The DESY Start-up School 2025 offers coaching and webinars for scientists interested in discovering their entrepreneurial potential! Register to participate between April - July 2025.
Start-up School by DESY
The Start-up School offers an educational program to equip scientists, engineers, and students with entrepreneurial skills. Business planning is one of the most important factors when launching a start-up. Like every entrepreneur, scientists launching start-ups need to determine the best services and products they can offer to their future clients. That is why the Start-up School curriculum focuses on business planning; the core for growth and success in the market.
The application phase is now closed (deadline March 28), we are now in the selection process and will inform all applicants about the decision mid of April.
The Start-up School will provide scientists with tools in business development planning, budget setting, marketing strategies and finding funds. The support for anyone founding a business model in a scientific setting on the way to becoming a special kind of entrepreneur: a #sciencepreneur.
The Start-up School Offers:
- A free-of-charge three-month incubation program to launch your idea on the market
- Taking part in tailored webinars specifically designed to help scientists become entrepreneurs
- 1:1 free-of-charge coaching appointments with CEOs
- Opportunity to join a European network of like-minded people willing to contribute to the world of tomorrow with science and innovation
- Learning about the upcoming 3-D X-Ray microscope PETRA IV and its potential for helping you extend your business service ideas or develop your services for research and development in the industry.
Turning Science into Business
Candidates with a concept for a scientific service company are welcome to apply for one of the twelve available slots at the DESY Start-up School. These scientific services should be based on advanced analytical and experimental techniques and may:
- Explore new industries or fields that can benefit from synchrotron measurements,
- Provide solutions to facilitate beamline measurements,
- Offer high-precision solutions for quality assurance and standardization,
- Develop hardware solutions (with integrated services) related to synchrotrons,
- Incorporate data analysis and/or AI methods,
- Create commercial computing environments.
A Safe and Challenging Space for Innovation
All parties involved are subject to maintaining the confidentiality of all information accessible to them within the framework of the Start-up School by DESY. We encourage applications from female scientists. We have a strong team of CEOs that also includes female entrepreneurs to support you on your journey to becoming a founder.
The DESY Start-up School is part of the PETRA IV preparation project and receives funding from BMBFTR and the Helmholtz Association. It is free of charge and open to scientists and engineers worldwide, regardless of their research institute or employer. The program is administered by the DESY Start-up Office.
Schedule*:
28 April 2025 (Monday) – Webinar 1 - Launch Event: “Mindset of an Entrepreneur - Learn How to Think Like an Entrepreneur”. Moderator: Pegram Harrison + CEO Mentors (15:00 to 18:30 CET)
07 May 2025 (Wednesday) – Webinar 2 - “Ideation, Introduce Business Model - Use the Most Advanced Business Model to Think All the Steps of Your Business, from Ideas to Execution”. Moderator: Pegram Harrison (09:00 to 12:00 CET)
21 May 2025 (Wednesday) - Webinar 3 - “Basic Business and Financial Management - Improve the Numbers, Forecasts and Business Processes that Successful Businesses Rely On". Moderator: Pegram Harrison (15:00 to 18:00 CET)
12 June 2025 (Thursday) - Webinar 4 - “Storytelling and Pitching - Create an Impactful and Accurate Pitch for Your Company to Convince Clients, Investors, and Stakeholders of the Value of Your Work”. Workshop Moderator: Charlelie Jourdan (09:00 to 13:30 CET)
23 June 2025 (Monday) – Webinar 5 - “Sales & Synergies and Scale-up - Selling Trust, Positioning and Scaling of your Business” Moderator: Pegram Harrison. In cooperation with DPI, Discovery Partners Institute (15:00 to 18:00 CET)
03 July 2025 (Thursday) – Webinar 6 - “An Introduction to the Start-up Ecosystem of DESY and Extension of Services for PETRA IV”. Moderator: TBA, Colleagues from DESY ITT – Business Development Office (BDO) (09:00 to 12:00 CET)
09 July 2025 (Wednesday) - Final Pitch Session
Pitch Jury: Pegram Harrison, DESY Start-up Office, DESY Business Development Office, CEO mentors and external guests (15:00 to 19:00 CET)
*Times and dates may be subject to change.
