Cologne University among the top 3 for start-up funding in Germany!

Cologne University among the top 3 for start-up funding in Germany!

The University of Cologne positioned itself as one of the best universities in Germany for founding funding in this year's founding radar in 2025. The university shows considerable progress with third place in the category of large universities that count over 15,000 students. In addition, the university, tied with the Technical University of Munich, occupies an excellent place compared to other institutions, such as the Munich University of Applied Sciences and the University of Saarland, both of which are still ranked before Cologne. This climb from 6th to 3th place within two years is impressive and speaks for the targeted measures of the university to support start-up foundations.

The Stifterverband, which has created this foundation radar in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection since 2012, particularly emphasizes how profoundly the founding funding in the University of Cologne is anchored. A Vice Rectorate for Transfer and subject -specific transfer scouts are actively working to review research results for their applicability and to support scientists in start -up projects. The development of start-ups in recent years has been remarkable: from 14 in 2020 the number of supported start-ups rose to 38 in 2024.

change through constantation

Another aspect that is discussed in the founding radar 2025 is the streaking of start -up promotion at universities. The aim is to transform temporary funding structures into permanent, viable systems. This project is intended to ensure the long -term success of the founding funding and is considered crucial for the future of the founding landscape. The establishment of expertise by experienced staff and the continuous support through university management are of central importance.

A total of 2,927 supervised start -ups were registered at German universities in 2023, which represents an increase compared to 2021. Especially when it comes to start-up with knowledge and technology transfer, there is an upward trend: 1.184 of these foundations, more than a third of the total number, based on solid scientific knowledge. Among these were 290 founders based on patents.

improved networking

The University of Cologne has also significantly improved its networking with other universities and the start-up ecosystem in recent years. In the course of this, the association "Gateway Factory" was founded together with RWTH Aachen and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in order to promote the exchange and cooperation in the start-up scene. Cooperation with institutes such as the Technical University of Cologne, the German Sport University Cologne, the Rheinische Hochschule Cologne and the CBS International Business School also expand the entrepreneurial network.

The improved support for founders, especially when it comes to the acquisition of founding scholarships and transfer funding, shows that the university in Cologne is determined to further expand its role as a leading location for start-up funding. This is done as part of the "Excellence Start-Up Center" initiative of the North Rhine-Westphalian state government, which has been in force since 2019.

Overall, the University of Cologne, such as Uni-koeln.de An excellent way is to expand its founding funding and play an important role in the German university area, while Gruendungsradar.de documents the industry developments and their successes. The progress of the university is a positive sign of the innovative strength of the Cologne location and the future of start -ups in Germany. The full report on Gruendungsradar.de . .