Innovation labs
The Concept
With the intent of bringing together top notch research with innovators from all disciplines to develop new spin-offs, the University of Vienna has launched the innovation labs (ilabs).
The programme is coordinated by the DLE Research Services and Career Development in close collaboration with faculties and research networks
During the programme, participants work in teams to develop their entrepreneurial idea or solution to a challenge. The ilabs are articulated in two phases: a 2-month training period that ends with a pitch competition, and a longer period during which the teams working on the most promising venture ideas get financial and mentor support from the University.
The goal of the ilab is to provide the basis for early stage ventures to secure further funding (FFG, aws, EIT, etc.) or to participate in incubation programmes.
After the success of the pilot of the digital ilab in 2022, the University is planning two ilabs for 2023: one on digital and one on biomed entrepreneurship.
Biomed ilab
The biomedical ilab provides technical and entrepreneurial training to create new ventures servicing the pharma, biotech, or the medical devices industry.
The best team will have a chance to receive 6-month financial support (EUR 40.000) to bring their ideas to reality! For inquiries, contact entrepreneurship@univie.ac.at
Digital ilab
The digital ilab programme provides technical and entrepreneurial training to create digital tech ventures. No need to already have a team or idea. People from all disciplines are welcome to apply. The best teams will have a chance to receive 4-month financial support (EUR 10.000) to bring their ideas to reality! For inquiries, contact digital.ilab@univie.ac.at
The digital ilab was first run as a pilot programme of the University of Vienna in 2022.
Coordinated by the Research Network Data Science and the DLE Research Services and Career Development, it provided support to 25 participants. Four teams received financial and mentoring support to develop their proof of concepts. Two teams we also admitted to the INiTS start-up programme. Check it out here.
