Project

Startpunkt.Gründen — Strengthening the Community, Supporting Startups, Making a Lasting Impact

Title: "Startpunkt.Gründen"—Strengthening Community, Supporting Startups, Creating a Lasting Impact

Description: Strengthening the Community—Structurally Embedding Entrepreneurship

With the “Startpunkt.Gründen” project, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences is systematically expanding its startup support into an integrated, professional comprehensive system. The goal is to permanently embed entrepreneurial thinking in teaching, research, and university culture and to highlight entrepreneurship as a realistic, attractive career option.

At the heart of the initiative is a holistic support model that systematically combines awareness-raising, idea generation, training, consulting, and access to networks. This approach specifically bridges typical gaps in the startup process—such as those between research and commercial application or between idea and implementation.

Promoting Startups—From Idea to Market-Ready Company
“Startpunkt.Gründen” supports those interested in starting a business throughout the entire development process—from the initial idea to potential scaling.

Key elements include:

• Early awareness-raising through curricular offerings, community formats, and competitions.
• Formats for idea development and innovation methodology, such as design thinking workshops, challenges, and hackathons
• Structured training programs for different development phases
• A two-stage accelerator model for targeted preparation for funding programs and business startups
• A university-sponsored startup grant to provide microfinancing for startup teams in the early stages
• Pitch and networking events to engage investors, funding institutions, and regional partners

There is a particular focus on technology- and research-based spin-offs. Through research scouting, technology transfer analyses, and close collaboration with research groups, scientific findings are identified at an early stage and transformed into marketable business models.

Making a Lasting Impact – Strengthening Structures, Networks, and Quality

In addition to providing direct support to startup teams, the project strengthens the structural foundations of startup support at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and systematically expands regional and cross-university collaborations.

Digital tools—including a custom-developed tool with future AI-supported functions—further support the teams in validation, business model development, and experiment design. This makes innovation processes more transparent, data-driven, and efficient.

Funding Period: February 12, 2026 – July 31, 2028

Funding bodies: EU &State of Saxony-Anhalt ( )

Funding program: ego.-KONZEPT (Saxony-Anhalt)

Link to the project website

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