For the sixth time, the startup radar 2022 examined the quality of startup support at German universities both qualitatively and quantitatively. The startup radar is produced biennially by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Stifterverband) in cooperation with the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz (BMWK). The survey differentiates between large, medium, and small universities and higher education institutions. According to the initiators, nearly 62 percent of all German universities and higher education institutions participate. Overall, the survey, in which a maximum of 60 points can be achieved, considers seven components: 1. startup anchoring, 2. startup awareness, 3. startup qualification, 4. startup support, 5. startup activities, 6. monitoring and evaluation in startup support, and 7. networking in startup support.
After 2012 and 2016, HM with its Entrepreneurship Center SCE takes the top position for the third time in 2022. 2nd and 3rd place among large universities are held by the University of Saarland (58.2) and the University of Potsdam (57.9), ahead of the winner of the last startup radar from 2020, the Technical University of Munich (TUM), which now ranks 4th with 56.8 points.
“The density at the top is high”
Prof. Dr. Martin Leitner, president of HM, is delighted with his university’s success:
“We are very happy and also proud of this confirmation of our pioneering role in startup support in the German higher education landscape. I was particularly pleased by HM’s excellent ratings across the board, that is, in all seven components. Nevertheless, we have no intention of resting on our laurels, because the startup radar ranking also makes one thing clear: the density at the top is high and there are many excellent universities and universities of applied sciences that are doing extraordinary things in entrepreneurship education, startup creation, and technology transfer.”
Prof. Dr. Thomas Stumpp, vice president of business at HM, adds:
“The ranking also shows how well we can fulfill our role and our self-image as an entrepreneurial university in Munich’s innovation ecosystem. Together with our partners, we want to build bridges from science to business as well as to civil society. This is achieved on the one hand through the founding of startups but also through entrepreneurial-minded employees and well-trained specialists in knowledge, technology & ideas transfer in this economic metropolis.”
Seeking joint entrepreneurial solutions
Prof. Dr. Klaus Sailer, CEO of SCE, summarizes:
“We see the ranking as a call to work together with as many universities and higher education institutions as possible to further promote entrepreneurship and startup creation broadly. Last year we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Strascheg Center at HM and we have achieved much in that time. In the meantime, with our partners, we have grown both regionally and increasingly internationally into an interconnected startup ecosystem to create impact together and seek entrepreneurial solutions to the considerable challenges we face both at the small and large scale.”
