Hochschule Offenburg Consolidates Startup Support and Celebrates Past Successes
Hochschule Offenburg has long been committed to supporting entrepreneurship: In 2011, it established the interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship Office, headed by Wolf Blochowitz. With the support of Prof. Dr. Thomas Breyer-Mayländer, the office offers personalized counseling and workshops. In addition, the topic of entrepreneurship has been integrated into the curriculum. In 2021, support for student and staff startups expanded significantly with the launch of the Open Game & FabLab Offenburg (OGFLab), led by Prof. Dr. Oliver Korn and project manager Julia Reichwein. And in 2025, Hochschule Offenburg, the University of Freiburg, and Furtwangen University of Applied Sciences launched the startup network Schwarzwälder Gründergeist. The goal is to systematically strengthen technology transfer through startups and to pragmatically facilitate the transition from research to industrial marketability. After all, supporting startups represents a targeted investment by the University in the region’s future viability.
However, changes are now on the horizon with the retirement of Wolf Blochowitz, the conclusion of the OGFLab project—which received 1.4 million euros in funding from the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space via the StartupLab@FH program—and the launch of new funding projects. “We are consolidating the Startup Office, OGFLab, the ‘exist’ startup fellowship from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the Black Forest Entrepreneurial Spirit network, the specialized women’s support program ‘exist women,’ and the new collaboration with Young Entrepreneurs in Science (YES) from the Falling Walls Foundation under the umbrella brand ‘gründen,’ led by Julia Reichwein, within the CRT,”, explains Prof. Dr. Thomas Eisele, prorector for Research and Transfer at Hochschule Offenburg, Head of Campus Research and Transfer (CRT), and founder.
Prior to this, however, the OGFLab’s successes were celebrated at the StartupStories event, which drew around 50 participants. Every semester, the project selected innovative startup ideas and provided support for their implementation. In total, the OGFLab has supported 42 teams over the past five years, 30 of which received startup funding of up to 7,500 euros, and 15 of which went on to become actual startups.
Some of these founders presented their journeys at StartupStories, confirming Thomas Eisele’s opening statement that there is no blueprint for starting a business. However, there was one thing they all had to do: overcome numerous challenges and navigate the tedious but necessary bureaucracy. These and many other topics were discussed at length during the concluding networking session. Creative students looking to exchange ideas can also join the “Gründerstudies Offenburg 2025” group, founded by Angewandte Künstliche Intelligenz student Reimund Schmidt, which now has 62 members.
A brief look at two of the startup examples presented
wepack – Your online supermarket with a pickup station: Sven Werner, a former industrial engineering student at Hochschule Offenburg, has already completed his practical semester as a self-employed entrepreneur and wrote his bachelor’s degree thesis on his business plan. Now, WePack—his online supermarket with its first pickup station on Platanenallee in Offenburg—is about to open. And more pickup stations are set to follow soon—including some internationally.
Pace Engineer: Business administration students Nico Kollmer and Paul Müller have fleshed out their idea for a training app for e-sports car racing with the help of the required elective course “Entrepreneurship.” In February, they successfully pitched their idea at the OGFLab Kickstart, and product development has been underway since March. An initial prototype is expected to be ready by the end of the year.
