RWTH Professors Recognized and Honored for their Dedication to Spin-offs and Entrepreneurship
Spin-offs, start-ups, young entrepreneurship – these have long been fundamental areas at RWTH Aachen. Ideally, the young founders receive the best possible support from the professors. Professor Malte Brettel and Professor Antonello Monti have now been honored with the prestigious “UNIPRENEURS” award for their commitment in this area. The Federal Minister for Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, together with Dr. Anna Christmann, the Federal Government Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Start-ups, presented the trophies at a celebration evening in Berlin.
Professor Antonello Monti founded his first startup in Italy in 1994. He then founded and supported start-ups in both the USA and Germany, according to the jury’s statement. “Transferring research into reality is always something very satisfying,” said Monti, holder of the Chair of Automation of Complex Power Systems, and added: “The fact that this commitment is also recognized is simply wonderful.”
Malte Brettel, holder of the Chair of Economics for Engineers and Natural Scientists, sees it the same way: “I am very happy that the commitment of the many professors is recognized and honored with UNIPRENEURS.” Brettel’s own chair alone has supported more than 70 companies through his Employees and doctoral students were created, according to the jury.
In the end, 20 personalities were selected from 700 suggestions. Stark-Watzinger was enthusiastic about the initiative: “We want to strengthen start-up activity at our universities. Professors play a central role in this. They make a significant contribution to the start-up culture at universities and are important sources of inspiration for Germany’s innovative strength and future viability.” Dr. Anna Christmann, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Startups in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, also praised the achievements: “The excellent professors from UNIPRENEURS embody the outstanding combination of academic excellence and entrepreneurial spirit.