{"id":33438,"date":"2025-12-15T15:43:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T14:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highest-darmstadt.de\/news\/uncategorized\/forschung-mit-zukunft\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T16:45:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T15:45:20","slug":"from-lab-to-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/highest-darmstadt.de\/en\/news\/news-en\/from-lab-to-market\/","title":{"rendered":"From Lab to Market"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\n \n \n
\n
\n

\n IMS Team Reassesses Projects for Future Spin-offs <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
\n\n \n
\n

Two-day IMS xchange workshop at Kloster H\u00f6chst strengthens transfer skills and entrepreneurial momentum across a 30-person research group<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n

\n

A 30-person research team at TU Darmstadt\u2019s Institute for Mechatronic Systems (IMS) used a two-day offsite at Kloster H\u00f6chst (Odenwald region) to systematically examine the market potential of its projects\u2014building shared transfer methods and creating early foundations for future spin-offs. The workshop was designed and facilitated by HIGHEST with support from experienced coaches, and attended by IMS Director Prof. Dr. Stephan Rinderknecht and recently appointed Prof. Dr. Debora Clever.<\/p>\n

The retreat was initiated through TU Darmstadt\u2019s xchange award\u2014recognising long-standing entrepreneurial commitment within academia. Prof. Rinderknecht invested the full \u20ac5,000 prize money into the workshop, a decision that quickly set the tone: this was not a motivational talk, but a structured working format with clear expectations.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\n \n \n
\n
\n\n \n \n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n

\n Prof. Dr. Stephan Rinderknecht <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\n \n \n \n \n \n
\n\n \n \n \n \n
\n

First-hand founder perspective from within IMS<\/strong><\/p>\n

The programme opened with HIGHEST introducing the xchange programme and its support pathways for transfer and entrepreneurship. It then shifted to practical insights from founders who have taken the route from research to company-building.<\/p>\n

St\u00e9phane Foulard, Co-Founder and CEO of IMS spin-off Compredict, shared lessons from building a technology-driven venture, highlighting recurring challenges faced by research-based teams\u2014particularly where early technical choices later shape product feasibility, customer fit, and execution speed. Hendrik Schaede-Bodenschatz, Co-Founder of Adaptive Power Balancing, complemented this perspective with experiences from his own entrepreneurial journey. Both companies were founded in 2016 and are among IMS\u2019s early, successful spin-offs.<\/p>\n

Three more recent ventures\u2014Folivora Energy, InnoShiftING, and Senexity\u2014also introduced their work, illustrating how broadly innovation capabilities are distributed across the institute.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\n \n \n
\n
\n\n \n \n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n

\n St\u00e9phane Foulard, Co-Founder and CEO of the successful spin-off COMPREDICT <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\n \n \n \n \n \n
\n\n \n \n \n \n
\n

Structured ideation grounded in research reality<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following the opening sessions, participants moved into a guided ideation phase using a structured search-field matrix\u2014an approach that helps teams identify promising opportunity areas at the intersection of technology strengths, application domains, and potential user needs. Concepts that began as rough sketches quickly developed into a diverse set of coherent early-stage ideas.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

\n

Structured ideation grounded in research reality<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following the opening sessions, participants moved into a guided ideation phase using a structured search-field matrix\u2014an approach that helps teams identify promising opportunity areas at the intersection of technology strengths, application domains, and potential user needs. Concepts that began as rough sketches quickly developed into a diverse set of coherent early-stage ideas.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\n \n \n
\n
\n\n \n \n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n

\n Hendrik Schaede-Bodenschatz <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\n \n \n \n \n \n
\n\n \n \n \n \n
\n

From research impulse to early business logic<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day two began with a keynote by Georg Fischer on cognitive biases in innovation processes\u2014focusing on how decision-making shortcuts can distort opportunity assessment, especially under uncertainty. Teams then advanced their concepts using a fast, compact \u201cLeporello\u201d format\u2014a one-page fold-out canvas designed to translate a research impulse into an initial business model logic (problem, target users, value proposition, and first assumptions).<\/p>\n

The closing short pitches made the progress tangible: within hours, teams were able to communicate not only what they could build, but why it could matter\u2014and for whom.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

\n

Beyond the offsite: methods that travel back into the institute<\/strong><\/p>\n

The workshop was marked by intensive collaboration, frank discussion, and the kind of direct feedback that academic settings often lack: experienced founders challenged assumptions, sharpened narratives, and made abstract innovation concepts practical.<\/p>\n

The key outcome is not a single \u201cfinished\u201d idea, but a stronger shared toolkit and a reinforced entrepreneurial mindset within the institute. Prof. Rinderknecht emphasised that both were achieved at a high level\u2014pointing to immediate follow-on use: IMS doctoral researchers plan to apply the methods at their next off-site meeting in France, directly to their dissertation topics. \u201cMy expectations were more than met,\u201d Prof. Rinderknecht concluded. For IMS, the workshop was far more than training; it served as a concrete impulse that brought team, research, and entrepreneurial ambition visibly closer together.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n

\n\n \n \n
\n

Text: Heike J\u00fcngst<\/strong>
\nPhotos: Carola Heyn-Benedikt<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\n
\n

\n Bleib auf dem Laufenden mit dem HIGHEST-Newsletter <\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n\n
\n\n
\n