05.07.2017

University launches seal of approval for spin-offs

St.Gallen – The University of St.Gallen has launched the ‘Spin-Off Universität St.Gallen’ seal of approval to better support start-ups in their external impact.

The IT consultancy firms Abacus from Wittenbach in the canton of St.Gallen and Namics from the city of St.Gallen are among the successful spin-offs of the University of St.Gallen (HSG). As part of its commitment to promoting entrepreneurship, the university is pooling many of its promotion services in the StartupLab of its Center for Entrepreneurship (CfE-HSG). And it has now launched a new seal of approval called Spin-Off Universität St.Gallen, according to an HSG statement.

The award of the label is contingent on at least one of the founders studying, doing research or working at the HSG. People who have successfully founded a company or have been active with a start-up project for at least 12 months are eligible to apply. Successful spin-offs will receive assistance in improving their external impact as well as support services from the HSG, including office premises, coaching and mentoring services, or participating in workshops and networking events.

“With the award of the new spin-off label, we hope to get a better overview of the entrepreneurial value creation by the university in the region and in Switzerland,” said Professor Dr Kuno Schedler, Vice President for Research at the HSG.

To mark the launch of the project and provide an insight into the entrepreneurial potential of the HSG, the Center for Entrepreneurship put together a list of some of the recent spin-offs.

“With our first 99 spin-offs, we’re setting off into an exciting entrepreneurial future which we will map with an HSG spin-off barometer every year,” said Professor Dr Dietmar Grichnik, co-director of CfE-HSG.