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Studierende sitzt am Arbeitsplatz und schaut auf den Laptop. © Aliona Kardash​/​TU Dortmund

TU Dortmund University Successfully Recertified as a “Young Entrepreneurs in Science Campus”

Zertifikat Young Entrepreneurs in Science Campus © Young Entrepreneurs in Science
TU Dortmund University and the CET are actively committed to fostering a vibrant startup culture and the successful transfer of scientific knowledge into practice. For doctoral students and researchers with an entrepreneurial spirit, the right conditions are essential for developing and bringing ideas to life. The Falling Walls Foundation has now recognized this commitment for the second time by awarding the “Young Entrepreneurs in Science Campus” (YES) certificate.

“I’m very pleased that we’ve received recertification,” says Sümeyra Özbek, a certified YES trainer at the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) at TU Dortmund University. “It’s particularly important to us to show researchers how their work can be applied outside the university.”

Another YES Trainer Trained

To that end, the two certified YES trainers at the CET led, among other things, two major workshop series from the YES catalog last year in cooperation with the Graduate Center. These workshops raise awareness of entrepreneurial thinking among researchers and doctoral students at TU Dortmund University and demonstrate how research findings can be reimagined using innovative methods and translated into practical applications. The workshops were very well received by the TU community—around 30 people were trained, meaning that another CET staff member has now completed the six-month YES trainer training program and will lead workshops in the future.

Plans to Expand Collaborations

The trainers also demonstrated their commitment at various networking events organized by the YES network, which provided opportunities to exchange ideas with transfer centers at other universities across Germany. “It quickly became clear that many universities face similar challenges in supporting early-career researchers and fostering entrepreneurship. Current topics and engaging presentations by the YES team provided valuable insights,” explains YES trainer Andreas Becker. “We’ve used this type of networking among transfer staff to establish collaborations. We’ve held joint workshops with Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) and are planning some with the University of Duisburg-Essen this year.” TU Dortmund University works closely with RUB—which has also been recertified for another year—including through the Ruhr Innovation Lab, with which the two universities are currently participating jointly in the Excellence Strategy.

About YES

The Young Entrepreneurs in Science (YES) initiative aims to promote the transfer of innovations from research. The goal is for researchers to become familiar with alternative career paths beyond academia while still pursuing their academic careers. Practical workshops, in particular, help foster entrepreneurial thinking and build new networks.