Startupinformatik

We used to support Bachelor and Master student startups. However, our VP of Marketing asked us to refer all such student startups to the FAU incubator. As a consequence, we only support post-Master’s degree and Ph.D. student startups, mostly by way of coaching (Prof. Riehle) and by sponsoring public grant applications like the EXIST Forschungstransfer.

This page is kept here for historical purposes.

Startupinformatik (“startup computer science”) is a structured approach to building software startups from FAU’s Master degree programs. Startupinformatik is open to all FAU students. However, Startupinformatik was founded and is led by Prof. Riehle of the computer science department, so we tend to focus on computer science and business informatics students.

If you are serious about being an entrepreneur, please talk to Prof. Riehle directly. These pages can only provide some orientation and each entrepreneur’s path is individual.

Startupinformatik has three components sequenced in time: (a) Course work towards their degree, (b) project work towards a startup, and (c) public seed funding after their degree. Watch the video Startupinformatik Explained! or keep reading these pages.

Step 1: Course work

Entrepreneurial students, interested in founding a software startup, take courses with and receive support from Prof. Riehle. The Startupinformatik curriculum involves courses on high-performance team work, product management, and software development next to other computer science courses. (Learn more.)

Step 2: Team and idea

We support entrepreneurial student teams and specific startup ideas in various ways. Students can participate in industry projects to learn about customer needs and generate ideas, they can write their Master thesis with a focus on their startup idea, and they can acquire project funds to prototype their idea while still in school. (Learn more.)

Step 3: Seed funding

If students come together as a team, Prof. Riehle will help the student team acquire EXIST Gründerstipendium funding (free public seed funding) for after their Master’s degree. Prof. Riehle and his network may also help the team with any of its many needs, from strategy through business plan to sales and recruiting. (Learn more.)