Work with us. A network of experienced experts from the startup ecosystem of Central Germany and East Asia.

Wojtek Muras
University of Leipzig

He works as a lecturer and consultant for the SEPT Competence Center (SME Promotion and Training) at the Leipzig University and develops various qualification formats for international students, people interested in founding a company and start-ups. In particular, he is the contact person for the market exploration trips to Vietnam as well as EMAT.

Prof. Dr. Utz Dornberger
Project Lead
University of Leipzig

Utz Dornberger is Professor of Development Economics with a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises and Director of the International SEPT Competence Center (SME Promotion and Training) at the University of Leipzig. His professional focus is on innovation management in small and medium-sized enterprises, promotion of entrepreneurship and the internationalization processes of companies.

Gunnar Kaßberg
University of Leipzig

Gunnar Kaßberg is responsible for the coordination of the project in Leipzig and works as a lecturer and consultant. He has many years of experience in various international projects, including cooperation with China and Vietnam, as well as experience in start-up consulting and technology transfer.  He has worked for international organizations such as the GIZ, the start-up initiative SMILE or the UFZ.  

Dr. Susanne Hübner
University of Halle-Wittenberg

Susanne Hübner heads the MLU ISC project and has been active in technology transfer and start-up consulting for over 15 years. Since 2017, she has been head of the Transfer and Start-Up Service at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and serves on the board of the Technology Alliance.

Ede Möser
University of Jena

Ede Möser works as a consultant in the start-up service of the University of Jena and is responsible for various event and qualification formats as well as workshops for international students, people interested in founding a company and start-ups. In particular, he is the contact person for the area of the Academy and startup ecosystems, but also provides advice and assistance to those interested in market exploration trips.

Kerstin von Nordheim
University of Jena

Kerstin Zippel has a wide range of international experience and works for both the international office and the start-up service of the University of Jena. In particular, she is the contact person for international partner universities and for start-up awareness. 

Valerie Daldrup
University of Jena

Valerie Daldrup has many years of experience in various international projects, especially in cooperation with Asia, and has worked for various associations, international companies and research institutions. She is responsible for the coordination of the subproject at the University of Jena and is the contact person for people interested in founding a company and startups with an interest in internationalization, especially Japan.

Dr. Oliver Pänke
University of Jena

Dr. Oliver Pänke is head of Transfer at the University of Jena's Service Center for Research and Transfer and manages the University of Jena's subproject. He holds a doctorate in chemistry, has many years of experience in the field of start-ups and advises on issues including intellectual property rights.

Kristin Hesche
University of Jena

Kristin Hesche is an employee in the start-up department of the University of Jena and has many years of professional experience in various international companies and has herself founded a co-working space in Jena. She is happy to advise and support people interested in founding a company and startups.

 

Kristin Hesche
University of Jena

Kristin Hesche is an employee in the start-up department of the University of Jena and has many years of professional experience in various international companies and has herself founded a co-working space in Jena. She is happy to advise and support people interested in founding a company and startups.

 

Jazmín Ponce Gómez
University of Leipzig

Jazmín is an entrepreneur, PhD candidate and works as a project manager for SEPT Competence Center (SME Promotion and Training) at the University of Leipzig. She develops various qualification formats for international students, people interested in founding a company, and entrepreneurs. In particular, she is the contact person for international students and researchers who want to start a business in Germany. She has worked for international organizations such as the GIZ and United Nations. 

Moritz Bradler
University of Halle-Wittenberg

Moritz Bradler, trained in business administration and industrial engineering, is dedicated to supporting scientists at MLU with their research transfer and start-up projects with a focus on commercial, financial and administrative issues, science-business collaborations and technology commercialisation. 

Katharina Cyranek
CFO / Mitglied der Geschäftsführung

Katharina Cyrankek ist CFO der Aircom Group und wird in ihrem Vortrag von den Pannen und Risiken des Foreign Direct Investments in China berichten.

Prof. Dr. Erik Wende
Co-Founder

Prof. Dr. Erik Wende ist CEO der EWERK Group und wird über Beschaffung in Vietnam & Lieferantenentwicklung sprechen.

Dr. Toan Nguyen
Sourcing Manager

Toan Nguyen is the Sourcing & Project Manager of EWERK Group and talked about Sourcing in Vietnam & Supplier Development.

Frank Winzerling
Founder

Frank Winzerling ist der Gründer der WMU GmbH und wird über die Gründung von Unternehmen in China sprechen. 

Herr Winzerling studierte ab 1997 Verwaltungswissenschaften (FH) an der Hochschule Harz. Im Anschluss studierte er Internationales Management an der Otto-von-Guericke Universität in Magdeburg. Er gründete während seines Studiums im Jahr 2006 die WMU GmbH mit dem Schwerpunkt der Durchführung internationaler Berufsbildungsprojekte.  

Die WMU GmbH trainiert überwiegend Fach- und Führungskräfte der beruflichen Bildung in unterschiedlichen Fachrichtungen und Pädagogik mit dem Schwerpunkt Fachdidaktik im In- und Ausland. Er besitzt langjährige weltweite Auslandserfahrung in unterschiedlichen Projekten in Südostasien (u. a. China, Indonesien, Kasachstan, Mongolei, Myanmar, Vietnam), in Afrika (u. a. Äthiopien, Ghana, Nigeria und Somalia), und Südosteuropa (u. a. Bosnien, Moldau, Kosovo). 

Seit 2021 haben die Projektpartner Porsche AG und WMU GmbH einen Kooperationsvertrag zur Realisierung des Vorhabens „Gemeinsame Gestaltung beruflicher Bildung und Aufbau neuer Projekte im Rahmen von PAVE (Porsche Aftersales Vocational Education) und der Porsche Strategie 2030“ geschlossen.

Dr. LL.M. Karl Rackette
Patent Attorney

Dr. Karl Rackette LL.M. talked about importance of IP protection in Southeast Asia with focus on Vietnamese market.

After graduating from high school in the USA, he studied at RWTH Aachen, INSA in Lyon, and the University of Strasbourg. Following further training in a patent law firm in Esslingen, as well as the German Patent Office and patent courts in Munich, he was admitted as a patent attorney and trademark attorney. He represents domestic and foreign clients before the German Patent and Trademark Office, the European Patent Office, the Office of the European Union for Intellectual Property, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and in nullity suits before the Federal Court of Justice. He also participates in infringement proceedings before district courts and higher regional courts. As a result of his professional activities involving numerous trips abroad, he maintains contacts with foreign colleagues, particularly in Southeast Asia.

Christian Hauke
Business Coach
SMILE - die Gründungsinitiative, Universität Leipzig

Christian is a startup coach at SMILE, the startup support service at Leipzig University. With a strong background in developing business models and plans, Christian assists students and researchers in creating their initial ventures. Having lived and worked in Egypt and Yemen for several years, Christian is particularly enthusiastic about supporting international students in their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Johannes Göckeritz
Business Coach
SMILE - die Gründungsinitiative, Universität Leipzig

Johannes holds two M.A. degrees in Educational Studies and Communication & Media Studies, as well as Music & Music Business. With extensive experience as a freelancer in the creative industries, Johannes specializes in education, business coaching, event promotion, music composition, and lyric writing.

 

 

Christian Scheffler
Business Coach
SMILE - die Gründungsinitiative, Universität Leipzig

Christian is a Startup Coach in the SMILE program at Leipzig University, specializing in supporting the development of knowledge-intensive startups and promoting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Leipzig, Germany. With a strong academic and professional background in Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Market Research, Business Plan Creation/Development, Financing, and Startup Team Building, Christian brings a wealth of expertise to his role. He has successfully coached over 80 startups, both nationally and internationally.

Luana dos Santos Held
Brasilheroe

Luana is co-founder and CEO of Brasilheroe continuing a long family tradition of handmade and ecologically manufactured products from her native Brazil in Leipzig. She completed the International Training Course (ITK) at Leipzig University and is currently doing her doctorate in the field of sports managements. 

Pratyush Saxena
Ideatarmac

Pratush is the co-founder and CEO of Ideatarmac since 2013. His company works on developing various E-commerce infraestructures, the integration of plugins to different shop systems and real-time data analysis. Currently, his company has two branches in Jena and Bangalore.

Hien Nguyen
Representative of SEPT Competence Center in Vietnam
University of Leipzig
Team Matthias Piontek
Gründungsberater
University of Jena
Ilze Polakova
Plattform e.V. Salinenstraße 34 99086 Erfurt
Elisa Türpe
Business Coach
University of Leipzig

Elisa is a startup coach at SMILE, the startup support service at Leipzig University and supports students and alumni with founding their own business. Since she is co-founder of a company in the field of telecommunication, she has hands-on experience in that area. Elisa holds a Master degree in Communication & Media Studies as well as an MBA in General Management and has extensive experience in the fields of Marketing, PR, Entrepreneurship and Customer Service.

Scale Up Digital

Scale Up Digital, founded by Aum Ravi and Daniel Yanez, helps freelancers and small business owners generate leads through effective marketing funnels and Meta Ads.

Aum Ravi: Marketing Expert with 5 years of experience with VW, Audi, Yamaha & Jeep, and 7 years in Social Media Marketing and Digital Ads.
Daniel Yanez: Instagram Influencer, Social Media Marketing and CRM Expert, and former Deloitte Consultant

Akiko Takahashi

From Tokyo, Japan, Akiko holds a Bachelor degree on Computer science and a Master in Informatics. She has experience of working at an international IT company and startups, and also as an artist and designer. Since she moved to Germany in 2013, she was involved in several startups.She gained experience by having visibility on the show Höhle der Löwen, secured several public fundings for project in Baden-Württemberg and Sachsen.