Hamburg Innovation and the municipal government have launched a range of initiatives to bolster the local ecosystem, with a total of $3.7m being made available.

Hamburg Innovation, the regional tech transfer organisation for public universities in Hamburg, and the local government’s Departmental Authority for Science, Research and Gender Equality (BWFG) have launched several programs.

The partnership will benefit from €3m ($3.7m) in public funding over the next three years to establish three initiatives to strengthen the local ecosystem.

The first initiative, Call for Transfer, will be aimed at early-stage innovation and offer up to €30,000 per project.

The money will be allocated through a bi-annual competition, managed by Hamburg Innovation, though researchers may also apply for proof-of-concept funding outside the contest.

A second program, Innovation Scouts, will aim to identify promising early-stage research at the universities, working directly with and advising professors and their labs and acting as a contact to the respective tech transfer offices.

Finally, an online directory will enable businesses to find relevant researchers and present their expertise in a way that is easily understandable. The platform is expected to boost research collaborations with the private sector.

Katharina Fegebank, senator for science, research and gender equality, said “The future of Hamburg lies in research and innovation as well as solid cooperation between science and industry.

“Our universities boast many a bright mind, groundbreaking research results and good ideas. But all of these remain hidden all too often.

“The new program offers the opportunity to strengthen the knowledge and technology transfer areas of the universities, the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf and Hamburg Innovation as a transfer company for all universities. This will benefit the entire ecosystem.” [translated from German by Global University Venturing]

Hamburg Innovation’s member institutions include University of Hamburg, Hamburg University of Technology, Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, HafenCity University Hamburg, HFBK – University of Fine Arts of Hamburg and HfMT – University of Music and Theatre.

Commercialisation firmTuTech Innovation is also a stakeholder in Hamburg Innovation.