On Thursday, March 18, 2021, the Innovationszentrum at Aalen University and the Association of Technology and Startup Centers in Baden-Württemberg hosted an online workshop on the latest trends in Silicon Valley, startups, and international innovation support.
Dr. Andreas Ehrhardt, Innovation Manager and Executive Director of the Innovationszentrum at Aalen University, welcomed all participants and introduced INNO-Z, along with its partners and the AAccelerator Aalen, as a new and complementary program to support startup initiatives.
This was followed by a presentation on the Association of Technology and Business Incubators in Baden-Württemberg by its chairwoman, Ulrike Hudelmaier. The association currently comprises 27 business incubators, each hosting numerous startups. The association connects and supports the individual centers in their work to promote entrepreneurship.
Emily Raab, an innovation scout for the state of Baden-Württemberg in Silicon Valley, joined the event live from San Francisco. She took the participants on a virtual tour of Silicon Valley and introduced the Innovation Camp BW in San Francisco. The Innovation Camp is a flagship project for small and medium-sized enterprises from Baden-Württemberg. It is a collaboration with Baden-Württemberg International and is financially supported by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs. Through a customized program, participants learn how disruptive business models, technology trends, and new innovation methods from the Valley can be applied to their own companies. The goal is to strengthen companies’ innovative capacity. Corporate culture and a willingness to take risks also play a decisive role in this process. Matchmaking to establish business contacts is another central component of the program. In addition, Emily Raab reported on the latest trends and future topics, business models, and successfully implemented innovation methods in Silicon Valley.
This was followed by a presentation on Baden-Württemberg International and the current support programs for the internationalization of startups by Cornelia Frank, head of the Foreign Trade and Location Marketing Department. She also highlighted various ways to promote Baden-Württemberg and secure the future of regional companies by providing support during different phases of internationalization.
Dr. Andreas Ehrhardt and Ulrike Hudelmaier rounded out the online event with a session on current funding programs and events. Workshop participants also had the opportunity to ask the speakers questions and exchange ideas.
The online event reached more than 100 different participants and received consistently positive feedback.
In closing, Andreas Ehrhardt thanked the speakers for their informative and inspiring presentations, as well as for their excellent cooperation.
