To support Software Campus participants in their start-up activities, we once again invited them to an entrepreneurship workshop in Berlin. We also joined forces with AI Grid, which connects master’s and doctoral students in the field of AI. A total of 20 participants from both programmes met at the Künstliche Intelligenz Entrepreneurship Zentrum K.I.E.Z. in Berlin for the two-day workshop.
The event was open not only to students and researchers in AI-related fields at pre-seed stage, but also to those in all disciplines of computer science. As well as an introduction to entrepreneurship, including the questions ‘Who is an entrepreneur (and who is not)?’ and ‘What is a start-up?’, various business models were explained. Which variations are possible, and which success factors need to be considered when developing your own business model? Working in small groups, the participants developed their own business ideas using a business model canvas. Using case studies, each group designed a product or service based on a fictional multimodal AI system: EduSys AI, CareGuard, PLANTPRO and IndustryFlow. The K.I.E.Z. team closely accompanied this process, encouraging continuous reflection.
Also on the first day, two founders, both alumni of the K.I.E.Z. Accelerator, shared their experiences and advice in a networking session.
The second day focused on pitching the business ideas developed the day before. In addition, participants received input on how research results can be developed to market maturity and what various financing options are available. The participants developed a pitch deck in their groups and presented it to a jury, who asked questions and provided feedback. In this fictional pitch contest, the EduSys AI team was able to convince the jury the most, although all teams’ scores were very close.
