The University of Applied Sciences Munich together with the SCE are now an "EXIST-Academy of Excellence for Entrepreneurs"

The State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), Dr. Bernhard Heitzer, announced the winner of the "EXIST - Ethos of Entrepreneurship - Academy of Excellence for Entrepreneurs" from 24 finalists in Berlin.

The University of Applied Sciences Munich together with SCE was not only among the top 10, but placed within the leading 3 right from the start. The top 3 winners have been awarded the title of "EXIST - Academy of Excellence for Entrepreneurs". Unique concepts which have been developed over the last months may now be implemented under the auspices of this title. The 3 winning universities are the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, the University of Applied Sciences Munich and the TU Berlin.

"We are very proud that our AHEAD concept impressed the jury", said vice-president of University, Professor Christine Fritze. "With this award we will be in a position to develop the entrepreneurial culture which already exists at the University of Applied Sciences Munich even further and also to enhance the awareness that entrepreneurial thinking and action, teaching and research are able to inspire each other." "Our culture of innovation is based on training people in the skills they need. To belong to the top three Academies of Excellence for Entrepreneurs in Germany is an honour and will directly enable us to implement new projects" commented Professor Klaus Sailer, CEO of SCE. "We focus on a pyramid strategy for all our activities. Fundamental to this is encouragement of an open culture of innovation within the University and with our external partners. We want to build on this by imparting skills and training people with a flair for entrepreneurial thinking. We accompany promising projects on their way to the open market. As part of our training concept students are involved in genuine projects which they carry out in interdisciplinary groups. Innovative start-ups are supported by co-creation and provide further stimulus." 

A phase of intensive work on Germany's centres of support for entrepreneurs and universities came to an end with the decision in Berlin. After the widely- spread funding of the preceeding programme, the "EXIST IV" funding programme aims to support fewer universities but support those chosen more intensively. In selecting the universities an important factor was to ensure the funding concept matched the structure of each university to create maximum benefit. The new concept for funding start-up businesses at Germany's universities will run over a period of 5 years offering funding of up to 2.7 million euros.

The Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE) has been affiliated to the University of Applied Sciences Munich since 2002. It offers students and those already in employment support and a qualification in entrepreneurial thinking and action. Through our Founders Support service, start-up teams can access support and advice at any particular stage of their development or use the service for ongoing support. Besides supporting the development of an idea from inception to the marketplace our training programme also focuses on personal development and social responsibility in businesses.