Technical University of Munich: The Master’s thesis as basis for founding a start-up

In the TUM Entrepreneurial Masterclass students turn their degree theses into product ideas or even their own start-ups. Today, two years after the Masterclass was launched, 56 of the almost 150 Masterclass Fellows and Alumni already work at companies they founded themselves. The current application period for the free supplementary course at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) expires on November 1, 2022.

Four times a year, students with particularly promising Master’s topics from any academic discipline can apply for admission to the TUM Entrepreneurial Masterclass. The six-month programs completely integrate the participants in TUM’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and the start-up factory UnternehmerTUM and help the students develop business ideas based on their respective Master’s theses.

Entrepreneurial potential in degree theses gets lost
Program managers Yasmina Trautmann and Niclas-Alexander Mauß observe: “The objective is to keep the degree thesis from landing in the desk drawer, and instead to derive a direct positive benefit to society from it. Unfortunately, a large amount of entrepreneurial potential in degree theses gets lost. With the TUM Entrepreneurial Masterclass we’re creating the structures needed to reclaim this potential.”

Participants are put into contact with successful start-up founders who are available as mentors. In addition the participants receive direct access to top-level events and seminars featuring inspiring role models. And program participants can continue to rely on the infrastructure and support of TUM, even after completing their studies.