Knowledge and technology transfer have been central at TU Hamburg since its foundation. TUHH founded the first transfer company in Germany, Tutech Innovation GmbH (www.tutech.de), as early as 1992. Tutech supports scientists in topics such as contract research and intellectual property rights, and it advises on the acquisition of funding, e.g. in the area of the European Union.

At the TU Hamburg, founders are supported and accompanied not only by Tutech but also by the TU's own startup network Startup Dock (www.startupdock.de).

The Technical University of Hamburg is the first EXIST start-up university in Hamburg. For many years, start-up ideas from the TUHH have been intensively promoted. Students already deal with entrepreneurship during their studies. If students or scientists are interested in setting up their own company with their own idea, they receive extensive support from the very beginning through the TUHH Startup Dock (www.startupdock.de). With the holistic program consisting of consulting, qualification and networking, members of the TUHH are enabled to found their socially valuable company in order to improve the lives of as many people as possible with innovative solutions.

Home of the Startup Dock is TUHH's own startup campus in Harburg's inland port. Startups will find a creative environment here to develop in offices, creative labs, a workshop or the spacious common areas.

The Startup Dock is a member of two alliances, beyourpilot (www.beyourpilot.de) and Startup Port (www.startupport.de), which work closely together. They offer founders a comprehensive range of support services unlike any other in Germany. Eight universities and two Helmholtz centers pool the knowledge of the entire Hamburg metropolitan region.

TU Hamburg is a startup university. Since the beginning, technology transfer in the form of spinning off our own startups has been part of the culture of our university. Here you will find a selection of some companies that have emerged from the TUHH.

Anyone at TUHH who develops an innovative product or a new technology and wants to market it as successfully as possible is supported by Tutech.

Tutech IP Management supports inventors from science, start-up teams or companies in the commercial implementation of their innovations. The Patent Verwertungsagentur Hamburg (PVA Hamburg) supports the identification, protection and marketing of research results.

The support covers all issues relating to intellectual property protection and offers competent guidance and professional patent management. Both the licensing and the sale of technologies are managed regionally and worldwide.

Direct cooperations between TUHH and industrial companies can be carried out within the framework of contract research with the help of Tutech. The spectrum of support ranges from the procurement of development orders from industry to the initiation of research cooperations or thematic networks. Networking with partners from science, industry and the public sector provides access to almost all areas of technology: the best prerequisites for turning new findings into concrete applications.

At the same time, TUHH scientists are supported in the use of public funding programs (including BMBF, BMWi, FHH, DBU). Joint projects, network or cluster projects can be competently accompanied with project management.

Scientists at the TUHH are supported in translating research into innovation, in establishing public-private partnerships, especially in international research and innovation collaborations. This also includes the strategic development of projects with the aim of acquiring external funding.

Information on EU and federal funding programs is regularly made available to scientists in a clearly structured form. The "Department of International Cooperation & EU Office" of TUTECH provides support in all facets of EU-funded research and development projects: From the search for suitable project calls and the compilation of multidisciplinary and international consortia, to advice on the application process and support during the course of the project. In EU projects, TUTECH is not only active in an advisory capacity, but also participates as a project partner and project coordinator. The tasks of project management as well as the exploitation of research results and communication can also be transferred to TUTECH.