Projects and Programs

Catalyst is a pilot programme that helps researchers and students in the humanities and social sciences to bring their topics more strongly into society and public debate. Catalyst shows in a low-threshold way how research can give rise to practical ideas and projects – without the pressure to start a business, but with a real impact.

The Deutschlandstipendium is a merit-based scholarship. In addition to academic grades, so-called “soft factors” are also considered in the award process. These include, for example, internships, voluntary work, or circumstances that have made the student’s educational path more challenging.

TRACES is responsible for acquiring sponsors.

EXIST Women is a one-year pilot funding program by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) aimed at supporting women in knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship. With EXIST Women, female students and researchers interested in founding a business have the opportunity to engage early with topics related to entrepreneurship and professional self-employment. The new EXIST funding line includes events, advisory and mentoring services, as well as financial support for prospective female founders.

The “EXIST Women Uni-Stuttgart” project is coordinated by TRACES.

“FiT-US” (Promotion of International Talents for Integration into Study and the Labor Market) is a DAAD-funded project aimed at expanding the best advisory and support services for international students.

Driving and supporting the transformation of the automotive hub in Stuttgart, while sustainably strengthening the innovation capacity and competitiveness of the regional automotive and mechanical engineering sectors in the Stuttgart and Neckar-Alb region! With this goal, a university partner network is being established at the Transfer Center TRACES of the University of Stuttgart within the framework of the project “Cluster Automotive Region Stuttgart 2.0 – Transformation Network for the Automotive and Mechanical Engineering Industry (CARS 2.0, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action)”.

Ideal network partners include universities in the region, “hidden champions” from small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as startups. The focus is on networking, knowledge and technology transfer through InnoRegioChallenges and events, and the establishment of sustainable collaborations.

Partners at the University of Stuttgart: Transfer Center (TRACES), Innovation Campus Mobility of the Future (ICM). The project is supported by the Wirtschaftsförderung Region Stuttgart (WRS) and coordinated by TRACES.

The state of Baden-Württemberg promotes innovative startup ecosystems at universities through the Inspire Hubs. Six strong networks support students, researchers, and founders – from the first idea to spin-off. The goal is to make entrepreneurial dynamism, knowledge transfer, and sustainable innovations visible and tangible across the state.

Inspire2Start is the hub for the Stuttgart region and beyond. A central goal is to create synergies between universities as well as with business and society. By combining expertise, a dynamic and sustainable startup ecosystem is established for the entire region.

NXTGN is one of ten nationwide startup factories and serves as the central innovation platform for startups in southwestern Germany. With a holistic approach, NXTGN supports talent, guides startups from idea to growth, and brings academia and industry together. Its goal is to strengthen a new generation of responsible companies and accelerate knowledge transfer through entrepreneurial thinking at universities.

The state of Baden-Württemberg aims to increase the share of women in entrepreneurship. For this purpose, a pilot project for a Female Founder Agency was launched within the framework of Start-up BW Women, initiated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism of Baden-Württemberg and coordinated by TRACES, the Transfer Center at the University of Stuttgart. The project’s goal is to raise the visibility of female-led startups and encourage more women to become active in entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem.

The interdisciplinary key qualification Student2Startup combines academic study and entrepreneurial practice. Students take on the role of management consultants. They work on real issues faced by start-ups, which are presented at the start of the project during the kick-off meeting.

The Transfer Center TRACES at the University of Stuttgart works closely with the Innovation Campus Mobility of the Future (ICM). The ICM Early Ride Program is an incubator for innovation projects from the university environment in Baden-Württemberg, with a strong focus on sustainable mobility and production. Together with ICM and its partners at the University of Stuttgart and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), we help students, doctoral candidates, and postdocs explore the potential of their research and awaken their entrepreneurial spirit. The University of Stuttgart thus supports students and academic staff in founding their own companies in the field of sustainable mobility and production through this program. Numerous sustainability-focused startups have already been successfully founded through the Early Ride Program.

Examples of ventures, funded transfer projects, and companies in mobility, production, and low-carbon technologies supported by TRACES and the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Science (ENI):

• Bottom-Up Transfer Projects: BUP32 DynaCharge (see story),
• BUP34 NaturStoff (see story),
• BUP38 AeroFlex (see story)

Selected news and events from the ICM Early Ride Program:

• Turning Ideas into Innovations (24.05.2023)
• Kick-Off ICM Accelerator: Science Meets Entrepreneurial Spirit! (14.06.2023)
• Demo Day Closing the Intrapreneurship Program (20.07.2023)
• Kick-Off of the ICM Early Ride Program (08.11.2023)
• Start-up life begins at the end (08.02.2024)
• Minister of Science on a Two-Day Startup Tour at Four Universities in Karlsruhe and Stuttgart (27.03.2024)