Research becomes
a venture.
From the lab to the market: we support the journey from insight to a viable business model.
A research finding can grow into a company — a course can be the first spark. The startup center of HWR Berlin supports you on both paths: when a spin-off could emerge from your research, a piece of software, a method or a data model, and when you, as a lecturer or mentor, want to bring entrepreneurship into your environment. You don’t need a finished business idea yet. It’s enough that there’s something with the potential to be put into practice.
Not every research finding is a startup — and that’s perfectly fine. Sometimes a licence is the better route, sometimes continuing the project. We help you tell apart, cleanly, which transfer route fits your result, before anyone talks about starting a company.
Check the transfer
Does your result have a use case, a target group and team interest? We assess that together — honestly, without pushing.
Spin off with EXIST
If the idea holds, we guide you toward EXIST research transfer and other funding routes — from the initial review to the application.
Contribute yourself
Pass on entrepreneurial energy as a mentor, coach or through your teaching — in a structured way and with manageable effort.
Find your way in.
Turning research results into ventures.
From research finding to spin-off
The path from science to a company rarely follows a straight line, but it has a recognisable logic. We make it visible and walk it with you step by step — without your scientific quality getting lost. What’s relevant for transfer isn’t only patented work: software, algorithms, data models, methods or process knowledge can equally be the basis for a venture.
- Clarify transfer readiness — Together we look at whether the signals for a venture are there: a clear use case, an affected target group, settled IP rights or protected know-how, interest within the team and first market assumptions. This is also where it’s decided whether founding, licensing or continuing the project is the right path. We clarify IP questions early and refer you to the responsible offices.
- From project to testable hypothesis — Research is translated into assumptions you can test: which problem, which user group, which core of the solution? Then comes contact with the market — stakeholder interviews, possible pilot partners, a first prototype. In parallel we clarify the team, because not every research team is also a founding team: who brings the expertise, who the execution, who the business side? Often external co-founders or students round out the line-up.
- Set up the funding route — If the idea holds, we map out the funding paths that fit. For science-based spin-offs, the EXIST research transfer is often the central route. We guide you through the initial review, timeline, documents and matching with coaches and mentors — and name alternatives honestly if EXIST isn’t a fit. For a collaboration or a transfer you can get in touch at any time, with no obligation.
Contribute as a lecturer or mentor
Founding often begins in a course, in a final thesis or in a project with a real user problem. As a lecturer, you are one of the most important connection points: you recognise early when a student team has founding potential, and you can point them onward. When a project shows you a clear problem, a prototype idea or visible interest in transfer, that’s a good signal to bring the SIB into play — as a guest input, project partner or simply the next address for interested students.
But you can also get involved more directly. If you’d like to support founding teams with your professional experience, become a coach or mentor at the startup center. Specifically for the business support of our teams, there’s the format of the business mentors. And if you want to start a collaboration in teaching, research or transfer, get in touch through our contact request — together we’ll find a format that suits your time and your field.
Frequently asked questions
Is my research finding even suitable for starting a company?
Not every finding leads to a venture — and it doesn’t have to. That’s exactly what we help with: telling apart whether a spin-off, a licence or continuing the project is the most sensible route. What’s relevant for transfer here isn’t only patents, but also software, methods, data models or process knowledge.
How early should I deal with IP questions?
As early as possible. Who holds the rights to results, and how protection or commercialisation is arranged, shapes the entire path ahead. We raise this in the first conversation and refer you to the responsible transfer and legal offices at HWR.
Who can submit an enquiry?
Project leads, professors, research staff and students working within a project. For first contact, a short message via our contact request is enough — you don’t need to have anything fully worked out yet.
What is the EXIST research transfer?
A funding programme for more elaborate, science-based spin-offs from universities and research institutions. We assess whether it fits your venture and guide you through the initial review, documents and coaching. Details and how to get started can be found on our page about scholarships and funding programmes.
I don’t want to start a company myself but to contribute — how does that work?
You can become a coach or mentor, get involved as a business mentor or bring the SIB into your teaching. Write to us via the contact request, and we’ll find the right format together.
Let’s talk about your idea.
Whether it’s half an idea or a concrete plan — write to us, and together we’ll find the right way in for you.