Start-Up Summer School
The Start-Up Summer School is a platform that promotes exchange between scientists, innovators, investors and experts in the emerging field of synthetic biology. The main objective of the Start-Up Summer School is to provide participants with the opportunity to develop and advance innovative business ideas. With a limited number of participants an intimate and interactive atmosphere will be created to foster the exchange of knowledge, experiences and ideas.
From Idea to Start-Up
When: 7. – 10. September 2026
Where: Darmstadt & Frankfurt
Who: Young researchers (Master’s, PhD, or Post-Doc) with a background in biology, chemistry, physics, synthetic biology, biochemistry, materials science, informatics, engineering and economy.
The Start-Up Summer School will open on 7. and 8. September with a symposium at the TU Darmstadt, to which all interested parties are invited.
Turn your research into a Start-Up opportunity
From Research to Startup
Have you achieved exciting research results and wondered whether they could become something more? The Summer School 2026 will show you how scientific discoveries can be translated into real-world impact—and how an idea can evolve into a potential Start-Up.
The Summer School is designed for students, PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers who are interested in innovation, entrepreneurship and technology transfer. In an interdisciplinary environment, you will collaborate with participants from different fields, develop innovative business ideas and learn the key steps involved in transforming research into a venture.
What to Expect
During the first two days, you will gain insights from:
- Leading researchers in synthetic biology
- Successful founders and startup entrepreneurs
- Experienced innovation and venture experts
Through workshops and interactive sessions, you will learn how to identify opportunities, understand challenges from a user perspective, and further develop promising ideas.
On days three and four, you will work closely with your team to develop your own startup concept. The Summer School culminates in a final pitch competition, where each team presents its startup concept to a jury of investors, entrepreneurs, and innovation experts.
Be Part of the Next Generation of Science-Based Innovation
Whether you already have a concrete idea or are simply curious about entrepreneurship, the Summer School offers a unique opportunity to gain new perspectives, build valuable skills and explore how research can create societal and economic impact.
Take the first step—and turn your idea into tomorrow’s innovation.
September 7th, 2026
Symposium: Inspiration & Research Excellence
Scientific talks by leading researchers presenting cutting-edge technologies, breakthrough discoveries, and emerging innovation opportunities.
Venue: TU Darmstadt
Castle (S3|13, Raum 030)
Residenzschloss 1, 64283 Darmstadt
13:00 – 13:10 Welcome Heinz Koeppl, TU Darmstadt & Lena Rosini, Futury
13:10 – 13:50 Dominik Niopek, Heidelberg University
Engineering Precision Control of Protein Effectors
13:50 – 14:30 Alena Khmelinskaia, LMU Munich
Designed to Assemble—and to Know When
14:30 – 15:00 Coffee Break
15:00 – 15:40 Thomas Schlichthaerle, TU Munich
AI-guided Protein Design for Biomedical Applications – Engineering Growth Factor Mimetics for Stem Cell Differentiation and Neuronal Regeneration
15:40 – 16:20 Basile Wicky, ETH Zürich
Interfacing with biology using protein design
16:20 – 16:50 Coffee Break
16:50 – 17:30 Julian Beck, Bayreuth University
Designing de novo enzymes with CANVAS
17:30 – 18:00 Ingmar Schuster, Provolut
Great science. But who cares?
18:00 – 18:15 Centre Thesis Award
18:15 – 19:30 Get together
September 8th, 2026
Symposium: Entrepreneurship & Networking
Meet industry representatives, founders, investors, and start-ups. Explore market needs, identify promising opportunities, and find potential teammates and idea partners.
Venue: TU Darmstadt
Castle (S3|13, Raum 030)
Residenzschloss 1, 64283 Darmstadt
9:00 – 9:05 Welcome
9:05 – 9:35 Dhaarsi Jaksch, MAGMATIC Bio
9:35 – 10:05 Owen Jarman, DynaPore
10:05 – 10:35 Bernd Hofmann, SRTD biotech
10:35 – 11:00 Coffee Break
11:00 – 11:30 Ivan Jaubert, SynBioBeta
11:30 – 12:00 Nikolaus Vollmer, HTGF
12:00 – 12:30 Lukas Lang, Nucleate
13:30 – 17:00 Ideation & Coaching (only for Summer School participants)
September 9th, 2026
Business Development & Coaching
Transform your idea into a viable venture. Work with experienced coaches on value proposition design, business models, market analysis, and commercialization strategies.
9:00 – 17:00
Venue: TU Darmstadt
September 10th, 2026
Pitch Day & Award Ceremony
Present your startup concept and pitch deck to an expert jury. Receive feedback from entrepreneurs and innovation professionals, compete for awards, and celebrate your achievements.
9:00 – 17:00
Venue: Futury, Am Steinernen Stock 1, 60320 Frankfurt-Mitte-Nord
17:00 Futury Summer Party
Speaker
Dominik Niopek
Dominik Niopek is a professor at Heidelberg University, where he heads the Pharmaceutical Biology Department. His vision is to control molecular processes in living cells with high spatiotemporal accuracy for use in basic research and future medical applications.
Alena Khmelinskaia
Alena Khmelinskaia is a professor at LMU Munich, where she heads the “Protein Design and Self Assembly” group. She uses computational protein design, experiments, and biophysical methods to investigate the physical principles of protein self-assembly.
Thomas Schlichthaerle
Thomas Schlichthaerle is a professor at the Technical University of Munich, where he leads the “AI-guided Protein Design” research group. He uses AI-assisted protein design to systematically map, modulate, and reprogram cellular decision-making processes.
Basile Wicky
Basile Wicky is Assistant Professor at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at the ETH Zuerich. His Biomolecular Design Lab is developing methods for designing entirely new proteins that do not occur in nature. The goal is to program biological systems in a targeted manner, for example for medical applications, the control of cells or biotechnological processes.
Julian Beck
Julian Beck is a postdoc in Birte Höcker's lab at the University of Bayreuth. The lab focuses on the development of protein folding and function and applies this knowledge to protein design.
Ingmar Schuster
Ingmar Schuster is the co-founder and CEO of Provolut, a start-up company that uses machine learning to optimise proteins more quickly and achieve higher performance levels than ever before.
Dhaarsi Jaksch
Dhaarsi Jaksch, CSO of Magmatic Bio, will talk about the design of custom synthetic proteins that bind metals in complex mixtures with atomic precision.
Bernd Hoffmann
Bernd Hoffmann is the CEO of SRTD Biotech and is working on the development of cell-type-specific RNA molecules as next-generation RNA therapeutics. These so-called selectively expressed RNA molecules (seRNA) are a highly efficient platform technology for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases and genetic disorders.
Owen Jarman
Owen Jarman is the Technology Lead at DynaPore, a spin-off of the MPI in Marburg, which develops and markets innovative platforms for measuring ion currents as well as for bioelectronic and immunodiagnostic applications using its stable MemChip technology and patented Conformation Effect Transistor.
Ivan Jaubert
Ivan Jaubert is Director of Entrepreneurship at SynBioBeta and curator of the Next Gen BioLeaders Program. As a former founder and startup mentor, he supports synthetic biology entrepreneurs through strategic partnerships, founder development, and engagement with industry, investors, and government stakeholders.
Nikolaus Vollmer
Nikolaus Vollmer is an Investment Manager in Life Sciences & Chemistry at HTGF, focusing on TechBio, biomanufacturing, and therapeutics. Holding a PhD in Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering and bringing experience from the pharmaceutical industry and a corporate startup incubator, he supports early-stage founders in translating cutting-edge scientific innovations into impactful companies and products.
Lukas Lang
Lukas Lang is a postdoc at the German Cancer Research Center and Co-Managing Director of Nucleate Heidelberg. With Nucleate he works to supports aspiring founders and connect stakeholders to strengthen the biotech ecosystem in Southwest Germany.
Training
Bartosz Kajdas
Bartosz Kajdas is an experienced expert in supporting academic Start-Ups. Since 2014, he has accompanied more than 200 academic Start-Ups in their early stages at TU Darmstadt and the University of Heidelberg, and conducted more than 1,000 consultations with founders from different scientific disciplines. His passion is to promote and support the growth of innovative companies.
Organisation
Heinz Koeppl
Heinz Koeppl is director of the Centre for Synthetic Biology at TU Darmstadt and professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering and adjunct professor at the Department of Biology.
Melanie Mikosch-Wersching
Melanie Mikosch-Wersching is Science Communication Officer for the research field Matter and Materials, in which Synthetic Biology is established as one of the strategic profile areas of TU Darmstadt.
Disclaimer
If you would like to claim your idea as owner before the summer school starts, please send the idea forehand to the indicated contact to assure that the idea is attributed to you and any additionally generated ideas resulting in IP are joint rights and maybe used by all team members that contributed to the idea.
