Support of our new neighbours living in the refugee shelter at Tempelhof Airport

Berlin Tempelhof Airport, the location of the headquarters of German Startups Group, stands for one of the darkest as well as the brightest chapters in German history. On the one hand, the stone construction, which was once the building with the largest area in the world, represents the merciless claims to dominance of the Nazi regime. On the other hand, because of the its central role during the Berlin Airlift, the airport also serves as a symbol for freedom and democracy. Under these conflicting signs, at Tempelhof Airport Germany’s largest refugee shelter for thousands of people was installed.

We help our new neighbours through support of the volunteer community Tempelhof hilft.

Since the 2011 summer semester, the Germany Scholarship (Deutschlandstipendium) has been supporting gifted students and university entrants who also stand out through their social commitment. Half of the scholarship is contributed by the German federal government and the other half by private sponsors. The scholarship programme is the largest educational public-private partnership project in Germany. Approximately 20,000 students received support in 2013 as part of the programme.

Since the 2014 winter semester, the German Startups Group has been supporting one scholarship holder at the WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management. The WHU expressly promotes entrepreneurship and produces a number of successful startup entrepreneurs every year.

 
Rock it Biz is a non-profit that fosters entrepreneurial education for children and young people through a school programme using its own custom educational material. Participants are offered the chance to discover their startup spirit and learn about entrepreneurship during their school years – and not just in theory. As part of the Rock it Biz programme, pupils “found” their own startups for the duration of the project and learn about each step involved in building a company – from the initial business concept to the creation of a product and, finally, the sale of that product. This helps them develop key skills such as independence, creativity and the ability to work as part of a team and offers them the opportunity to meet with successful entrepreneurs.

Rock it Biz consciously targets Grades 6-9 at all types of school in Germany because entrepreneurial education should begin at an early age and should be offered to as many young people as possible – regardless of their social, family and cultural backgrounds.

German Startups Group supported a Rock it Bit project at the Gymnasium Bondenwald in Hamburg in 2015.

 
SensAbility is a two-day social enterprise conference that has been organised annually by students of the WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management since 2009. The conference is aimed at students from all disciplines, young professionals and company founders who are interested in the link between social issues and entrepreneurship. Exciting talks, crash courses, workshops, and a social investors’ pitch aim to inspire the almost 200 participants and motivate them to act on their own initiative. The conference has now become the largest of its kind in Germany and is attracting a growing number of international participants.

German Startups Group supported the SensAbility 2016 as main sponsor.