19 December 2022

The University Incubator for Entrepreneurship (hike for short) at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences presents its brand new HIKELab.

For several months, work, building, screwing, drilling and painting has been going on in the middle of the greenery on the Nordhausen university campus. Many a visitor marvelled at the new small building, which was erected at lightning speed surrounded by hundred-year-old trees.

There was great excitement when the HIKELab - as the little house in the countryside is called - opened its doors to invited guests and interested visitors for the first time on 7 December. With the official opening, HIKE reached an important milestone. In future, the 180 square metre building will be used to inspire members of the university and motivate them to take up start-up or innovation activities.

A large number of work, test and experimentation stations with appropriate technology and software (e.g. 3D printing) are available for this purpose. Every conceivable idea can be developed from vision to reality here. All topics are welcome - whether future trends, future technologies, future skills and many more.

In addition to hike Director Prof. Dr Lutz Göcke, Vice President for Research and Development Prof. Dr Viktor Wesselak and numerous excited university members, Dr Katja Böhler, State Secretary in the Thuringian Ministry of Economics and Science, District Administrator Matthias Jendricke and Mayor Alexandra Rieger also attended the opening ceremony to cut the ribbon together.

The guests were welcomed in the new lecture theatre 1 by University President Prof. Dr Jörg Wagner. In his speech, he recognised the commitment of the hike team and emphasised the importance of the hike for the further development of the university. This was followed by a keynote speech from serial founder, investor and author Karl-Heinz Land, who gave important impulses on how such start-up labs can become the innovation engines of a region and thus strengthen the future viability of regions. In her welcoming address, Dr Katja Böhler called the new lab the "birthplace" for good start-up ideas and wished everyone involved that many good ideas - and therefore many new, successful companies - would see the light of day here in the future.

We then went straight to the lab. Here all the rooms could be visited, followed by a demo day with interesting pitches from hike founder teams.

Ever since the first universities were founded, they have played an important role in the economic and social development of regions. In recent years, the third mission of universities has increasingly become an equally important pillar alongside excellent teaching and research. The hike and its lab are intended to sustainably expand the start-up and innovation infrastructure at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences and thus contribute to strengthening the region of Northern Thuringia.

Interested parties can find insights into the hike on the corresponding website:

www.hike-startups.de

Picture caption: Opening ceremony of the StartupLab at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences

(Photos: Nadine Kathrin Luschnat)