Business Start-Up

The start-up support activities at the University of Bremen are bundled in the university network “BRIDGE – business start-ups from Bremen universities”, to which belong, in addition to the University of Bremen, the University of Applied Sciences Bremen, the University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven, Jacobs University and the Bremer Aufbau-Bank.

BRIDGE has been promoting business start-ups and offering support activities for young entrepreneurs since 2002.

The support options for young entrepreneurs are constantly being developed. Currently, they comprise the three modules “Sensitization / Qualification Courses”, “Counseling / Funding Programs”, and the “CAMPUSiDEEN Contest”. Activities are aimed at the students, graduates and academic staff of the participating universities.

In the frame of various course formats, the target groups are sensitized for the topic of "Entrepreneurial Thinking and Action": The Bremen Start-Up Lounge, for instance, takes place every six months. Here, young entrepreneurs from the local region and beyond with whom BRIDGE is in contact have the opportunity to meet and share their start-up stories.

The BRIDGE Start-Up Workout, which takes place four times a year, fosters concrete start-up projects. Under the guidance of instructors from the practice, the prospective start-up teams work in small groups to develop their business idea into a business concept. In this way, about 40 start-up projects per year are systematically and purposefully supported.

Further information about the current course program.

In addition to initial counseling on start-up ideas and concepts, a major activity is counseling and accompaniment in the frame of support programs such as BRUT and EXIST. In BRUT, a program funded by the State of Bremen, participants are trained in the preparation of business plans and lean start-up concepts: As part of their comprehensive competence development, they above all learn how to plan the operational start of business and the handling of initial customer orders.

In addition, BRIDGE supports innovative start-up projects during the application and funding period of the federal programs EXIST Gründerstipendium [EXIST Business Start-Up Grant] and EXIST Forschungstransfer [EXIST Transfer of Research]. Applications for the EXIST programs are submitted through the universities and integrated by BRIDGE in a start-up network.

Further information on the subject of counseling and support programs.

CAMPUSiDEEN is an ideas competition run jointly by the University of Bremen, the University of Applied Science Bremen, the Uniersity of Applied Science Bremerhaven, and the Bremer Aufbau-Bank. The competition is organized by BRIDGE.

The annual competition for start-up ideas and business plans with sponsor-supported prizes worth more than 17,00 Euro rounds off the BRIDGE event year.

Around 640 proposals have been submitted over the past 15 years. This makes CAMPUSiDEEN one of the most long-running and successful competitions of its kind nationwide.

Further information and all documents relating to the competition.

BRIDGE - Supporting Start-ups form Bremen Universities

Dr. Martin Heinlein, Managing Director

0421-218-60330

martin.heinleinprotect me ?!vw.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de

Tanja Litschel, BRIDGE Office

0421-218-60345

tanja.litschel@vw.uni-bremen.de

Meike Goos, Start-up Counceling (Initial Counceling)

0421-218-60346

meike.goos@vw.uni-bremen.de

Dr. Stephanie Rabe, Start-up Counceling (EXIST)