Innovation
Step inside one of Europe's leading ecosystems for innovation and knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship during the DTU Startup Day on 15 May. At the event, the spotlight will be on entrepreneurship, networking, debates, talks, pitches, and showcases from 70 startups.
Facts
DTU Startup Day takes place at DTU (Skylab) in Lyngby on the 15th of May 2025 from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.
A big part of being a startup is visibility to investors and industry, as creating startups requires capital and collaboration. A visibility that DTU Startup Day contributes to, which, according to Marianne Thellersen, Senior Vice President – Innovation and Entrepreneurship at DTU, means a lot.
"The external focus on our startups is crucial, as research, inventions and innovation only gain value for society and the people who live in it when it is put into practice. The good idea and the first prototype can be a good starting point for innovation, but only then does the real process towards the product or service that can really make a difference begin," says Marianne Thellersen.
The day is also used to find investors who want to engage more generally in the startup environment at DTU. According to Marianne Thellersen, this involvement means that the commercial potential of a given technology can be identified earlier and business cases can be matured in a more efficient way.
Finally, the day is also a way to highlight DTU's overall innovation ecosystem. An ecosystem that consists of players such as DTU Skylab, DTU Entrepreneurship, DTU Science Park and the venture house PSV.
"DTU Startup Day is also our annual celebration of DTU's efforts in the startup area. A festive day where you can network, get inspired and which subsequently leads to meetings and agreements that promote DTU's overall innovation efforts," says Marianne Thellersen.
The day is rounded off with networking and an award ceremony in the garden at DTU.
Facts
DTU has one of the most well-developed innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems among European technical universities. The ecosystem has distinguished itself by being ranked among the top European startup hubs in Financial Times, being highlighted in Harvard Business Review and not least by attracting 20% of all Danish venture capital to its startups by 2024.
Several notable actors and programmes, such as Skylab Ignite and DTU X-Tech, support the ecosystem and pave the way for technology-based startups and inventions. All because we are driven by the desire to develop new technologies that can help solve the world's challenges.
Once a year, it all comes together in a celebration day - DTU Startup Day - featuring the best and brightest entrepreneurs and innovations from our ecosystem. Knowledge and insights shed light on the steps to build a thriving innovation ecosystem at university level.
The leading enablers are:
DTU Skylab – an innovation hub – a meeting place for students, researchers, and external collaborators. DTU Skylab provides various resources and facilities to foster innovation among researchers and students across DTU in collaboration with companies, organizations, and other universities.
DTU Entrepreneurship - a centre where research and education in entrepreneurship are conducted. The centre, in close collaboration with companies and the business community, develops practice-oriented education programs and courses in entrepreneurship.
DTU Science Park – one of Europe's largest and leading communities for deep tech startups, scale-ups, and established companies. DTU Science Park is internationally recognized and offers several growth programs for startups. and facilities and services that create optimal conditions for growth.
PSV – a venture house that was spun out DTU more than 20 years ago. Today, the venture house counts the DTU affiliated company PSV Foundry as well as the two independent venture funds PSV Tech, investing in software enabled technology and PSV Hafnium, investing in deep tech and science-based companies.
Lene Sparsø Office for Communication and Media spar@dtu.dk