DTU Skylab is the place for enterprising students who are thinking about starting their own business, need to build a prototype, or are looking for a sounding board and ideas for a new project. DTU has invested DKK 25 million in new facilities intended to provide a framework for the tech start-ups of the future.
The official inauguration of DTU Skylab will be on 11 September. The initiative serves as a focal point for all enterprising students at the University. DTU Skylab provides facilities such as 3D printers, robotic arms and meeting facilities for students bursting with ideas. The initiative has been tested successfully over the past two years, and has proved that the right mindset, the right facilities and the right network make up the perfect combination for helping students convert their ideas and concepts into useful societal input. That is why DTU has poured DKK 25 million into creating a permanent home for the concept.
“The philosophy behind DTU Skylab is simple and straightforward: it’s OK to think big and to make mistakes. There is, quite literally, plenty of space here, because we want students to dare think ambitiously, globally and fearlessly. If you try to push back the boundaries of what’s possible, you’re bound to slip over the edge from time to time. It is often the case that commercial success comes at the third or fourth attempt—but the experience you build up during the process is invaluable,” explains Mikkel Sørensen, Head of DTU Skylab.
Major initiative from DTU
DTU Skylab itself is actually a kind of prototype that has been developing continuously since 2012. The initiative soon proved its worth, rapidly recording a string of tangible success stories where students progressed from idea to product and company, succeeded in attracting external funding, or generated positive results through working on innovation projects at existing enterprises. Noteworthy examples include the companies Vaavud, which makes wind meters for smartphones, and Airtame, which has developed a wireless HDMI solution. In 2013, ten new student start-ups from DTU were officially registered in Denmark, and more than half of these had links with DTU Skylab in one way or an other.
“The new DTU Skylab is to help set the agenda for innovation and entrepreneurship. The facility is intended to serve as an interdisciplinary and innovative meeting point, hosting all kinds of activities and events. Its purpose is to promote innovation at DTU and to place the University clearly on the map—both in Denmark and internationally. We are convinced that this can be achieved through an open-door approach, working closely with society and the business community,” says Marianne Thellersen, Director for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, who is quick to emphasize that DTU Skylab is therefore open to everyone, as long as there is a DTU student on the team.
Giant playground for budding engineers
At the facility, which covers 1,550 m2, students have access to prototype workshops with equipment including 3D printers, 3D scanners, laser cutters, CNC milling machines, laboratory set-ups, and much more besides. The complex also comprises office space and a function room that can be used as a venue for courses and workshops. Precisely this group of young students has enormous potential when it comes to entrepreneurship, as Mikkel Sørensen explains:
“The students have all kinds of advantages; for example, they have both time and money to devote to their passion. They’re not yet used to a fixed monthly income, and they are not tied to house, car and family—which naturally limit the willingness to take risks and dare to pursue really ambitious dreams.”
DTU Skylab has 1,550 m2 of facilities located at DTU Lyngby Campus. During its first year, DTU Skylab hosted around 50 open events centred on various aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship. The annual materials budget amounts to DKK 300,000–500,000, and is used for purposes including building prototypes.
DTU Skylab has the following equipment:
- 3 3D printers
- 1 laser cutter
- 2 manual lathes
- 1 manual milling machine
- 1 CNC (i.e. computer controlled) lathe
- 1 CNC milling machine
- 1 CNC plasma cutter
- 1 robotic arm for milling mock-ups (arm length: 2.5 m)
- 1 vertical band saw
In addition, there is an electronics workshop, a chemistry workshop, and facilities for welding aluminium, stainless steel and titanium.
Examples of student start-ups from DTU Skylab:
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Name: Eupry
Product: Monitoring of vaccines in refrigerated warehouse facilities in developing countries for NGOs such as UNICEFand CHAI.
Team: five DTU students and one business developer.
Status: A prototype has been set up at four different locations in Ethiopia, from where data are transmitted to a website that automatically sends text messages to alert staff in the event of potentially damaging changes to storage conditions. Partnership with Clinton Health Access Initiative. Has just received DKK 150,000 in funding.
Learn more: www.eupry.com
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Name: Airtame
Product: The Airtame product is an HDMI dongle that you can attach to a TV, a projector or a screen and then stream content wirelessly from your computer screen via WiFi.
Team: six students from DTU, Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and Aarhus University
Status: Has completed a highly successful crowdfunding campaign (raised more than DKK 7 million). The team also won the award for ‘best start-up’ at the firmly established Consumer Electronics Show (CES) trade fair in Las Vegas.
Learn more: www.airtame.com
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Name: Vaavud
Product: Vaavud is a smartphone-based wind meter and associated app. The Vaavud app also provides access to a global map of Vavuud’s user-generated wind speed measurements.
Team: The idea originally stems from a DTU student who was working with the concept as part of a BSc project. The company was founded at the start of 2013.
Status: On sale in 96 countries, and the app has been downloaded more than 30,000 times. Conducted an initial crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, which raised almost DKK 250,000. In early2014, the company received a capital injection of more than DKK 2.1 million from a group of investors.
Learn more: www.vaavud.com
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