Maya Viswanathan’s journey from chemistry labs in Kerala, India, to co-founding Module Innovations is driven by passion, purpose, and personal experience.
Science with Purpose
Curiosity, Courage, and Clinical Impact
From a 14-year-old student competing in science contests to leading EMUNO Therapeutics, Dr. Emilia Neuwirt has turned curiosity into therapies that could transform patient care.
From Forest Floor to Future Innovation
Wolfgang Hinterdobler, CEO and Co-Founder of MyPilz, has spent his career uncovering the hidden powers of fungi — from their microscopic chemical exchanges to their potential as sustainable allies in agriculture, industry, and environmental restoration.
Turning an Idea into a Business
From the world of nanophotonics and quantum optics to the fast-paced environment of a high-tech startup—Jonathan Noé has taken an unusual path. Trained as a physicist in Munich, he co-founded Qlibri, a company that builds cutting-edge optical tools for research labs.
From Academia to Intrapreneurship
What happens when a scientist brings innovation out of academia and into the corporate world? Jonas Austerjost, a trained biotechnologist with a passion for IT and automation, shows how scientific curiosity and entrepreneurial thinking can thrive inside a company.
Rooted in Innovation
When Anne-Christin Bansleben began studying rhubarb as part of her academic research in nutritional science, she didn’t expect it to lead to a material innovation that would challenge the leather industry. Today, she’s the founder and managing director of deepmello – rhubarb technology GmbH, the company behind a plant-based tanning process using rhubarb roots.
Where Molecules Meet Markets
Dr. Merle Fuchs has worn many hats in her career: scientist, advisor, founder, board member, and keynote speaker. But the thread that runs through her work is clear…
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Founding, Failing, and Forging Ahead
Let’s delve into the inspiring journey of Dr Nina Patrick, a pharmaceutical scientist turned entrepreneur and science communicator. From building biosensors in Silicon Valley to launching a healthcare diagnostics startup in Berlin…
Turning Science into Action
In this month’s interview, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Rosmarie Katrin Neumann, a self-proclaimed “sustainable rebel” and passionate advocate for turning science into real-world solutions. Founder of Impact Dialog, a training and coaching company. With over 15 years of experience in both research and practice and with a deep passion for ecology and effective communication, she brings a unique blend of expertise.
Empathy in Science
Dr. Simone Lackner is an emerging cultural professional and artist with a rich multidisciplinary background in science. She holds a degree in Molecular Biology, a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, and postdoctoral training in Complexity and Computational Social Science.
Following the Science of Light
While you are back from summer vacations, we want to welcome you back with Sciencepreneur Talks´September issue with a flamboyant guest. Leonardo’s journey from quantum simulators in Florence to co-founding Akhetonics is a story of unexpected turns, groundbreaking discoveries, and a passion for pushing the boundaries of technology. Starting as a researcher, he found himself frustrated with the traditional academic path, ultimately leading him to a pivotal breakthrough in optical computing. This set the stage for his entrepreneurial leap, we hope you enjoy the reading.
How to really rest? A conversation about turning off before the summer ends…
In this special summer edition of our newsletter, we have the pleasure of speaking with Sarah Scheck, Co-Lead of Young Entrepreneurs in Science. Together, we delve into Sarah’s personal journey with yoga and its influence on her professional and personal life. We have talked from trust in teams to vacationing. Sarah shares her insights and practical tips for turning off during holidays to return fully recharged and ready to tackle new challenges. Enjoy reading!
Empowering Women: Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges
The world is gradually moving towards gender equality. However, the entrepreneurial landscape remains a domain where women are still underrepresented. Despite some progress, challenges persist, ranging from accessing capital to connecting with support networks.
Democratising the Technology Education
In this interview, we meet Anna Hülemeier, a PhD student in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Münster who’s motivated by free education ideal. Inspired by her research and a desire to empower others, Anna co-founded TechLabs, a non-profit dedicated to democratising digital skills education.
Find the Entrepreneurial light inside you
In this insightful interview, we delve into the unique challenges researchers face on their journey to becoming sciencepreneurs with Bartosz Kajdas, who consulted around a thousand researchers for their founding journey.
Tradition meets digital
Welcome to an insightful interview with Julian, the visionary founder of MIND VACATIONS, a pioneering venture at the intersection of mindfulness and modern living.
A Journey of Self-Discovery
Spring is finally here! Therefore, we want to share the sciencepreneurship story of David Schepkowski. David’s story may be familiar to many of you, as he tried to find a balance between his research, academic, and private life responsibilities while carrying different passions in his heart. Fortunately, he found a way out and became a self-determining sciencepreneur, now helping others to overcome similar struggles. He shared his journey with an open heart in the interview below. Enjoy reading!
Connecting Scientific Knowledge Worldwide
Before transitioning into sciencepreneurship, Alventina Evagrofa was building a career as a researcher in environmental sciences. After completing her PhD, she delved into the startup world, where her aspirations of owning a business began to take root. Explore her inspiring tale of transitioning from a dedicated researcher to a driven entrepreneur, culminating in the recent launch of her startup, Researchpreneurs!
Safer finances with AI: How two researchers work to detect blockchain risks
Loui Al Sardy and Andres Gomes, the visionary minds behind Sakundi and Young Entrepreneurs in Science 2019 Alumni, share a common goal of transforming the landscape of blockchain technology through AI.
From empowerment to her own business
We are excited to kick off the year with an inspiring interview featuring Dr. Mirjam Peters, the brain behind the uma App for women’s health. Dr. Peters, who started in psychology and later became a midwife, turned her scientific know-how into a digital health app for pregnant women.
Sciencepreneurship through complex times
In this month’s spotlight, we interviewed Dr. Daniel Seybold, an early Alumni of the Young Entrepreneurs in Science program and the Co-Founder of benchANT, a start-up specializing in cloud computing benchmarking. Cloud computing can be imagined as renting a computer online with servers storing data and providing scalable resources over the internet.
Bridging the Gap Between Science and Communication 
Franziska W. Schwarz is a scientific communicator with a PhD in nutrition. With her talent for drawing and simplifying, she helps to translate complex topics into easily digestible visual summaries. Explore how this talent has been a constant companion throughout her life and uncover valuable insights for your own research!
Open up the curtains
Have you ever wondered what is going on behind the scenes of Young Entrepreneurs in Science? Then we are happy to shed some light on our inner workings with this article. Starting with this article we will again regularly provide you with exciting start-up ideas from the YES universe by introducing exciting projects and alumni via our newsletter. For a soft start, however, we would like to briefly introduce ourselves to you. Enjoy the read!
Discover (your) Resilience!
Resilience, defined as the ability to adapt and recover from life’s challenges, plays a key role in this process. Particularly in high-pressure fields like science and entrepreneurship, nurturing resilience is vital to combat stress, self-doubt, and burnout. Young Entrepreneurs in Science offers a workshop that equips participants with tools to enhance mental well-being and resilience, leading to greater personal growth and a more fulfilling journey in the world of science and entrepreneurship.
Winds of change
It was a windy day at the shores of the Wannsee in Berlin at the YES Summer Meet & Greet
Getting up close with your emotive monsters
Victoria Amo-Olea wants to help you identify and overcome your self-limiting beliefs. In a mobile app she has been developing, discouraging emotions take the shape of little monsters …
In soil we trust
The Göttingen-based startup Agvolution built a system that gathers data and turns it into reliable maps and models that help save water and prevent damage.
Saving the planet, one SDG at a time
With Sustain.All, Bengisu Berispek strives to build a network bridging the gap between project makers, volunteers, and sponsors to help reach the UN’s sustainable development goals.
A head full of images
Introducing … Kati Szilágyi! The Berlin-based illustrator is the mastermind behind the colourful images heading our newsletters.
Fuels of the future
Alex Hammer and his cofounders are looking for the needle in the hay, or rather: the needle in the universe.
More than one way up
YES alumnus Michael Maurer is adapted to change: He left his academic career as a biochemist, launched a startup and quit again – in pursuit of his personal fulfilment.
At the heartbeat of machines
Young startup Novo AI aims to prevent unplanned machine failures that cause manufacturers significant losses of revenue. “It needs a change of mindset”, says Novo AI founder Hemanth Mandapati.
From Big to Better
Leveraging big data for the greater good: The Falling Walls Science Summit on 7–9 November 2021 gathered the cutting-edge innovations from across the globe …
Drop by drop to better diagnoses
When it comes to battling infectious diseases, early detection is essential. Gabriela Figueroa Miranda has been working on a user-friendly biosensor that will enable patients and doctors alike to identify specific malaria parasites in the blood.
Is it art or is it a pixel?
Against the odds, Young Entrepreneurs in Science alumna and art historian from Tübingen, Gaia Schlegel, decided to fulfil her dream of an online art gallery with her business Kunstkennerey, which launched on 1 September 2021.
First-aid for mental health
We took the “work” out of network
A brighter future for solar
A small team around Claudiu Mortan in Stuttgart combines a printing technique with the mineral Perovskite to develop lightweight and recyclable solar cells – which could even go up to space.
Best of both worlds
Laura Turco is a researcher to the core: ever-curious, analytical, hard-working, and passionate about her field. As a matter of fact, these very traits took her to strike a new path – off the academic route.
From Business to Purpose
It is easy to shrug off mindfulness as just another trend out of self-help books. But its potential for economic transformation should not be underestimated, according to Fabrice Mielke, founder of MindEvolved.
Next stop: smart infrastructure
“We have at least four or five different pitches ready for different stakeholder segments.”
The city as playground
As president of Hungarian NGO kultúrAktív, Anna Szilágyi-Nagy empowers children to take part in urban decision making …
Catching the wave of sustainable surfboards
Passionate surfer and researcher Lloyd Blum knows the dirt of the surf industry and has made it his mission to convince surfers of a better product …
Standing on the shoulders of giants
Viola Prifti wears many hats. As postdoctoral researcher she investigates how intellectual property can accelerate sustainability transitions and writes about plant variety protection.
Size does matter
Piloting with studies on bats, electrical engineer Niklas Duda developed miniature tags for a multi-functional wireless system that can trace almost anything …
Swiping for Science
Mariëlle van Kooten, PhD candidate at ETH Zurich, convinced the Falling Walls Lab Jury in Berlin with her confidence on stage and witty storytelling …
Addressing the Undruggable
Life science startup PROSION has found an innovative way to form potential drugs against a variety of hard-to-treat diseases.
Getting ahead of Alzheimer’s disease
Cognitive neuroscience researcher Nadine Diersch from the DZNE in Magdeburg is exploring new ways to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease …
Woulda, coulda, shoulda?
According to startup founder Christoph Biermeier, a failure is what you make of it. Read our interview about his fuckups and lessons learned …
Mind the gap
For an English speaker, the internet is a house with open doors.
