmbH”, which is supported by the Startup Port. The foundation has resulted in a so-called deep-tech company. This means that it is not aimed at end users, but offers new and particularly innovative technical solutions to industry and science, in the case of “Cycle GmbH” in the field of ultra-precision synchronization. With his start-up, Kärtner wants to help customers to precisely control and synchronize large-scale systems such as free-electron lasers, large ultrafast laser systems and radar telescopes.
At the award ceremony, Kärtner emphasized the importance of cooperation between science and industry: “Spin-offs are important in order to translate the results of cutting-edge research into innovations, thereby strengthening Germany as an industrial location and retaining the best specialists and innovators in the long term”. The Startup Port network was established for this transfer work.
UNIPRENEURS initiative underlines the importance of cooperation
The award ceremony took place at the Allianz Forum in Berlin in the presence of the Federal Minister of Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger. With these awards, the UNIPRENEURS initiative, which is backed by a renowned consortium of investors and industry associations, once again demonstrates how indispensable close cooperation between universities, universities of applied sciences and the growing startup scene, represented by platforms such as Startup Port, is for Germany as a location for innovation.
About UNIPRENEURS
UNIPRENEURS is an initiative to strengthen spin-offs at German universities. It was launched by Matthias Hilpert and Martin Schilling. The Federal Minister of Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, and the Federal Minister of Economics and Climate Protection, Dr. Robert Habeck, have jointly assumed the patronage of the initiative. UNIPRENEURS awards the highest recognition in Germany for outstanding commitment in the field of entrepreneurship at universities.
