4.2 million euros in funding for the Thuringian university Start-up Network StarTH

The funding will further strengthen the role of Thuringia's universities as drivers of innovation. Universities are the central locations for knowledge-based start-ups, where research, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit come together. This creates new prospects for young talent and innovative companies in Thuringia. "Those who study, research and found companies in Thuringia create innovations where they can have an immediate impact. University spin-offs not only strengthen the economy, but also Thuringia's attractiveness as a place to live and work in the future," emphasised Professor Andreas Marx at the handover ceremony.

In the StarTH network, Thuringia's universities are working together to anchor entrepreneurial teaching, transfer and start-up support in the university landscape in the long term. The aim is to support students, researchers and graduates at an early stage in developing ideas and turning innovative projects into social or commercial applications.

"Today more than ever, universities are combining research and teaching with transfer, innovation and social responsibility. Supporting start-ups is not an add-on, but part of a modern understanding of universities that actively transfers scientific knowledge to society and the economy," Professor Marx continued. University incubators and start-up centres in particular have developed into practical learning and experimentation spaces in which innovative ideas can be tested, prototypes developed and interdisciplinary collaborations established.

With a view to securing skilled labour, demographic change and international competition for talent, the promotion of academic spin-offs is becoming increasingly strategically important. University start-ups create qualified jobs, strengthen regional value creation and increase the loyalty of young skilled workers to Thuringia.

Thuringia's universities therefore see the long-term safeguarding of existing start-up and transfer structures as a crucial task for the future. Over the past few years, university-related support services have been established that now provide many people interested in starting a business with access to advice, networks and funding programmes.

Programmes such as EXIST-Women or formats in the field of creative entrepreneurship also show that start-up support can also make an important contribution to equal opportunities, diversity and social participation.