Startup@HSG turns students into entrepreneurs
St.Gallen – With Startup@HSG, the University of St.Gallen (HSG) has created a knowledgeable contact point to assist people on the path from student to entrepreneur. More than 100 HSG spin-offs are now active around the world, together generating more than 100 million Swiss francs in revenue.
“Entrepreneurial spirit is part of the DNA of the University of St.Gallen,” according to the HSG. With Startup@HSG, the university has created a contact point that assists HSG students and employees on their way to becoming entrepreneurs. Last year alone, nearly 400 career talks were held with students, doctoral students, alumni and university staff
Startup@HSG organizes numerous information events and seminars every year. It also offers office space at attractive conditions as well as a ‘MakerSpace’ for seminars and lectures in the main building of the HSG.
Since last year, successful spin-offs of HSG students, alumni, researchers or lecturers can apply for the HSG spin-off label, which has already been awarded to 117 companies in Switzerland and abroad, including Advertima, OnlineDoctor, Essento and Ava.
Sixty-four of these companies participated in a survey conducted by Dietmar Grichnik, Professor of Entrepreneurship at the HSG. The survey revealed that these spin-offs have already created more than 2,800 jobs and together generated more than 100 million Swiss francs in revenue last year alone.
Nearly half the spin-offs are active in the software and services centre; 12 per cent are in the food sector. The use of new technologies is a standard for many of them: “More than a third rely on machine learning, artificial intelligence and big data,” said Grichnik. Every third company uses the Internet of Things (IoT), and 6 per cent use blockchain technologies.