Innovators Connect - Tandem
Innovators Connect – Tandem is a two-week immersion programme hosted at incubators in India, for young researchers interested in start-up founding and early-stage start-up founders from India and Germany. Jointly developed with leading incubators from both the countries, this flagship programme includes workshops, information sessions, mentoring, networking, visits, and intercultural training. Participants will work in teams (Tandems) for problem-solving, develop new ideas and get exposure to start-up and innovation ecosystems of India and Germany.
A glimpse from first edition of Innovators Connect – Tandem (2022)
The following elements are planned for the programme:
a) Team-work: a team of two, one participant from India and one from Germany (a tandem) will work together to develop innovative solutions to pressing problems of the world. The team may come from similar or different fields in research and bring in different perspectives and skills for the problem. The teams will be identified and digitally connected before the onsite programme to kick-off working on their ideas.
b) Mentoring: all the teams will receive continuous customized mentoring for their ideas from start-up advisors and in- house mentors at the host incubators as well as incubators from Germany. Innovation managers as well as start-up mentors from industry will be invited for mentoring as well.
c) Information sessions: The sessions will offer an overview on the start-up ecosystems of India and Germany as well as give insights into the basic and advances of start-up founding, for e.g: value proposition design, business model plan, intellectual property, market access so on. In addition, participants will be informed of government initiatives and support, funding mechanisms for international start-ups.
d) Pitching session: At the end of the programme, all tandems present the ideas they have worked on, to a jury comprising of start-up founders, industry experts and researchers. Investors and start-up community is invited to for the pitching sessions as well. Winning team(s) win a visit to Germany to participate in a start-up workshop and receive further support from the participating incubators to bring their ideas to market.
e) Networking: The programme gives a platform to access local as well as international networks of start-up founders, advisors and investors through onsite and online sessions. The participants get to know peers at the participating incubators and get to meet local start-up community during networking sessions and visits. Winners of the pitching competition get a visit to Germany and can expand their international network further.
