Kick-off at HAFIS: Starting signal for our new intrapreneurs

After a long period of preparation, the time had finally come: on November 16th and 17th, we welcomed the participants of the first HAFIS run to our joint kick-off workshop at the TRIANGEL open space in Karlsruhe.

Making something more out of your own scientific findings and make a positive contribution to the development of our society at the same time. A wish that unites many researchers - regardless of the institution or scientific discipline to which they belong. This is exactly where we come in with our Helmholtz Academy for Intrapreneurship (HAFIS), which was launched in November 2023. More than 30 researchers from our four Helmholtz centers Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ), Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Helmholtzzentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are participating in the first round of this program, which is part of the Helmholtz Transfer Academies.

In our two-day kick-off workshop at TRIANGEL, we were able to bring together all these researchers with different scientific focuses for the first time. Together as the maKeIT team, we will accompany them on their journey over the next nine months, where they can learn and test how to translate research results into projects that advance our society. In several sessions over the two days, we worked intensively with the researchers to develop initial ideas based on their very personal insights and interests. It was also important to us that the researchers were able to interact with each other and benefit from each other's expertise.

At the end of each workshop day, our researchers presented their progress to the other HAFIS participants. This was an opportunity to ask each other questions, receive valuable feedback, and form the first project teams. But it was not only from our perspective that the start of HAFIS seemed to be a success. The energy and joy of discovery in the room was palpable. Networking worked really well and the first cross-center teams were formed. Finally, some participants mentioned "new perspectives on their research", "potential for transfer" and even "a new view on their own career opportunities" as personal highlights of the event.

We are thrilled about the great exchange and are excited to see how the project ideas will develop and materialize in the coming months.

Thanks to all participants and helpers. See you at the next meeting! Learn more about HAFIS: https://hafis.info/