New start-up degree course at Flensburg University of Applied Sciences : Date:
Flensburg University of Applied Sciences has set up a new degree course called “Start-up, Innovation, Development”. The course, which is unique in Germany, is starting in the winter semester 2025/2026. The university is thus consolidating its activities in the field of business start-ups that have emerged from the StartUpLab “TeStUp”, funded by the BMBF.
The BMBF funding line StartUpLab@FH enabled the participating universities to establish start-up centres for their students and staff. The universities had to state at the outset how these structures would be utilised sustainably. In Flensburg, a new degree course is now established to consolidate the start-up structures.
This degree course is based on the concept of the Finnish “Team Academy”, which has spread around the globe in recent years: Students can set up their own company as early as the first semester and test their start-up idea extensively during the course of their studies. Unlike the Team Academies, however, the Flensburg concept does not focus on economics. The programme is interdisciplinary in nature and encompasses all departments at the university. From the third semester onwards, students can choose their courses from over 120 modules and thus tailor their curriculum precisely to their needs and their start-up.
The Flensburg StartUpLab is the second one to be transformed into a new degree course. At UAS Wismar, students have been able to enrol on the Master's course in Entrepreneurship since 2024. In Flensburg, however, a conscious decision was made to offer a Bachelor's course: Students are to approach starting a business with as little bias as possible and learn the necessary skills right from the start.
Gunnar Plöhn, one of the driving forces behind the development of the degree course, explains: "We see a great deal of interest in entrepreneurial activities among young people. The course offers a flexible and interactive learning environment in which they can try things out and develop them without having to commit to a certain topic or field of expertise. This is not only an advantage for the students, but also for the companies that will benefit from this new generation of creative problem solvers."
Interested students can enrol for the degree course in Flensburg from May 2025 onwards. The university will be providing more information about the new degree programme in several online sessions until the beginning of July.