The Emergence of Academic Entrepreneurship at Wuppertal University – A Case Study
- The University of Wuppertal is among the relatively small group of universities which were continuously supported by the EXIST program through all three stages of EXIST I, II, and III. In this article we want to outline the development of “BIZEPS” from 1999 to 2003/04. A subsequent article in this volume will reflect on the development from 2005 to 2011. The acronym BIZEPS has always remained part of the names of follow-up projects and sustainable structures which persisted after the end of government financing. At the end of February 2011, the latest EXIST-project in Wuppertal, BIZEPS gazelles, has been concluded formally; but then again it did not really come to an end, since its core functions can now be continued through internal funding. Sustainable structural changes have been established, and the lessons learned as well as the spirit of BIZEPS gazelles are still present. Now, in summer 2011, Wuppertal is preparing for its second application for EXIST IV. EXIST IV would be the concluding highlight to the university’s long-lasting commitment to entrepreneurship by crafting and – more important – incorporating an entrepreneurial strategy not only for parts of the university, but rather for its entire body. But how did Wuppertal University get to this point? In this article we would like to describe the history of entrepreneurship at the University of Wuppertal. This reflection in form of a case study might offer insights and lessons to be learned that are instructive to other universities which are about to start or to advance their entrepreneurial ecosystem (for a similar approach in describing the development of entrepreneurship within educational institutions see e.g. Cruikshank 2005; in addition see e.g. Wright et al. (ed.) (2007), Isenberg (2010), and Fetters (2010)).