Start-ups present their innovations at university

TU Start-up Award 2023 Pitch — Pitch-Session at the CET at the TU Startup Award 2023. Photo: TU Dortmund, Credit: Cynthia Ruf

The Wilo-Foundation, having close ties with the Dortmund area as a region of science, has been supporting the "TU Start-up Award" annually since 2023. This contest for start-ups is organised and implemented by the Centrum für Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) of TU Dortmund University and gives young entrepreneurs an opportunity to pitch their business ideas to an interested audience and a jury of experts. The competition targets start-ups from various industries related to TU Dortmund University, enabling them to demonstrate their skills and receive valuable feedback from industry experts. The winners receive a monetary award sponsored by the Wilo-Foundation and are given the opportunity to present their start-up in the media. Moreover, there always have the chance to attract potential investors and business partners.

Eine Person feiert den Sieg bei der Siegerehrung — Seven innovative TU teams, five minutes of pitch time, five minutes to answer questions from the top-class jury and a total of 14,000 euros in prize money – these were the framework conditions of the TU Start-up Award 2024. Photo: TU Dortmund, Credit: Cynthia Ruf

Siegerehrung des TU Start-up Awards 2022 — Winning photo at the TU Start-up Award 2024 with a top-class jury, including Dr. Martin Oettmeier (3rd from right, Head of Technology, Monitoring and Evaluation at Wilo Group). Photo: TU Dortmund e.V., Credit: Cynthia Ruf

From 2019 to 2022, the Wilo-Foundation supported a project that can be seen as the “predecessor”, by providing funding for the “StartUP.InnoLab – Westphalian Ruhr area” incubator programme with Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences, TU Dortmund University and Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts. This broader collaborative project supporting start-ups and innovative ideas in the Ruhr area was ended in 2022. Under the programme, which consisted of various modules, up to 12 selected teams received support every year. At the end of each funding cycle, the teams presented themselves to external investors and associated partners during a pitching event called “investors’ forum”. Here, too, the most promising start-ups were selected by a jury of experts and received a monetary prize sponsored by the Wilo-Foundation.

Photo Header: Society of Friends of TU Dortmund University (Gesellschaft der Freunde und Förderer der TU Dortmund e.V.), Credit: Cynthia Ruf

Our funding partner

The Society of Friends of TU Dortmund University (Gesellschaft der Freunde, GdF) supports the university’s projects and activities in many different ways. It has been promoting the establishment and expansion of TU Dortmund University right from the beginning. Today it builds contacts between the university and stakeholders from the private sector, politics and the field of culture and acts as an important liaison between the university and the region.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) forms the global framework for action for socially, economically and ecologically sustainable development. Our funding commitment also supports these sustainability goals. With this project, we are making a contribution to achieving the following SDGs:

What are the SDGs?