The Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy, and Public Enterprises and the European Social Fund are supporting the successful Berliner Startup Stipendium at the three major Berlin universities and Charité with a further 3.95 million euros. The “University Startup Factory” program supports start-up projects with technology-based business ideas from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. The program was launched in November 2016 and is now in its third round. The start-up grants of Berlin University Alliance, the alliance of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, will focus on the topic of Smart City over the next two years.

Grants are open to applicants with a university degree who are interested in setting up a business and who wish to further develop their prototypes and bring them to market. Two to four scholarships of 2,000 euros each per month over a period of six months can be awarded per start-up team. An extension of six months is possible. Grant holders must dedicate themselves full-time to their start-up and reside in Berlin. Until 2021, up to 46 start-up projects are to be supported by the program for market entry in the Berlin universities alliance. A total of up to 138 grant holders are to be funded, advised, and qualified from the project funds. The grant holders gain access to office and workshop space, equipment, and laboratories on campus and benefit from the expertise of scientific mentors. Five selection rounds are planned.

Since mid-2016, 275 people from a total of 87 teams have been sponsored with a Berliner Startup Stipendium within the framework of the program. Of the 275 individual grants, 37 percent were provided to female founders. Twenty-seven of the sponsored teams founded a company during or shortly after receiving support by the Berliner Startup Stipendium. Twenty-one teams have received follow-up financing, and nine teams have applied for follow-up financing. Decisions have not yet been made.

The start-up teams are supported by the start-up funding of their respective universities, but they additionally have access to the full strength of the Berlin University Alliance so that they can also benefit from special skills and networks of the other universities.

The Berlin University Alliance is an alliance made up of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The four partners want to overcome institutional boundaries and create a unique, regionally and internationally networked research area. The Berlin University Alliance is funded as a University Consortia of Excellence in the Excellence Strategy competition of the German federal and state governments.