ISLYE Exchange Programme – Leipzig
If you are interested in the German market, come to Leipzig…
Leipzig is one of the fastest growing cities in Germany, located quite in the heart of the country.
Among other things, Leipzig is a city of creativity. A city of art and music. After the post-socialist deindustrialization in the wake of the German reunification, the city’s vacant industrial facilities were filled with creative minds. The most famous example is the “Spinnerei”, where galleries and artists‘ workshops have created a new hotspot for contemporary art in Germany. An art academy, a music academy, a literature institute and many social science faculties at the university are the source of interesting creative projects and start-ups.
Leipzig is also a city of life science, with a research oriented university focused on medicine and biotechnology. The focus on “sustainable principles for life and health” of Leipzig University also fostered the development of peripheral institutes and incubators such as the “Saxonian Incubator for Clinical Translation”, the “Innovation Center Computer Assisted Surgery” or cooperations like the “BioCity”.
Founded in 1409, Leipzig University is one of the oldest universities in Germany, with around 31,000 students.
Your host will be SMILE, the startup initiative at Leipzig University.
SMILE supports potential founders, start-ups and spin-offs in a broad range of industries. The focus is on research and knowledge-intensive businesses in the fields of biotechnology, healthcare and technology, but also on promoting the segments of culture and creative industries, communication, sustainability and social issues. Young entrepreneurs, start-ups and existing companies who have entrepreneurial ambitions can get individual and tailor-made support.
Since 2006, SMILE has supported more than 600 start-ups and helped raise almost 50 million EUR in seed and early-stage funding.
SMILE is supporting entrepreneurs and start-ups from Leipzig University and other academic backgrounds. SMILE cooperates with the local ecosystem and can connect you with companies in the following business sectors:
The region has an office specialised in companies moving to Leipzig: Niederlassung geplant? Invest Region Leipzig! (invest-region-leipzig.de).
It is always interesting to visit Leipzig in May, when the Central German Startup Festival “MACHN” is held: MACHN24 > Festival for Tech, Business & Art – MACHN (machn-festival.de).
If you want to know more about this business ecosystem, feel free to download the “Leipzig Economic Report” (in German).
