Helmholtz Transfer Academies

Problems in translating scientific excellence into products and services are often related to low customer orientation and risk aversion on the part of the innovators. Solution approaches must therefore start directly with them: Within the framework of the Helmholtz Transfer Academies, researchers are being sensitised, motivated and supported throughout the entire innovation process. To this end, they are supported by tailor-made training modules in cross-centre projects to ensure that they learn systematic innovation management.

Participating Centers

DKFZ, HZI, DZNE, HZDR, MDC, Munich

H3 Health Hub - A Helmholtz Transfer Academy - is a joint program of all six Helmholtz Health centers. Together, we enable researchers, employees and aspiring entrepreneurs to successfully transfer results from the lab into business.

We provide an online platform for community, learning, events and collaborative projects in the field of life science entrepreneurship. Our team includes experts from technology transfer, innovation management and human resources development from all centers to cover the entire development process of aspiring entrepreneurs. In addition, we are supported by an advisory board of experts who provide us with strategic support. Our partners from the regional and national life science ecosystems are integrated closely throughout the process.

Check out our website, join our community and take part in our mission towards a healthier future through entrepreneurship in life sciences!

https://www.helmholtz-h3.de/
FZJ, GFZ, HZDR, KIT

The Helmholtz Transfer Academy InnoSuper is a training program for supervisors of young researchers and other professionals. The goal is to exploit the supervisors’ function as multipliers and to raise their awareness for the topics of innovation and transfer. InnoSuper comprises three interlocking parts: e-learning, workshops, and coaching. In a modular e-learning format, the basics of knowledge and technology transfer are taught using practical examples. Then, two face-to-face workshops will elaborate on the topics and give the opportunity to network between the centers and exchange ideas on supporting transfer activities as a supervisor. This includes motivating team members for transfer, identifying transfer activities and operationalizing them. In the coaching sessions, the specific challenges and circumstances of the individual participants are addressed. The coaching sessions are carried out by the transfer departments of the respective Helmholtz centers. This enables first-class support for supervisors, even after the program has ended.

https://www.innosuper.de/de (only GER)
KIT, FZJ, GSI, HZDR

Contributing to the solution of urgent problems in society and the economy with own scientific results?

For many researchers, this is a strong ambition, but also a real challenge in their day-to-day work. HAFIS supports them with a project-based approach: In a nine-month cycle, we accompany researchers inidentifying and implementing their own transfer projects that fit their results and suit them individually. The academy is open to all transfer formats, from knowledge and technology transfer to starting your own business.

In a cross-center program, participants gain methodological knowledge, establish teams, work with coaches on their projects, benefit from exchanges with experts from society and industry, and network with each other. They are inspired to develop their own projects and broaden their perspective on the possibilities of making an impact with research. Through collaboration with various Helmholtz centers and their partner organizations, participants' research topics become visible beyond the scientific community. But most importantly, during the program, attendees already achieve first prototypical results.

https://hafis.info/
DLR, DESY

Future Innovator aims to change the mindset of researchers and spark interest in transfer. The Academy programme is thus located at a very early stage in the transfer and innovation process.

The contents of the Academy are subdivided into individual modules, which are divided into the following areas:

Introduction to Entrepreneurship - Innovator Classes: Teaching entrepreneurial skills and self-analysis.

Become an Innovator - High-Tech Design Sprint: adapted biodesign concept, a demand-oriented approach, 1-week sprint in presence with final event; participants work in interdisciplinary teams with economists and designers.

Find your Business Idea: Identify transfer potentials and use cases of own research, implementation sprint for the most promising ideas. Networking events take place in parallel to include participants in the start-up and transfer communities: e.g. Entrepreneur Lounge, Entrepreneurship Lunch (DLR and DESY).
HZDR

What is the goal of our research? For many scientists, the answer to this question is that they want to put their ideas into practice quickly so that society can benefit from them. For this to succeed, entrepreneurial skills are needed in addition to scientific competence. However, because in most cases these first have to be learned, the HZDR Innovators School has been in existence since the beginning of 2023. By intensifying and systematically bundling qualification and awareness-raising offers, the Transfer Department would like to promote the transfer and entrepreneurship culture at HZDR on a broad scale in the future.

The HZDR Innovators School is a Helmholtz Transfer Academy realised by the HZDR Technology Transfer & Innovation department together with the Human Resources department and the Postdoc Center HZDR-TUD and other partners such as dresden|exists, the HighTech Startbahn and HZDR Innovation GmbH. The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and the German Research Centre for Geosciences Potsdam are involved in the HZDR Innovators School as advisory boards. At the same time, the qualification offers are open for the advisory board centres.

Learn more →

Impact

Establishment and expansion of (thematic) accelerator programmes and entrepreneurship education initiatives at the centres and in association with partners from business and academia.
In these, competencies and methods for developing entrepreneurial ways of thinking and acting are presented and initial start-up ideas are created.
Network of sciencepreneur talents who can be specifically supported through counselling, contact mediation, mentoring, coaching and the like.
Direct support for the goals that the centres have set themselves in their transfer strategies.

Transfer Campaign

Helmholtz Transfer Academies are part of our transfer campaign, which is designed to sustainably strengthen the transfer of our research into practice.

Helmholtz Transfer Academies

Participating Centers

H3 Health Hub

InnoSuper

HAFIS

Future Innovators

HZDR Innovators School

Impact