Company

Uni Kiel goes Business

The new CAU Innovation Gesellschaft will simplify the handling of cooperation projects with companies in future.

Efficient project management, fast decision-making processes and lean structures:

By founding its own company for knowledge and technology transfer, Kiel University (CAU) is paving the way for more applied research – and at the same time for the transfer of knowledge to industry and society.

CAU Innovation GmbH, founded in 2022, simplifies the handling of cooperation projects with companies and other contract research and service projects by providing agile and flexible support for project initiation and handling and offering customized solutions geared towards knowledge transfer.

The CAU's own company covers a broad spectrum:

from small-scale measurement data surveys to temporary research projects and long-term corporate collaborations. It thus offers a range of services that is precisely tailored to the needs of technology-based knowledge transfer – and makes a decisive contribution to increasing the competitiveness of regional companies. With the CAU as the sole shareholder, the GmbH is highly flexible and attractive, both for new research projects and as a platform for new transfer initiatives and formats.

Another focus is on the promotion of start-ups.

Die Zahl an Ausgründungen soll an der CAU in den kommenden zehn Jahren kontinuierlich gesteigert werden. Ein Service der GmbH wird es sein, erste Umsätze von Gründungsprojekten unkompliziert über die GmbH abzuwickeln, bevor ein eigener Firmenmantel gegründet wurde. Daneben ist auch die direkte Beteiligung der Universität an Start-ups über die CAU Innovation GmbH als Beteiligungsinstrument geplant.

Axel Koch is the managing director of the GmbH and heads the Transfer division at the CAU.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Eckhard Quandt, Vice President for Research, Transfer, Scientific Infrastructure and Digitization at Kiel University.

Dr. Christiane Micus-Loos, Professor of Education at the CAU.