Newsletter #3
August 1st, 2024
Welcome of the first two interns
Our first two interns from Bulgaria arrived on July 30th in Gelsenkirchen. They will do a two-month internship at the Ruhr startups XingSys and AWARE7. At the end of August, two further interns from Slovenia will arrive to work at the startups MeiCla Design and Fairnica. We hope they will learn a lot about founding a company, get insider information on what it is like to be a founder and get to know the Ruhr area.
Start of Buddy Program
With the arrival of the internationals, our Buddy Program for students of the Ruhr area started to match with the interns and get to know the local startup ecosystem. We provide a nice program, including startup events and social activities. If you are interested in becoming a Buddy, please let us know. Also, if you need some further information, please let us know.
More information: https://www.ecosys4you.eu/participate/buddy-program-ruhr-2024/
Registration: via Email to info@ecosys4you.eu
Mind Mining Ruhr Hackathon
AWARE 7 is organising the Ecosys4you Mind Mining Ruhr Hackathon starting September 21st, 10 am to September 22nd 10 am in the Wissenschaftspark Gelsenkirchen. During the 24 hours, solutions for startups and further local ecosystem challenges will be developed by different teams. Students and young alumnae are warmly welcome to join the exciting 24-hour hackathon (no coding needed). The hackathon is free, and we will provide inputs, tutors, food, drinks and a quiet place to roll out a sleeping bag. Teams will pitch their solutions on Monday night (after a break for recreation) at the ruhrSTARTUPWEEK Opening Party. Attractive prizes await the winners. In addition, you will benefit from getting to know local startups and other people interested in founding a company, learn to work with an (in)known person in a short time and become part of the Ecosys4you community.
More information: https://www.ecosys4you.eu/participate/mind-mining-hackathon/
Registration: https://aware7.typeform.com/to/pd3fHvLJ?typeform-source=www.ecosys4you.eu
ruhrSTARTUPWEEK Opening Party and Mind Mining Pitches – Save the date
The "ruhrSTARTUPWEEK Opening Party and the Mind Mining Hackathon Pitches" will take place on Monday, September 23rd, 2024, at 4.30 pm in the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche Gelsenkirchen.
The event offers inspiration and networking opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs, startups, the business community, and the Ruhr ecosystem in the open atmosphere of the brick-expressionist Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche in Gelsenkirchen.
The event officially kicks off at 5 pm with a welcome by the organisers, the Economic Development Agency Gelsenkirchen (Simon Nowack, Stadtrat Gelsenkirchen), and the Ecosys4you project (Dr. Anna Butzin, IAT), followed by the introduction of the jury experts. Subsequently, the "Mind-Mining Ruhr Hackathon"-teams will present their innovative solutions to the challenges of local startups developed during the 24-hour Hackathon.
While our jury deliberates, a buffet and drinks invite you to network and exchange ideas. The highlight of the evening will be the award ceremony and the recognition of the international Ecosys4you interns who completed an entrepreneurship internship at Ruhr startups. Chris Wojzechowski, founder and CEO of AWARE7, will start the evening as the first DJ for the opening party.
The event is free of charge. Please register now so we can plan accordingly.
More Information: https://www.ecosys4you.eu/participate/event-party-pitches/ruhrstartupweek-opening-party-mind-mining-pitches/
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Ruhr Area (Germany) - quo vadis?

The Ruhr region in Germany has a long coal and steel industrial history. The last decades marked a restructuring era for the Ruhr from heavy industry to knowledge-based sectors and innovation development. The Ruhr region's entrepreneurial ecosystem evolved in the early 2000s and has, according to dealroom data, generated more than 500 startups until now. A notable milestone of the entrepreneurial ecosystem was the foundation of the ruhrHUB in 2016, promoting startups and collaboration among supporting ecosystem infrastructures and municipalities. Some of the entrepreneurial ecosystem's key sectors are green technology, health-tech, cybersecurity, urban transformation, new industries, IT services and intelligent logistics.
According to interviews with ecosystem intermediaries conducted in Ecosys4you, a big strength in the Ruhr ecosystem is a diverse and complementary support infrastructure for entrepreneurs and startups. It includes the municipal level, for example, through business idea competitions, the university level, for example, specialised incubators like CUBE5 for cybersecurity at the Ruhr University Bochum, and region-wide events such as the ruhrSUMMIT or the ruhrSTARTUPWEEK. However, a weakness is a lack of available support in the scaling phase compared to the multiple support for entrepreneurial beginners. While opportunities lie in shifting the regional mindset, enhancing cooperation among the cities in the Ruhr, and ensuring the availability of role models (successful founders and fast-growing scaleups), concerns were raised regarding the project-based funding of the supporting infrastructures. This is considered a threat to the ecosystem's development since many of the supporting infrastructures, especially some of the major incubator programs, are only funded until the end of 2024. Furthermore, uncertain employment effects, challenges posed by double structures across municipalities, and competition with more established regions like Cologne and Düsseldorf are viewed with concern. A detailed presentation of our results on the Ruhr ecosystem can be found here (German only): Im Ruhrgebiet tut sich was: Stärken und Schwächen des Gründungsökosystems Ruhr
Varna Project Meeting
The second project meeting of all Ecosys4you partners took place in Varna (Bulgaria) on Mai 16th to 17th 2024. With the excellent organisation of the intensive meeting by RAPIV and in the inspiring atmosphere of wollow's co-working space, the team worked out the activities for the year ahead. The Ecosys4you team also met the local ecosystem and got an impression of Varna's opportunities for dynamic startups.

Save the Dates
- 09.2024, 10:00 to 22.09.2024, 10:00 (CET): 24-hours Mind Mining Hackathon with co-creation challenges from local startups, participation open for students and everybody else who is interested in developing solutions, Wissenschaftspark Gelsenkirchen, Munscheidstr. 14, 45886 Gelsenkirchen
- 09.2024, 17:00-22:00 (CET): ruhrSTARTUPWEEK Opening Party & Mind Mining Pitches, Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche, Bochumer Straße 115, 45886 Gelsenkirchen
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