Innovation Incubation Idea generation
The Innovation Incubation Center (i2c) promotes entrepreneurship at the TUW in the sense of an “Entrepreneurial University” along the value chain in translation from basic research to applied research to innovation. It supports innovative, technology-oriented start-up teams from idea generation to the implementation of business models. A wide range of activities related to entrepreneurship – from extension studies, training and incubation programs, start-up consulting, lecture series to networking events with potential investors and industry partners – are conceived and implemented by six colleagues under the department head Birgit Hofreiter. Despite lockdowns, the i²c was able to continue its multi-layered program in 2021.
TUW i²ncubator
The tailor-made TUW i²ncubator programme helps TU Wien researchers and students bring disruptive research or promising early-stage projects to market. The colleagues support fundraising through their network, access to personalised training, mentoring, an Advisor in Residence programme, well-equipped work and meeting rooms in the FounderSpace and a strong inter/national network. The impact of these activities is also demonstrated by the fact that the TUW i²ncubator was awarded the Jumpstart Grant between January 2016 and December 2017. The offer is complemented by events such as the Founder & Investor Talks Series as well as events with top-class inter/national guest speakers, who offer the audience the opportunity to learn first-hand from their experiences. The start-ups not only have the opportunity to present themselves nationally at the TUW i²c Networking Friday, but also at European trade fairs such as CeBIT, Hannover Messe and NürnbergMesse. Another valuable asset is a strong network of inter/national founders, investors, partners from public funding, industry, academia and mentors for every aspect of support and input needed, combined with human resources.
Extension Programme Innovation
The Extension Programme Innovation is an international curriculum that offers TU Wien students a high-quality, practice-oriented education in the field of intra- and entrepreneurship. It not only promotes innovative thinking, but also provides a solid education for entrepreneurs, business developers and/or innovation managers. This additional training not only improves job prospects in research and industry, but also prepares students for a life as an entrepreneur. The extension programme Innovation is offered parallel to the degree programmes at TU Wien.
With format
The workshop series “Entrepreneurship for Scientists” is aimed at scientists who want to expand or develop their personal entrepreneurial skills and competences, want to know more about the possibilities of bringing innovations out of the lab and into society, or who simply want to get to grips with entrepreneurial thinking. The Engines of Innovation format is designed for scientists who want to broaden their horizons in innovation and high performance.
Successful StarTUppers
Nice successes were achieved through the i²c’s guidance in 2020, with the following projects receiving special attention:
Artificial intelligence for medical diagnoses
In medicine, humans and computers are to work together in the future: contextflow, a start-up founded by TUW alumni, is revolutionising radiological diagnostics. Even if medical empathy can probably never be replaced by computer programmes, intelligent software will soon play a central role in making diagnoses. The Austrian start-up contextflow, with roots at the Wien University of Technology and the Medical University of Vienna, is developing artificial intelligence that compares medical findings and images from the computer tomograph with other, similar cases at lightning speed, making diagnosis significantly easier, more reliable and safer. contextflow was officially certified by TÜV in 2020 and can thus be used as a medical device.
Tablets instead of hypodermic needles
A research project of the Wien University of Technology was awarded the audience prize of the S&B Award. Research is being conducted into new methods of administering medication. A team at TU Wien is developing methods to replace injections with tablets. At the moment they are still working on the basics, but the start-up “NovoArc” will soon emerge from this.
