Open up the curtains
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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!
What is sciencepreneurship?
As with any good introduction, we’d like to get you all on the same page first. Have you already asked yourself what the term “sciencepreneur” or “sciencepreneurship” means? Then, here is the (long-awaited) answer: Sciencepreneur is a combination of the words Science + Entrepreneur. These two words have a lot more in common than you would think at first glance. The skills and key qualifications required for a PhD are like those of an entrepreneur: working passionately on a topic, finding solutions to problems, and representing ideas in front of a critical audience.
This makes our mission a bit more understandable: we want to show new career paths, potential, and competencies, raise start-up awareness, and promote cultural change in research. To this end, we offer knowledge transfer in the form of workshops as well as networking in all areas such as academic research, funding, innovation environments, participant areas, or even politics. It is also important to us to provide a platform for building a community—since you are reading this, you are already part of it. Thank you!
The centerpiece of our work: Empowering with Education
The core product of our project is experiencing knowledge. Our curriculum is designed to give you practical skills and knowledge as well as to strengthen existing competencies. In doing so, we ourselves do not stop at one place but continuously evolve. The curriculum department is always working its way into new topics, developing our workshops further, and adapting to current needs in an agile way: We recently released two new workshops, one about resilience and one about female entrepreneurship. Check out our event calendar for more!
Workshops, events, network
Speaking about workshops: We promote science through community and exchange by organizing numerous workshops and events, which we do in presence and online. Another division is that we offer and combine modules in the two areas of “Career & Empowerment” and “Ideas & Methods” to give participants the best possible tools. We also offer events for Alumni, or host info-events about you and your project.
On the side, we also organize networking meetings. Here, the focus is on networking with our academic and business partners. So, we offer a new platform for incubators and transfer areas for nationwide networking. Since our kick-off event in 2019, the service offer has become well-established and currently takes place four times a year on topics from the partner network or current transfer-relevant topics in the higher education sector.
Train-the-Trainer: Scaling it up
We are not just focused on individual growth but on cultivating a ripple effect. Our Train-the-Trainer programme equips university educators with the tools to pass on entrepreneurial wisdom, ensuring a sustainable culture of innovation.
The four-month, free-of-charge training program is aimed at academic staff members who work in doctoral training or start-up promotion and would like to expand their scope of action around research transfer. The participants of the programme go through classroom and online phases in which they deal intensively with the target group of PhDs and postdocs, immerse themselves in the Design Thinking methodology and workshop concepts, and get to know themselves as trainers. In the process, a close inter-university exchange is promoted. After successful completion, the participants receive a certificate as Young Entrepreneurs in Science trainers and are encouraged to conduct workshop formats independently and in cooperation with other research institutes and to establish them in their institutions.
Partner Management: Collaborative Success
We have various kinds of partners such as academic, corporate, or sponsors. Our network thrives on collaboration as you can see on the network map. We’re here to maintain, advise, and shape partnerships that drive the sciencepreneurship movement forward. Collaboration is the cornerstone of innovation We actively cultivate and nurture partnerships as catalysts to foster cross-disciplinary interactions and drive impactful initiatives.
Network (literally: Net-work!)
Our network is a tapestry of thinkers, dreamers, and innovators. Through a thriving Train-the-Trainer community and extensive higher education collaborations, we are weaving together a future where entrepreneurship and science are harmoniously entwined. Join us in this exciting journey of discovery, growth, and innovation! Together, we will redefine the boundaries of what is possible, inspire groundbreaking ideas, and forge a new generation of sciencepreneurs.
What happens next?
Check out our event calendar for upcoming workshops.
Our next newsletter will be about Dr. Franziska Schwarz, who is a scientific communicator with a PhD in nutrition. With her talent for graphic recordings, she helps to translate complex topics into easily digestible visual summaries. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and get inspired by her story!
Stay tuned for more updates, opportunities, and success stories!
Illustration: Kati Szilagyi
AD & Editor: Bianca Cramer
