The Berlin-Brandenburg Business Plan Competition (BPW) has recognised the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) and its start-up service for the fourth time as Brandenburg’s leading university for start-ups.
The University Award is presented to those universities whose start-up teams have performed particularly well in the Business Plan Competition, both in terms of quantity and quality. This latest accolade underlines BTU’s role as a leading university for start-ups in the state of Brandenburg. It is the result of a long-term strategy and sends a strong signal regarding the sustained quality of its start-up support and the successful collaboration of all those involved.
Dr Viktor Zakar, Head of the Start-up Service at the BTU, emphasises: “For us, being a think tank is a source of appreciation, validation and motivation all at once. Through our Start-up Service, we have been supporting the business models of students, graduates and staff at our university for many years with a wide range of services. This has been well received and we receive a great deal of positive feedback. We are delighted that this award allows us to build on the successes achieved in 2013, 2020 and 2021.”
A vibrant start-up culture making an impact
Through personalised advice, workshops, coaching sessions, mentors and partners from industry and research, as well as support with competitions and funding programmes such as EXIST, the Start-up Service supports aspiring entrepreneurs at every stage of their project – from the initial idea through the development of a viable business model right through to the successful launch of their business. In doing so, it works closely with the Chair of Business Administration, in particular the Planning, Innovation and Start-ups section, at the BTU. The aim is to further expand the start-up culture at the BTU and to continue to position the university as the first port of call for technology-oriented and innovative start-up projects in Lusatia and beyond.
Background
The Berlin-Brandenburg Business Plan Competition (BPW) is one of the largest regional start-up competitions in Germany. It supports those interested in starting a business from the initial business idea through to a viable business concept and offers comprehensive training, advisory and networking opportunities. The competition is organised by the Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB), the Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB) and partners.