Master’s in Energy for Smart Cities introduces a redesigned Innovation & Entrepreneurship Journey with UnternehmerTUM

All the newly designed modules work together to give students a comprehensive experience in both first and second year. Students will find a more individualised offering that includes coaching, online and offline learning, winter and summer school workshops, on-site activities – and the chance to exchange and increase peer learning with other EIT InnoEnergy Master School programmes, such as Energy Technologies.

The journey also gives them even more connection to the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Europe for a more well-rounded view of what it takes to go from idea to market. After completing the I & E Journey, students will be familiar with the thinking behind (design thinking approach, agile methods, etc.) and the necessary tools (investor pitching, customer discovery, prototyping, etc.) of innovation as they develop an idea into a minimum viable product. 

During the Summer School “Innovator’s Journey” workshop in Munich, the students participate in a blended training designed by The Academy for Innovators at UnternehmerTUM, Europe's leading center for innovation and business creation linked to the Technical University of Munich. Alberto shares his excitement regarding the new collaboration “UTUM produces over 100 projects and 50 successful start-ups every year and partners with all the big industry names – they know exactly what they are doing. So, to have access to their academy is an amazing and stimulating experience for our students. Imagine the value of connecting to their vast innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem – and being right in the mix with these entrepreneurs as they test out new ideas and launch their businesses. The atmosphere is positively infectious!”

To play a critical role in creating smarter, more sustainable, and resource-efficient communities around the globe, it will take knowledge… but also a certain mindset. As Alberto shares, “Young engineers, entrepreneurs and future business leaders need a mindset that ‘everything is possible’. This mindset will keep evolving existing technologies – and creating new ideas that will shape the future of sustainable energy. The I & E Journey gives them direct exposure to this mindset and shows them all the exciting places it can take them!”

Photo credits: Yevhen Samuchenko. TBB 2022 photo competition.