Berlin, 16 July 2025 – For the third time in a row, the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin) has been awarded as a “Ideenschmiede” in the Berlin-Brandenburg Business Plan Competition (BPW). The award ceremony took place in the evening in the atrium of Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) – the organiser of the start-up initiative, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025. The success of UdK Berlin impressively underscores the role that artistically influenced innovations play in the economic future of the capital.

As the largest state art university in Europe, the UdK Berlin is a driving force in the region's start-up scene. Every year, the BPW honours the university that produces the most excellent business plans in relation to its student numbers. After 2023 and 2024, the UdK has now achieved a remarkable hat-trick.

This year, the submissions once again impressed with their creative substance and social relevance. Among the teams: Autel, with gender-inclusive ceremonial fashion for everyday wear; Monamobile, making mobility and sustainability wearable; Sezgin, with collections that combine Kurdish heritage with contemporary design; ohr, a blockchain-based project to strengthen Berlin's club culture; Studio Blindt, with pressure-sensitive textile interfaces; and Terratec, which is working on intelligent façade solutions for urban spaces. The projects demonstrate that creative start-ups have long been an economic and innovation factor for Berlin.

A key component of this success is the Berlin Startup Scholarship, funded by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises. It enables many founders at the Berlin University of the Arts to realise their projects under professional conditions.

‘Berlin needs creative people – not only as cultural catalysts, but as genuine economic factors. Our teams' projects show how social change and economic innovation can be conceived together.’

– Venessa Tanović, Head of the Career & Transfer Service Centre at the Berlin University of the Arts

In recent years, the Berlin University of the Arts has established itself as a multidisciplinary creative incubator. Here, start-up ideas are born at the intersection of art, technology, design, music and social practice. Its repeated recognition as a “Ideenschmiede” proves that the university's creative excellence extends beyond culture – into the economy, the city and the future.

Start-up support at the Berlin University of the Arts

The Career & Transfer Service Centre (CTC) at the Berlin University of the Arts supports students, graduates and artistic researchers with its own qualification program on their way into the cultural and creative industries. The CTC awards the Berlin Startup Scholarship to selected projects, financed by the European Social Fund and the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises. In addition, the UdK offers coaching, networks and workspaces for the implementation of innovative start-up ideas through its Workspace UDKo.