Spin-off – Startups from science

Science Spin-offs, startups from the science community, are a link between the academic world and the economy. They are an important driver for progress and contribute to solving complex global challenges by providing technologies that improve our lives and make the world more sustainable. Their ideas are based on scientific discoveries or technologies that emerged from research.  

Lower Saxony, with its 28 universities and numerous non-university research institutions, has a strong foundation for spin-offs from the scientific community. The research fields are accordingly broad and partly world-renowned (such as agricultural and food research or life sciences). The associated potential provides fertile ground for spin-offs from Lower Saxony’s universities. The Lower Saxony Startup Monitor also clearly shows the role of universities as enablers in the startup ecosystem: in 2022, 86.3 percent of founders had an academic degree, 58.7 percent of them from a university in Lower Saxony. Additionally, half of the startups stated that they had received support from a university or college along the way. The universities in the state play a key role in training founders and are closely connected to the regional ecosystems.    

Spin-offs are an important part of the Startup Strategy of Lower Saxony. As part of the state’s Niedersachsen.next Startup initiative, a newly created central interface between universities, politics, economic development agencies, and investors provides more support for promoting spin-offs in Lower Saxony. We aim to create conditions that accelerate the transfer of knowledge from research and enable innovations to be translated into products and services faster. This is done in coordination with the startup officers of the Lower Saxony universities and with the involvement of the startup ecosystem. 

A key instrument for promoting spin-offs from universities is the IP for Virtual Shares model. By enabling virtual shares of intellectual property, universities and spin-offs can better monetize their innovative ideas and discoveries while fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. It thus provides an efficient solution to overcome challenges in financing and licensing intellectual property. Implementing the model offers the opportunity to ensure the success of universities and spin-offs while promoting progress and innovation in science. As part of a working group of Lower Saxony universities, established at the initiative of the Life Science Startup Board, efforts are underway to pilot the model. Click here for further information and downloads of the already developed results.