When the flashlights go on in Berlin, either one of the capital's wonderful cultural and art events takes place or - as on August 21, 2024 - an extremely interesting exchange meeting of EXIST-Women in the beer garden near the main train station.
A total of 14 mentees and their mentors accepted the warm invitation from Jutta Overmann and Melanie Akerboom. Both are the contact persons at the Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin (ASH Berlin) in the EXIST-Women project, which is being carried out at the university under the scientific direction of Prof. Dr. Uwe Bettig.
The one-year support and qualification program is aimed at women interested in starting a business with a university background. However, there does not have to be a concrete start-up idea at the start of participation. It includes various events, advice and support services as well as a 1:1 mentoring program with women who are experienced in starting a business and successful female entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the selected participants receive a financial grant of 2,000 euros for material expenses and an optional 3-month scholarship. The program is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK).
Start-ups in the final phase
The meeting lasted late into the evening, as there was a wide range of topics:
On the one hand, it was about the mentees' experiences of pursuing their start-up idea alongside their studies, especially in the phase of writing their academic theses, cushioning stress and setting priorities.
On the other hand, we learned about interesting start-up motivations, for example how their own writer's block can provide the impetus for coaching, which can then lead to the growth of the start-up idea in several ways. Especially when it comes to nature and resilience or the topic of self-employment in physiotherapy. How can it succeed if the innovative offer is ahead of its time and does not fit into the service catalog of the statutory health insurance.
The evening also showed how ideas mature and change when female students set out on their own path and continue to develop their own project over a longer period of time with the support of experienced mentors.
Success factors for female founders
Claudia Winkelmann, one of the EXIST Women mentors, reported on her professorship for quality-assured structural development in studies and teaching with overall scientific management of the area of continuing education in the Sage SAGE! project, which ended as planned on August 31, 2024. The focus was on the ASH alumni network under the motto "Staying connected" and the alumni paths (including in social intrapreneurship and social entrepreneurship).
"Staying connected and networking" were named by the participants of the exchange meeting as success factors for realizing great ideas today, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. The mentors and the two contact persons in the program provide supportive networks. A wide range of support services are also available across institutions and locations for teaching staff, advisors and those interested in starting a business, such as special courses at the BZHL (Berlin Center for University Teaching), the ASH Berlin start-up center or quality management and project management certificate courses for founders, offered by the ASH Berlin Career Service.
Introducing women to self-employment
The EXIST-Women program is a pilot project to specifically introduce women to the topic of self-employment. It will run until October 31, 2024. After more than four successful years, the ASHEXIST project is also coming to an end this year. With ASHEXIST, ASH Berlin promotes start-ups and paths to self-employment - and the start-up center has been established. In addition to start-ups in the SAGE fields (social work, health, education and training) and in the area of social entrepreneurship, the focus is on target group-oriented support for women*.
To mark this occasion, EXIST-Women is inviting you to the event "Towards a SAGE start-up culture: empowerment, opportunities, diversity" on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 (10 a.m. - 6 p.m.) at Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences Berlin. The event is intended to offer a review, but also an outlook on the future of the ASH Berlin Start-up Center. Participation is open to all member groups of the university.
In addition, there will be several exchange meetings and accompanying offers for the participants of the program. EXIST-Women will also be represented at deGUT - the trade fair for start-ups and companies and at the Entrepreneurship Summit.
In the coming weeks, we will be presenting some female founders and their ideas on alice online!
Correspondence address
Prof. Dr. Claudia Winkelmann
Chair of Business Administration and Management in Health and Social Services
Faculty II
ASH Berlin
Alice-Salomon-Platz 5 12627 Berlin
winkelmann@ ash-berlin.eu
