Entrepreneurial and innovative Berlin

If you want to get the low down on disruption, what better place to visit than Berlin?

39 Masters in General Management students experienced the German capital's vibrant start-up community. Their Berlin Disruption Tour took them to various incubators (e.g. Bayer Colaborator), accelerators (e.g. Microsoft Ventures) and co-working spaces including Factory Berlin - Germany’s biggest start-up campus. They also visited companies such as Google and Zalando.

At the same time, another group of 115 students got an introduction to the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem in Berlin. Via various company visits and presentations they gained insights into the ecosystem approach and how to leverage resources within the specific Berlin region. Topics included city logistics and innovation in mobility, technology developments in smart data and virtual reality, and the role of venture capital in the ecosystem.

Veroniek Collewaert, professor of Entrepreneurship: “To unravel what makes the Berlin ecosystem so successful, we visited as many different players as possible. For many students this trip was a real eye-opener. They were inspired by the latest projects these start-ups are working on and they learned what corporates are doing to help those young companies. This trip definitely strengthened and even awakened some students’ desire for an entrepreneurial career.”