{"id":34490,"date":"2026-02-12T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highest-darmstadt.de\/?p=34490"},"modified":"2026-02-09T17:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:05:00","slug":"patents-learn-to-speak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/highest-darmstadt.de\/en\/news\/news-en\/patents-learn-to-speak\/","title":{"rendered":"PATENTS LEARN TO SPEAK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
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\n A collaborative teaching project by TU Darmstadt and Hochschule RheinMain brings research and business together <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
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How does excellent research turn into a viable business model? An unusual cross-university collaboration between TU Darmstadt and Hochschule RheinMain brings students, researchers\u2014and patents\u2014to the same table. In a newly developed course format, Master\u2019s students in Business Management work on real Deep Tech inventions. The ambition is high, the path complex\u2014and that\u2019s exactly what makes it such a powerful learning experience. This is a story about translation work between lab and market.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \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

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The former Senate Hall of TU Darmstadt isn\u2019t a place for improvisation: bare walls, windows on three sides, harsh fluorescent light. Anna Marie Brehm sits with her team in the second row along the wall, hands clasped. Next to her: Ferhat Caner. Three, maybe four hours of sleep. \u201cMy nerves were already kicking in,\u201d Ferhat says later, laughing as if the shaking has somehow transformed into pride and relief. \u201cBut we crushed it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

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It\u2019s Pitch Day. Seven marketing teams present business models built around real research projects. For Anna Marie Brehm and Ferhat Caner, it\u2019s the first pitch of their lives. And the topic is anything but familiar: printed, vascularized organ-on-chip systems for pharmaceutical research. Fundamental science\u2014far from the typical case study in a marketing textbook.<\/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

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\n Anna Marie Brehm & Ferhat Caner, Master\u2019s students in Digital Business Management \/ Photo: Heike J\u00fcngst <\/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

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\u201cWe were told: TU provides the technology\u2014and we turn it into a business model you could actually build a start-up on,\u201d Brehm says. No imaginary markets, no made-up numbers\u2014just real research, real uncertainties, real constraints. \u201cAt first, honestly, it was extremely hard,\u201d Caner adds. \u201cThe paper was packed with technical terms. We had to find our way in.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

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When collaboration is more than a buzzword<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brehm and Caner are two of 32 Master\u2019s students from the Wiesbaden Business School (WBS) taking part in the new seminar. Teams of four to six build assumptions, run cost calculations, ask questions, scrap ideas\u2014and start again. Over and over. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to create some fantasy case,\u201d Brehm says. \u201cWe wanted something realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The difference-maker: regular exchanges with TU Darmstadt researchers. \u201cThey bring the technical perspective, we bring the business one,\u201d Caner says. \u201cThat\u2019s not a barrier\u2014it\u2019s an advantage.\u201d Still, it becomes clear quickly that mindsets differ. \u201cEngineers simply express things differently,\u201d Brehm says. \u201cBut that\u2019s exactly why you end up with more than if everyone thought the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

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The gap between invention and application<\/strong><\/p>\n

Germany isn\u2019t short on ideas. What\u2019s often missing is the route from the lab into the market. At TU Darmstadt, around 40 to 45 invention disclosures are filed every year. By the end of 2025, the university held 536 patents and patent applications. Many remain where they originate: in research. Not due to a lack of quality\u2014but because translating inventions into entrepreneurial models takes time, resources, and skills that university routines rarely leave space for. Researchers are optimized for scientific excellence\u2014not go-to-market strategies.<\/p>\n

HIGHEST, TU Darmstadt\u2019s innovation and start-up center, aims to bridge that gap: identifying transfer potential, supporting spin-offs, and connecting researchers with external partners. With Hochschule RheinMain, HIGHEST takes the next step: bringing business thinking into the process earlier\u2014embedded in teaching, not bolted on afterwards.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

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\u201cThe most challenging course project I\u2019ve ever run\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

But structures alone don\u2019t close the gap. It takes people willing to bridge worlds\u2014and to design a course format that systematically trains this kind of translation work. On the Hochschule RheinMain side, one person plays a central role: Prof. Dennis Albert, Professor of Marketing Management.<\/p>\n

For Albert, the partnership wasn\u2019t a short-term project\u2014it was the result of years of conversations. \u201cIt was really a long phase of feeling each other out between HIGHEST and me,\u201d he says. Meetings at events, loose ideas, no clear shape. \u201cThen we realized: TU has an incredible amount of IP\u2014and at WBS we need real cases for teaching. It was a great fit.\u201d<\/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

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\n \u201cOnly Deep Tech innovations from research create real societal impact.\u201d Dennis Albert, Professor of Marketing Management, WBS \/ Photo: Heike J\u00fcngst <\/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

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Albert also speaks openly about doubts along the way. \u201cIt was the most challenging seminar I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d he says\u2014not only because Deep Tech sits far outside his own start-up experience, but also because the format demands a lot from students, technically and mentally.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

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The deep-tech challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Albert comes from the classic start-up world: customer needs, fast iterations, short decision cycles. Fundamental research runs differently. It\u2019s expensive, slow, stubborn. \u201cI had to completely re-learn the field,\u201d he says. And he had to convince his students to engage with technologies that don\u2019t have a market yet\u2014and may not for years. \u201cIf we\u2019re talking about real societal and economic impact, it only happens through Deep Tech,\u201d Albert says. \u201cNot the next digital product that just makes an existing need slightly more convenient.\u201d For him, it mattered to show a different logic: meaningful change often emerges from fundamental research\u2014not market research.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

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Albert credits the seminar\u2019s success\u2014despite initial skepticism\u2014to close coordination with TU Darmstadt. \u201cWe deliberately decided to build everything from scratch\u2014our own curriculum, our own templates, our own financial models.\u201d Each session was tailored to specific technologies. \u201cThis wasn\u2019t a generic business administration overlay,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd honestly: I had homework every single week.\u201d<\/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

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\n Digital Business Management Master\u2019s students turned research ideas into tangible business models. \/ Photo: Dennis Albert <\/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

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There were tough phases: teams stuck, doubts about whether highly complex research could yield a viable business case at all. \u201cI pulled groups aside, sorted worries, rebuilt confidence,\u201d Albert says. \u201cAnd then everyone leaned back in.\u201d The final pitches surprised even the researchers. \u201cThose ten minutes on stage don\u2019t show how much work is behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

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Four study cases, four ways of thinking<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the heart of the seminar were four Deep Tech cases from two TU Darmstadt departments. Two came from Prof. Andreas Blaeser (Biomedical Printing Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering): printed, vascularized organ-on-chip systems for preclinical testing, and bioprinting technologies for sustainable meat alternatives. Students had to work with regulatory hurdles, long validation cycles, and conservative industries.<\/p>\n

The other two cases came from Prof. Mario Kupnik (Measurement and Sensor Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology \u2013 etit): 3D-printed air-coupled ultrasonic transducers, and flexible ferroelectret force sensors for robotics and wearables. Here, the challenges revolve around niche markets, customization, scaling, and the question of where technological advantages can actually command a price.<\/p>\n

Prof. Andreas Blaeser acted as a sparring partner for the teams developing business cases around his two patented innovations. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to see how students look at our research without technical blinders,\u201d he says. \u201cThey ask different questions\u2014and that\u2019s exactly what transfer needs.\u201d He adds: \u201cNot every great idea becomes a start-up. But every great idea benefits from being thought through properly\u2014end to end.\u201d<\/p>\n

This ambition didn\u2019t stay abstract. It became measurable on an afternoon where analysis had to turn into decisions.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

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Pitch Day: the big finale<\/strong><\/p>\n

In mid-January 2026, the seven teams presented their results in TU Darmstadt\u2019s Senate Hall. Around 60 attendees. Ten minutes per team. Business model, market, financing. \u201cI was surprised by how clear everything was,\u201d one listener from a research team says. No marketing fluff, no exaggeration\u2014just structured proposals, plus 170 backup slides in the background. \u201cOutstanding presentations across the board,\u201d adds Michael Gaenssler: \u201cAfter this event, I\u2019m no longer worried about Germany\u2019s future. We have incredible technology\u2014and talented young people who can market these ideas and turn them into commercialized innovation,\u201d the business coach says\u2014after he had thoroughly \u201cgrilled\u201d the students with questions following their pitches.<\/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

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\n \u00dcberzeugte Forschende und Business-Coaches beim Pitch-Day \/ Bild: Heike J\u00fcngst <\/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

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For Anna Marie Brehm and Ferhat Caner, Pitch Day isn\u2019t just the end of a seminar\u2014it\u2019s a shift in perspective. Both are close to finishing their Master\u2019s and now see research, entrepreneurship, and the space between them differently. \u201cYou suddenly understand how much work sits between an idea in the lab and something market-ready,\u201d Brehm says.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n

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Two perspectives, one shared path forward<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the seminar, the idea of founding a start-up feels more present for Brehm than before. \u201cI can definitely imagine it,\u201d she says. \u201cBut only if you truly believe in the idea\u2014and are ready to go deep.\u201d The proximity to research showed her where personal limits might be\u2014and where new opportunities start.<\/p>\n

The difference between Wiesbaden and Darmstadt? \u201cWiesbaden is closer to application; Darmstadt is deeper in research,\u201d Caner says. \u201cEach is strong on its own\u2014together it becomes genuinely exciting.\u201d Brehm adds: \u201cYou come from different ways of thinking, and that\u2019s exactly how something robust emerges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s the quiet strength of this format: not every participant will become a founder. But everyone learned how translation work actually functions\u2014between lab and market, between technology and business. And that cross-university collaboration doesn\u2019t mean smoothing differences away\u2014it means making them productive.<\/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

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(Author: Heike J\u00fcngst)<\/em><\/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

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

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