“Science-based spin-offs are a key driver of Europe’s innovative strength and technological sovereignty. With the Academic Spin-out Alliance, we are pooling our expertise in a targeted manner for the first time to offer researchers better conditions for successful start-ups, faster technology transfer and international scaling,” the Alliance states.
Significant progress and even higher potential
The significance of educational spin-offs has grown considerably lately: while in 2018 round 12% of all start-ups emerged from universities or research institutions, this determine now stands at round 23%, in accordance with the Austrian Start-up Monitor 2025.
These figures make it clear: the scientific potential exists, however shouldn’t be but being sufficiently translated into scalable innovation. New constructions for extra start-upsThis is exactly the place the brand new alliance is available in. The goal is to considerably simplify and speed up the trail from research to start-up.
Plans embody:
- joint spin-off and incubation programmes
- Cross-institutional co-founder matching codecs
- Initiatives to speed up know-how switch and commercialisation
From Lab to Leader: Building Science Ventures that Last
A primary seen signal of the brand new cooperation was the joint occasion “Lab to
Leader: Building Science Ventures That Last”, which passed off on 20 May as a part of the Vienna Business Agency as a part of Vienna UP 2026, with over 150 company in attendance. The occasion was organised collectively by the accomplice institutions to deliver collectively educational
spin-offs with potential co-founders, traders and worldwide specialists. Further initiatives and particular choices for founders will probably be
rolled out steadily over the approaching months.
MedUni Vienna: creating financial and social advantages
MedUni Vienna is one in all Europe’s most established centres for medical schooling and research. With round 8,600 college students, it’s now the most important medical coaching establishment within the German-speaking world and ranks amongst Europe’s main research institutions within the biomedical discipline.
The core mission of the Medical University of Vienna is to generate, impart, apply and move on data to society. This latter mission contains the switch of research findings, strategies and applied sciences to create financial and social advantages. As an entrepreneurial college, MedUni Vienna promotes the commercialisation of research findings by means of know-how switch, cooperation with industrial firms and start-ups, and the institution of spin-offs.
Members’ data:
MedUni Vienna
The Medical University of Vienna (MedUni Vienna) is one in all Europe’s most established centres for medical schooling and research. With round 8,600 college students, it’s now the most important medical coaching establishment within the German-speaking world and ranks amongst Europe’s main research institutions within the biomedical discipline.
The core mission of the Medical University of Vienna is to generate, impart, apply and move on data to society. This latter mission contains the switch of research findings, strategies and applied sciences to create financial and social advantages. As an entrepreneurial college, MedUni Vienna promotes the commercialisation of research findings by means of know-how switch, cooperation with industrial firms and start-ups, and the institution of spin-offs.
AIT
The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is Austria’s largest research and know-how organisation, with greater than 1,600 workers engaged on the important thing infrastructure problems with the longer term. The AIT focuses on two interlinked research priorities: ‘Sustainable and resilient infrastructures’, notably within the fields of vitality, transport and well being, and the ‘Digital transformation of the economy and society’.
In doing so, the AIT works intently with business and purchasers from public institutions. Research and improvement is the important thing driver of innovation for business, the economic system and society; it secures jobs and prosperity, thereby strengthening Austria and Europe as enterprise areas.
BOKU
The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (“BOKU University”) has been conducting research and educating for over 150 years on the interface of nature, science and society – with a transparent deal with what actually issues. With its pioneering thematic focus, it ranks among the many most related life sciences universities in Europe and is distinguished by its holistic strategy to research and educating.
BOKU University views data as a duty. Its researchers, college students and graduates develop pioneering options to probably the most urgent societal challenges and actively form a sustainable future. Spin-offs and start-ups type a significant hyperlink between research and business and are a key driver of innovation switch. An entrepreneurial spirit and modern pondering – mixed with scientific excellence, new concepts and daring ideas – are the important thing constructing blocks for start-ups at BOKU University.
ISTA
The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) is a PhD-granting research establishment situated in Klosterneuburg, 18 km from the centre of Vienna, Austria. ISTA employs professors on a tenure-track mannequin, post-doctoral researchers and PhD college students. The Graduate School of ISTA gives absolutely funded PhD positions to extremely certified candidates holding a Bachelor’s or Master’s diploma in biology, arithmetic, laptop science, physics, chemistry and associated fields. The Institute at present has round 90 research teams and 1,300 workers. By 2036, it’s anticipated to develop to 150 teams and over 2,000 workers. Whilst devoted to the precept of curiosity-driven research, ISTA additionally goals to ship scientific findings to society by means of know-how switch and science schooling. www.ista.ac.at
TU Wien
The Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) is one in all Europe’s main technical universities and has stood for wonderful research, practice-oriented schooling and technological innovation for over 200 years. With round 26,000 college students and a robust deal with future-oriented fields resembling digitalisation, synthetic intelligence, quantum physics, vitality, mobility and life sciences, TU Wien makes a big contribution to Austria’s scientific and financial improvement.
TU Wien actively promotes entrepreneurship and know-how switch and helps researchers and college students in reworking scientific findings into marketable improvements and profitable spin-offs. Through shut cooperation with business, start-ups and worldwide research companions, TU Wien strengthens Vienna as a hub for innovation and positions itself as a key participant within the European deep-tech ecosystem.
Vetmeduni
The University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Vetmeduni) is Austria’s solely educational establishment for veterinary drugs, schooling and research, and can also be the oldest within the German-speaking world. Vetmeduni conducts research into socially related points on the interface between people, animals and the atmosphere – One Health – and combines wonderful primary research with cutting-edge medical drugs. Through translational research tasks,
company collaborations and focused spin-off actions, it quickly interprets scientific findings into veterinary and human medical observe in addition to into marketable improvements.
Vetmeduni employs round 1,500 employees and at present trains roughly 2,500 college students. The campus in Vienna’s Floridsdorf district options 5 college hospitals and state-of-the-art research infrastructure. In addition to the 2 research institutes on Vienna’s Wilhelminenberg, it operates, amongst different services, the VetFarm and the Wolf Science Center in Lower Austria, in addition to a department in Tyrol.
Vienna Business Agency
The Vienna Business Agency is town’s location company and shapes Vienna’s financial future. It develops key focus areas that sustainably safe the transformation and competitiveness of Vienna as a enterprise location. Through proactive initiatives
it raises Vienna’s profile – domestically, nationally and internationally – and strengthens forward-looking developments, the creation of high-quality jobs and the institution of modern firms. In addition, the Vienna Business Agency develops and implements key specialist property tasks that additional strengthen the infrastructure for
a sustainable enterprise location. To this finish, it designs tailored gives and funding devices. With “Vienna Growth” and the “Growth Navigator”, the Vienna Business Agency additionally gives focused assist to growth-oriented firms and start-ups. It additionally gives trendy manufacturing and laboratory area for business, commerce and the life sciences.
WU Vienna
The Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) is among the largest enterprise faculties in Europe and, with over 21,000 college students, the main establishment for enterprise and legislation schooling within the German-speaking world. As one in all fewer than one per cent of all enterprise faculties worldwide, WU holds Triple Crown accreditation – the three most prestigious worldwide high quality seals, EQUIS, AMBA and AACSB – which stands for the best requirements of high quality in educating and research. WU can also be internationally networked as a member of ENGAGE.EU, an alliance of main European universities within the fields of economics and social sciences, which works collectively to seek out options to the most important societal challenges of our time.
The WU Entrepreneurship Center is the Vienna University of Economics and Business’s central hub for these interested by beginning a enterprise, start-ups and college students with an entrepreneurial mindset. With programmes resembling SkillsLAB, Entrepreneurship Avenue – Europe’s largest scholar start-up occasion sequence – and VentureLAB as an incubator, the Entrepreneurship Center helps founders from the preliminary concept by means of to market readiness. This ecosystem is complemented by WU Ignite Ventures, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the WU Foundation, which helps college
start-ups and spin-offs within the pre-seed section with as much as €50,000 per funding and entry to a robust community.
University of Vienna
Curiosity has been on the coronary heart of the University of Vienna for over 650 years. The University of Vienna has been setting requirements in schooling, research and innovation for over 650 years. Today, it’s ranked among the many prime 100 – and thus the highest 4 per cent – of all universities worldwide and has a world community. With over 180 diploma programmes and greater than 10,000 employees, it’s one in all Europe’s largest centres of educational excellence. Here, individuals from all kinds of disciplines come collectively to conduct cutting-edge research and discover options to present and future challenges. Its college students and graduates deal with advanced challenges with a spirit of innovation and curiosity, devising considerate and sustainable options.
The University of Vienna contributes to creating social worth by actively supporting the entrepreneurial ventures of scholars and researchers. Through programmes such because the “innovation labs”, the Entrepreneurship Team helps founders from the preliminary concept proper by means of to the institution of firms or non-profit organisations, opening up alternatives for them to additional develop their ventures inside the wider innovation ecosystem.
XISTA
XISTA is the deep tech innovation ecosystem centred across the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA). The goal is to translate wonderful research into social and financial affect. XISTA gives assist by means of consciousness programmes, entrepreneurship coaching, and particular person recommendation on IP, start-ups, financing and business collaborations. The ecosystem is complemented by infrastructure services on the XISTA Science Park and the enterprise arm, XISTA Science Ventures. In this fashion, XISTA helps science-based improvements from the preliminary concept by means of to implementation. www.xista.com