Mentoring-Program for Fraunhofer-Alumni

A new start-up and mentoring program for Fraunhofer alumni

Would you like to support a young team with your expertise and industry knowledge? Your company is interested in new developments and young talents? Or are you planning to set up a young company yourself? For former Fraunhofer employees and industry experts, the commitment to Fraunhofer technologies will become even easier. Together with Fraunhofer Venture, the central spin-off department of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the Fraunhofer-Alumni e.V. offers its members numerous opportunities to get involved in start-ups at any time.

In the coming weeks, Fraunhofer Venture will launch the new technology transfer program, which will be uniform for the entire Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The program consists of an initial bootcamp followed by a two-stage support phase for the participants. These camps will take place three times a year.

In the transfer program, an expert team examines the product, market and team. Together with the founders, a possible spin-off or licensing deal with the industry is then developed on an individual basis. In this way, more than 75 Fraunhofer teams and their technologies are given the opportunity to receive financial and content-related support each year.

The new program offers Fraunhofer alumni three different opportunities to become active in new business ideas or technologies:

 

  • Mentorship: As a mentor, you support a team in bringing a technology to market. This requires industry and market knowledge and above all experience. Fraunhofer Venture offers professional support for mentoring. The time required for such a commitment can be individually determined in advance, so that teams can, for example, exchange information by telephone on a monthly basis.
 
  • Industrial partnership: Is your company or employer interested in Fraunhofer technologies? You can become a partner company of the program. Selected teams can support companies with industry-specific workshops, as prototype partners, with mentoring or through access to top management. In this way, companies secure early access to the teams and their technologies. This can be particularly exciting for innovation and start-up departments, and not least for the company's investment department. From medium-sized companies to multinational corporations, all interested partners are welcome.
 
  • Founders: Former Fraunhofer employees can now also receive support in setting up their own company. Venture helps in the search for suitable founding partners or experts. You will become the founder of a start-up based on Fraunhofer technology. During the program, the time deployment increases successively. However, a full-time commitment as founder is required from the time the company is founded. (Please note the dates below.)

 

It is always possible to apply as a mentor, founder or industry partner. For founders, however, participation in one of the bootcamp dates listed below is a prerequisite:

  • Bootcamp 1: February 25 – 28, 2019
  • Bootcamp 2: May 13 – 17, 2019
  • Bootcamp 3: September 16 – 20, 2019

 

If you are interested in becoming active in one of the three options, please contact Almut Stützel from the Fraunhofer-Alumni-Team at almut.stuetzel@zv.fraunhofer.de or by phone at +49 (0) 89 / 1205-2157.

The Fraunhofer Alumni Marcus Lehmann is, as he explains in his interview with Fraunhofer-Alumni e.V., currently looking for an experienced expert for his project. The company CalWave is in the process of bringing a patented technology to market that generates energy from ocean waves. The mentor should have an industry background.