Chris Liebold
The Thuringian Ministry of Economics is funding the "InSignA Innovation Hub" (iHub) in Ilmenau with 748,000 euros, which is intended to support start-ups specifically in the technology area of sensor technology, artificial intelligence and signal analysis. Partners in the iHUB are currently five Fraunhofer Institutes from Ilmenau and Arnstadt as well as the TU Ilmenau with the start-up service Ilmkubator.
"Thuringia's economic success is based to a large extent on the innovative strength of our companies," said Carsten Feller, State Secretary at the Thuringian Ministry of Economics. "With the iHub, we therefore want to support the rapid transformation of research results into new products and their commercialization." The funding will initially run until the end of 2023.
The iHub is located at the new Ilmenau Fraunhofer Center of Excellence "Intelligent Signal Analysis and Assistance Systems"(InSignA), which bundles university and non-university research in this field of technology. The coordinator of the iHub is the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technologies (IDMT).
In view of Thuringia's pronounced competencies in the field of sensor technology and signal processing - especially in the area of southern Thuringia - State Secretary Carsten Feller also sees enormous and as yet untapped potential for additional innovations and company start-ups in this area in the future: "Already today, more than 600 companies are active in the field of measurement and sensor technologies throughout Thuringia, including about 100 companies in the region around Ilmenau alone," said Feller. Together with Ilmenau Technical University and other research and transfer institutions, he said, this offers a powerful network from which new business ideas can be developed and brought to market. "With the iHub, we want to push this process and accelerate the emergence of a vibrant startup culture in the region."
A first important initiative of the new iHub is therefore the "Elevator Pitch" on May 18, 2022 in Ilmenau: Here, founding teams and start-ups can present themselves with their innovative business ideas in short, five-minute "pitches" to a jury of experts. As a result, the institutions cooperating in the iHub - currently five Fraunhofer Institutes and the TU Ilmenau - receive earmarked research funds that can be used, for example, for feasibility tests or the development of marketable prototypes and demonstrators. Important: Interested young companies and start-up teams, especially from southern and central Thuringia, can still register their project ideas for participation in the "Elevator Pitch" until May 1.
Source: TMWWDG