Startup Experience - STAX

Help startups grow!
You like new ideas and love their execution? You want to apply your knowledge to the real world and develop your own startup or learn from startup teams on the project?  With this course, we help startups grow, foster entrepreneurial culture and advance the Mannheim startup ecosystem. This class is designed for students from all disciplines that want to learn more about innovation, commercialization of intellectual property, and want to gain real startup experience.In a blended course setting of theory and immediate practical implementation, the course follows an action-oriented learning approach: Students either support existing startup projects or develop their own venture to the next level.

Support a Startup
This track offers students who want to experience the startup world an excellent opportunity to work at eye-level with an experienced real-world startup team. The concept: Solving challenges of young companies with student approaches and on-site by student teams. Assisted by an experienced coach, the students carry out joint projects with the startup after a needs analysis. 

Advance your own Startup or Idea
Advance your ideas or startup in an accelerator-style setting! Further advance your startup in class according to milestones set with MARS coaches. Recruit a student team from class to work on your challenges, find potential co-founders and gain access to to business expertise via our collaborations. Please approach the instructors upon course registration to sort out, whether your startup project is eligible for this track.

Course Content

  • Innovation methods for customer-oriented product and service development

  • Structure and design of a pitch presentation, presenting in front of stakeholders of various kind

  • Action-oriented learning, alternating units of input sessions and practical implementation to real projects

  • Development and optimization of products and services including, e.g. technology, design, strategy, marketing or financial planning

  • Preparing a startup for funding in different stages

  • Teamwork in interdisciplinary dynamic teams 

Methods

Learing Objectives

Target group

  • Meetings & workshops
  • Team work
  • Coaching and feedback
  • Final pitch /startup presentation
  • Final report
  • Acquire knowledge of innovation and economic value creation by bringing research results,
    inventions and ideas into practice
  • Gain know-how and practical experience to execute their own ideas and
    translate scientific findings into commercial potential. 
  • Apply your knowledge, e.g., technical, design, business, to real startup and innovation projects in preparation for their professional future in startups as entrepreneurs or in a corporate setting as intrapreneurs.

  • Develop managerial skills and familiarity with problem solving in practice.

  • Experience interdisciplinary team work and improved their presentation skills.

  • Students of all disciplines and from all semesters
 General InformationLecturer
 

Level: Master, depending on study track also Bachelor. 

Language of instruction: English or German (depending on participant structure)

Credits: 6 – 10 ECTS (depending on faculty) 

Assessment:

  • Continuous project work and project report
  • Status Updates/ Mid-Term
  • Final Presentation (or Pitch)
  • For > 6ECTS: individual Founder's Diary/ Reflective Report/ Business Plan (depending on faculty)

Please reach out to your respective faculty regarding accreditation.

Philipp Bletzer– Gründer & Startup Coach

Questions? E-Mail lecturer

Go to Moodle and enrol now for STAX!