What influences the success of founders Outstanding dissertation in the field of entrepreneurship honoured

The Entrepreneurship Hub of TU Braunschweig and Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences has been awarding the Stöbich Entrepreneurship Doctoral Prize for outstanding dissertations in the field of entrepreneurship since 2021 in cooperation with Stöbich GmbH & Co. KG. The prize is intended to help strenghten research in the field of innovative entrepreneurship and provide new impetus for the transformation of scientific findings into products via start-ups. The prize is endowed with 7,500 euros.

On 29 October 2024, Dr Michael Fröhlich from TU Munich was awarded the Stöbich Entrepreneurship Doctoral Prize 2024. His dissertation examines the impact of university entrepreneurship programmes on participants’ start-up activities. His research fills a significant gap in our understanding of the factors that influence start-up success. In particular, his work shows that the design and implementation of such programmes make a crucial contribution to increasing the probability of start-ups and improving the quality of the start-ups.

University programmes as a success factor

An important aspect of his research was to analyse how targeted training and resources can strengthen the innovative ability of participants and thus create sustainable economic impulses. Dr Fröhlich explained: “University entrepreneurship programmes double the likelihood of start-ups and increase the quality of start-ups by promoting sustainable innovation and entrepreneurial success.”

Practical relevance

The jury selected Dr Fröhlich as the winner out of many excellent applications. The chairman of the jury, Prof. Reza Asghari, said: “His work convinced the jury with its very high scientific quality and the particular relevance of the research topic.”

Dr Fröhlich has presented his research findings at major international academic conferences on entrepreneurship and management. The results of his research are of practical relevance for the start-up ecosystem, as they show how university entrepreneurship programmes not only boost start-up activity, but also support the long-term job creation and the promotion of innovative solutions in technologically strong regions.

The award ceremony took place on the evening of 29 October 2024 at the premises of the Stöbich Group in Goslar. Representatives of the start-up ecosystem gave speeches and paid tribute to the commitment to knowledge transfer and the promotion of entrepreneurship. Prof. Arno Kwade, Vice President for Transfer and Innovation at TU Braunschweig: “Research is always associated with enthusiasm for a specific topic. This enthusiasm also fuels the motivation to transfer the research results into the ecosystem in the form of a start-up. The Stöbich Entrepreneurship Doctoral Prize supports this process in a unique way!”