Spotlight on Startups

The St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences and the St. Pölten start-up initiative SMARTUP hosted the event “Hall of Innovation & Startups” on campus. Guests were invited to exchange experiences on start-ups, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Representatives of start-ups presented their projects and initiatives in lectures and poster sessions.

UAS executive director Hannes Raffaseder joined tecnet excutive director Doris Agneter and Guiding Innovators co-creator Paul Pöltner for a panel discussion on the role of higher education for innovation and start-ups.

Lively Start-Up Scene

“The past years have seen the successful establishment of a lively start-up scene in Lower Austria with promising start-ups, experienced investors, and numerous innovation enthusiasts! We at tecnet are proud to actively contribute to supporting this dynamic development”, emphasises tecnet equity executive director Doris Agneter.

“This event in St. Pölten was an impressive example of how the dynamic interaction between higher education and startups shapes the entrepreneurial innovation landscape”, describes Startup Live Global Programme Manager Paul Pöltner.

“At the UAS, we support our students through numerous projects and initiatives to guide them through the process of developing business ideas and innovations and founding a company. As an open campus, we are involved in a plethora of activities and cooperations dedicated to strengthening innovation and knowledge transfer in the region in close contact with its people and companies”, says Raffaseder.

“Innovation Taboo”

Inspired by the board game “Taboo”, prominent guests explained keywords of the start-up scene for the participants to guess. The winners earned regional prizes by Dirndlladen. 

Pitches by Aspiring Teams

Start-up teams pitched their ideas with many students and graduates of the St. Pölten UAS among those actively involved in presenting projects and companies. Guests of the event could acquire start-up vouchers to invest in promising innovations. The start-up Demenz Community of Martina Illek received the highest number of investments and won a coaching with a company in St. Pölten.

Short Films on Start-Ups, Local Catering

The UAS cinema showed inspiring success stories and image films of start-ups of St. Pölten. The catering was provided by regional start-ups, and it was students of the UAS and a local DJ who were in charge of the music.

• Hall of Innovation & Startups