Incubators Connect- A Indo-German Corridor for Science based Start-Ups and Entrepreneurship
How can research results be transferred into innovative products and brought to market?
Along with research and teaching, knowledge transfer is one of the main pillars of German universities. Incubators at universities and research institutions support students and scientists in this process but formats for structured international cooperation are needed.
The DWIH New Delhi has a thematic focus on the internationalisation of technology transfer and science-based start-ups. It connects incubators at German and Indian universities and research institutions and has been developing formats together with them to promote international exchange for incubators and early-stage start-ups to address this gap. Additionally, it feeds into to policy discussions. Among others, it is contributing to the Policy Communique on international cooperation’ as a part of the Startup 20 Engagement Group (Foundation and Alliances) of India’s G20 Presidency, with DWIH New Delhi’s Director Dr. Katja Lasch being a Co-Chair of the engagement group.
Here is a look at its latest highlights in the field.
Together with DAAD’s unit ‘Competence Centre for International Academic Collaborations (KiWI)’ it organised a Policy Talk in May 2023 in which it discussed the innovation ecosystems of India and Germany, addressing the questions of potential added value and starting points for deeper international cooperation with heads of incubators, think tanks as well as policy makers.
On 1 June together with Technical University (TU) Braunschweig and EXIST programme of German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWKU), it organised a workshop on recruiting talent for start-ups and formats for addressing international entrepreneurs. This workshop was a part of the annual meeting of EXIST with a participation of around 300 representatives of incubators at higher educational institutions for higher education institutions in Germany.
From 04-09 June 2023, in a first of its kind format, it organised Incubators Connect- Innovation and Internationalisation, a delegation of twelve leading incubators and funding institutions from India to Germany. The programme was conceptualised by DWIH New Delhi and curated together with KIT Gründerschmiede- Karlsuhe Institute of Technology, Enterpreneruship Hub- Technical University of Braunschweig and Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences and Science and Startups Berlin. The one-week programme offered workshops, networking meetings and information events in which the incubators and funding agencies from India exchanged ideas with more than 60 representatives of the German innovation landscape. During the exchange, it became clear that there is a high potential for Indo-German cooperation in internationalization of technology transfer via connecting incubators. In this context, early networking of entrepreneurs and early-stage start-ups as well as scientists with an interest in start-ups is particularly promising. The topics of product development, product adaptation, technology transfer, research cooperation and the recruitment of talent for international teams are some of the possible areas of cooperation.
One format to cover these aspects, Innovators Connect- Tandem was piloted by DWIH New Delhi in 2022; the second edition of which will take place at the end of 2023. Innovators Connect-Tandem is an immersion programme and brings up to 15 entrepreneurs and early-stage start-ups from Germany to India, where they work with a tandem partner for 2 weeks to develop new ideas and receive comprehensive information on start-up landscapes, training as well as opportunities to continue mentoring in India and Germany. The programme has been developed together with select leading incubators from both the countries.
DWIH New Delhi will continue its activities in the field of international research transfer in the coming years. An overview on its activities in the field can be found here.