Conference 25. Nov 2020

The Spin-off Austria Conference was initiate in November 2020 by the investors Hermann Hauser and Herbert Gartner. Already in the first year, more than 1.000 participants from 4 continents could be made aware of the topic "Spin-offs".

 

The Spin-off Austria Conference takes place annually and aims to highlight the discrepancy between research cost and the missing implementation into economically relevant applications. The online conference is based on building bridges between young companies and universities, that the social benefits of science should not be lost.

Once again this year, the Spin-off Initiative invites you to discuss the status quo of the Austrian spin-off landscape under the title "Austrian spin-offs on the rise? Cultivating a thriving spin-off ecosystem". The online conference  took place online on 23.11.2023.

download the SOA Report 2023

Schedule

morning session
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11:00 am - 11:05 am
Welcome by Mag. Jasmin Güngör and Mag. Dejan Jovicevic
Welcome by Mag. Jasmin Güngör and Mag. Dejan Jovicevic
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11:05 am – 11:20 am
Dr. Hermann Hauser
Introductory Keynote
Introductory Keynote

In 2000, Science Minister Lord David Sainsbury fostered activities that aimed at introducing commercialisation as a third mission alongside research and teaching at UK universities. During the course of the last 20 years, academia implemented highly efficient and standardised processes to spin-off companies in cooperation with government and VC investors. The phenomenal success of this initiative led to 6.000 new companies in Cambridge – the so-called Silicon Fen.

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11:20 am – 11:30 am
Q&A-Session
Q&A-Session
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11:30 am – 11:35 am
Video Contribution of Federal Minister Univ.-Prof. Dr. Heinz Fassmann
Video Contribution of Federal Minister Univ.-Prof. Dr. Heinz Fassmann
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11:35 am – 11:55 am
Prof. Mark Ferguson
Creating the Missing Trillions
Creating the Missing Trillions

There is a relation between the quality of research and qualities of companies that a country can produce. If the UK had the same correlation between high quality research and successful companies as in the US, there would have been two trillion more GDP in the years between 1979 and 2013. The EIC will stimulate the scaling up of innovative, deep tech, market creating companies in Europe, crowding in private investment and becoming a global hallmark of innovation excellence.

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11:55 am – 12:05 pm
Q&A-Session
Q&A-Session
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12:05 pm – 12:10 pm
Video Contribution of Federal Minister Leonore Gewessler, BA
Video Contribution of Federal Minister Leonore Gewessler, BA
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12:10 pm – 12:30 pm
Prof. Giulio Superti-Furga
Spin-off Austria
Spin-off Austria

In proportion to the number of researchers and students there are not enough spin-offs in Austria.
Based on personal experience: what can be done to empower the community, create incentives and foster a culture of entrepreneurship that is actively supported and not simply tolerated by the academic leadership?

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12:30 pm – 12:40 pm
Q&A-Session
Q&A-Session
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12:40 pm – 12:45 pm
Video Contribution of Federal Minister Dr. Margarete Schramböck
Video Contribution of Federal Minister Dr. Margarete Schramböck
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12:45 pm – 01:15 pm
Panel I: about Infrastructure for Spin-offs in Austria
Panel I: about Infrastructure for Spin-offs in Austria

Moderation by Klara Brandstätter (I.E.C.T.) with Raphael Friedl (tech2be), Martin Mössler,
(Science Park Graz), Marlis Baurecht (aws) and Silvia Laimgruber (FFG)

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01:15 pm – 01:35 pm
Prof. Yan Gong
Entrepreneurship landscape in China: Reflections and key lessons
Entrepreneurship landscape in China: Reflections and key lessons

This keynote provides a perspective of current frontiers and ongoing challenges in China’s entrepeneurial landscape.

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01:35 pm – 01:45 pm
Q&A-Session
Q&A-Session
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01:45 pm – 02:05 pm
Prof. David Gann CBE
Ideas and talent: economic growth and social progress
Ideas and talent: economic growth and social progress

What university entrepreneurship can bring to apost-COVID world

Universities play a pivotal role in developing ideas that shape the world. They need to create the right conditions to foster entrepreneurial ideas and they need to put in place the mechanisms to enable new ventures to start and to grow. Some universities have become hubs at the heart of innovation eco-systems, like Stanford and Berkeley in the Bay area, or Oxford, Imperial, UCL and Cambridge – the ‘golden triangle’ - in the UK.  These research-led universities provide a continuous flow of new ideas and the talented people to work on them. They use their convening power to connect the many different stakeholders necessary for new ventures to succeed. This presentation provides an overview of the approaches that help generate and support new start-ups and spin-offs from universities. It draws on case-studies of firms that have emerged from the London eco-system, and the experience of developing Imperial College’s White City Innovation Campus - home to a vibrant community of university start-ups, venture funders, scale-ups and corporate technology companies.

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02:05 pm – 02:15 pm
Q&A-Session
Q&A-Session
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02:15 pm – 02:35 pm
Dr. Tomas Brenner
Entrepreneurship at ETH Zurich: Learnings and success factors
Entrepreneurship at ETH Zurich: Learnings and success factors

In this presentation, we explore key success factors and instruments of ETH Zurich, which enable the successful spin-out of around 30 new high-tech ventures per annum and how ventures succeed to translate disruptive technologies into commercial revenue-generating products.

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02:35 pm – 02:45 pm
Q&A-Session
Q&A-Session
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02:45 pm – 03:05 pm
Ken Morse
Critical Success Factors in Innovation & Entrepreneurship: What’s Hot & What’s Not
Critical Success Factors in Innovation & Entrepreneurship: What’s Hot & What’s Not

Innovation is invention x commercialization. If either is zero, there is no innovation. Investors must team up with customer-centric entrepreneurs to bring their breakthrough inventions out of the cool comfort of the laboratory into the cruel crucible of the marketplace. Speed is the handmaiden of innovation. Selling new concepts and products - usually long before they have been built - is one of the key critical success factors. Defining and quantifying the value proposition, identifying and addressing the “jury” and preparing an effective elevator pitch - these skills and attitudes often make the difference between success and failure.

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03:05 pm – 03:15 pm
Q&A-Session
Q&A-Session
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03:15 pm – 03:35 pm
Greg Galvin, Ph.D.
Entrepreneurial Awakening
Entrepreneurial Awakening

Over the past forty years there has been an evolution of the relationship between academia and commercial activities in the United States. Cornell University came to this awakening somewhat later and more hesitantly than many of its peers. Nevertheless, the evolution occurred and entrepreneurial activity at Cornell is vibrant spanning all disciplines and all members of the community. Students, faculty, the Ithaca community and the university all benefit from a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.

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03:35 pm – 03:45 pm
Q&A-Session
Q&A-Session
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03:45 pm – 04:15 pm
Panel II: about International Best Practice
Panel II: about International Best Practice

Moderation by Anita Ender (CeMM) with Greg Galvin (USA), Ken Morse (USA), Tomas Brenner (CH), David Gann (UK)

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04:15 pm
Prof. DI Dr. Harald Kainz, Ph.D.
Final Words
Final Words
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afternoon session
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powered by

BDO Austria Holding Wirtschaftsprüfung GmbH
Erste Bank und Sparkasse
Held Berdnik Astner & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH
Wüstenrot

cooperation partner

Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development
Austria Wirtschaftsservice
Federal Ministry Republic of Austria Education, Science and Research
Federal Ministry Republic of Austria Digital and Economic Affairs
Federal Ministry Republic of Austria Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology
Erste Bank und Sparkasse
Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft
Austrian Universities of Technology
Österreichische Universitätenkonferenz
Wirtschaftskammer Österreich
Wissenstransferzentrum

speakers and panelists

Dr. Hermann Hauser
Co-Founder Amadeus Capital Partners, Vice-Chair EIC Pilot Advisory Board
Prof. Mark Ferguson
Director General Science Foundation Ireland, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland and Chair, Advisory Board of European Innovation Council (EIC)
Prof. Giulio Superti-Furga
Scientific Director CeMM, Professor for Medical Systems Biology, Medical University of Vienna
Prof. Yan Gong
Professor of Entrepreneurial Management Practice at CEIBS and Programme Director of CEIBS Entrepreneurial Leadership Camp/CEIBS Venture Capital Camp
Prof. David Gann CBE
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Development and External Affairs) of Oxford University
Dr. Tomas Brenner
Managing Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab (ieLab), ETH Zurich’s Incubator for Pre-/ Early Stage Deep Tech Start-ups
Ken Morse
Serial Entrepreneur and Investor, Founding Managing Director of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center
Greg Galvin, Ph.D.
Serial Entrepreneur of Cornell University
Prof. DI Dr. Harald Kainz, Ph.D.
Rector of Graz University of Technology
Mag. Raphael Friedl, MSc
Managing Director of tech2be
Mag. Martin Mössler, MSc
Managing Director of Science Park Graz
Mag. Marlis Baurecht
Head of Entrepreneurship | IPR | Seed Financing at AWS
Mag. Silvia Laimgruber
Head of the Structural Programmes department at FFG

Moderation and Organisation

Mag. Jasmin Güngör
Investment Manager and Authorised Signatory of Hermann Hauser Investment GmbH
Klara Brandstätter
Managing Director of I.E.C.T. Hermann Hauser Management GmbH
Dejan Jovicevic (Moderation)
Co-Founder & CEO of "Der Brutkasten"
Anita Ender (Panel 2)
Administrative Director of CeMM

Past Conferences

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