Consortium
The University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), one of Germany’s youngest and largest universities, is situated in the heart of the Ruhr metropolitan region. It offers a diverse range of disciplines: humanities, social sciences, education, economics, engineering, natural sciences, and medicine.
Since its establishment in 2003, UDE has grown into a globally recognized research institution, as evidenced by its strong international rankings. UDE offers a wide range of services, including
interdisciplinary research in key areas such as nanosciences, biomedical sciences, urban systems, societal transformation, and water research.
Another central research focus is lifelong education and socialization processes. With innovative, digitally supported teaching and learning approaches, UDE provides an engaging environment for research-based
education. It serves 41,740 students from over 130 nations, offering 267 degree programs, including 127 teacher training programs.
Website: https://www.uni-due.de
Contact person: Irene-Angelica Chounta
Email: irene-angelica.chounta@uni-due.de
Aalborg University (AAU) is an international public university with campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen, Denmark.
Founded in 1974, the university awards bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variety of subjects within humanities, social sciences, information technology, design, engineering, exact sciences, and medicine. There are 17,700 students and 3,700 employees.
According to U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 ranking, Aalborg University was ranked the eighth best university in the world and the best in Europe within mechanical engineering and in 2022, Times Higher Education Impact Rankings ranked Aalborg University as the best university in the world in Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) for the third year in a row.
Website: https://www.aau.dk/
Contact person: Jeanette Falk
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e) is a research university specializing in engineering science & technology. Our
education, research and knowledge valorization contribute to:
Science for society: solving the major societal issues and boosting prosperity and welfare by focusing on the Strategic, Areas of Energy, Health and Smart Mobility.
Science for industry: the development of technological innovation in cooperation with industry.
Science for science: progress in engineering sciences through excellence in key research cores and innovation in education.
With advanced quality research, the university contributes to the progress of technical sciences and thus the development of
technological innovations. TU/e currently has more than 13000 students (25% international) and more than 4000 full-time employees (38.5%
international) including 270 full professors.
Website: www.tue.nl
Contact persons: Alexander Serebrenik and Alexander Nolte
Website: www.garage48.org
Contact Person: Mari Hanikat
Garage48 (G48) has been organizing hackathons, workshops, acceleration programs, bootcamps, design sprints,
conferences and other entrepreneurship-focused open innovation initiatives for 15+ years. To date, G48 has hosted 300+ events in 50 countries, listened to 4000+ pitches and seen 2000+ prototypes built.
G48 events have supported the development of startups and prototypes in the fields of agritech, food tech, edtech, circular economy, smart cities, space tech, e-Governance, open and big data, fintech, and many others. Many of the programs have a special focus on including women, youth and participants from the rural areas supporting the cultivation of inclusive startup ecosystems, and are working towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
G48 prioritizes diversity and gender balance with dedicated programs designed specifically to empower female
entrepreneurs, such as the Empowering Women Entrepreneurship Programme, which initially supported women in eastern
Ukraine affected by the Donbas conflict.
