New GFZ Start-up and Innovation Floor GITA inaugurated: GFZ

On 14 June, the new Start-up and Innovation Floor GITA was officially inaugurated on Telegrafenberg – in the presence of the GFZ Board of Trustees and guests from the regional start-up ecosystem.

Four people stand in front of a staircase with scissors in their hands and are about to cut a blue ribbon stretched in front of them. In the background: people watching. — The ribbon cutting: Stefan Schwartze (Administrative Director, GFZ), Susanne Buiter (Scientific Director, GFZ), Oda Keppler (Chairperson GFZ Board of Trustees, BMBF) and Tobias Dünow (Deputy Chairperson GFZ Board of Trustees, MWFK) cut the ribbon at the entrance to the new GITA start-up and innovation floor (from left). *(Martin Ehmler, GFZ)*

In front of a building, a group of people stand in a semicircle and listen to the speech of a person in the middle. — The Scientific Director of the GFZ, Susanne Buiter, gives a short opening speech. *(Martin Ehmler, GFZ)*

A woman stands in front of a staircase to a building and speaks to the surrounding people. — The Chairperson of the GFZ Board of Trustees, Oda Keppler (BMBF), gives a short welcome address. *(Josef Zens, GFZ)*

A group of about 20 people walk up the stairs to a scaffolded building. — Hosts and guests walk to the newly renovated GITA above the KITA in the A33 on Potsdam's Telegrafenberg. *(Uta Deffke, GFZ)*

A man presents on a screen. Others stand in the room and watch. — Jörn Krupa, Head of Transfer & Innovation, reports on the start-up activities at the GFZ. The current tenants of GITA briefly introduce themselves. *(Uta Deffke, GFZ)*

Two women wear VR/AR glasses and stretch out their arms. Two people stand in the middle and explain the technology to them. — Chair of the Board of Trustees Oda Keppler (left) and GFZ Executive Director Susanne Buiter (right) test the virtual/augmented reality applications of the company VFG for visualising the subsurface, for example in geothermal projects, guided by Felina Schütz and Gert Winterleitner. *(Uta Deffke, GFZ)*

A man shows a woman glass fibres rolled up on a cable drum. A group of three people is standing next to it and discussing. — Martin Lipus from FOMON explains to Uta Alisch, member of the GFZ Board of Trustees, the principle of measuring vibrations with glass fibres. *(Uta Deffke, GFZ)*

Six people are standing in the hallway talking. — Lively conversations in the hallway of GITA *(Uta Deffke, GFZ)*

People are standing in the garden with beer tables. One speaks, the others listen. — After the official part, people interested in setting up a company gathered in the GITA garden for the first GITA Grill-up. Welcome by Martin Otto and Jörn Krupa. *(Uta Deffke, GFZ)*

Many people are standing in the garden in front of a buffet that has been set up. — Because of the danger of forest fires, the barbecue had to be pre-grilled. This did not detract from the enjoyment and the lively exchange. *(Uta Deffke, GFZ)*

On 14 June, the new Start-up and Innovation Floor GITA was officially inaugurated on Telegrafenberg. In the presence of the Board of Trustees of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences and other guests of honour from the regional start-up ecosystem, as well as representatives of the other scientific institutions on the Telegrafenberg, the GFZ Executive Board, Susanne Buiter and Stefan Schwartze, the Chair of the Board of Trustees, Ministerial Director Oda Keppler (BMBF), and her deputy, State Secretary Tobias Dünow (MWFK), jointly cut the ribbon in front of the entrance to GITA in a symbolic act. The newly renovated premises are available to start-up projects, spin-offs and people interested in starting up a business from the four institutes on Telegrafenberg – AWI, PIK, AIP and GFZ. Here they will find space and opportunities to build their business model and exchange ideas.

In her opening address, GFZ Scientific Director Susanne Buiter said:

“For the GFZ, as one of the Helmholtz Association's centres with the highest number of start-ups, the opening of GITA is a milestone in the systematic promotion of entrepreneurship as well as spin-off and transfer activities. In the last five years alone, ten spin-offs have emerged from the GFZ and this year we expect three more. We attribute this enormous dynamism to our application-oriented topics, our start-up-friendly framework, but also to the role model effect of successfully founded companies and start-up personalities. With the GITA, we want to use and strengthen this positive effect of ‘role models’.

The aim is to create a place where people interested in starting up and young companies can talk to more established start-ups. The GITA floor above the KITA offers a variety of networking opportunities in a manageable setting – for example in the immensely important coffee kitchen.”

The GITA and its tenants

The GITA has moved into the renovated floor above the KITA in building A 33. In addition to the kitchen, there are five office spaces for start-ups and start-up projects, as well as a combined space to be used for meetings, as a co-working space and show room for the Helmholtz Innovation Lab “FERN.Lab”.

Four GFZ spin-offs have moved in as the first tenants for a limited period and at market rates: DynaFrax GmbH, GeoBM GmbH, VFG Lab GmbH and DiGOS GmbH. The Helmholtz Innovation Lab FERN.Lab and the start-up project FOMON are further GFZ projects on site.

At GITA, the GFZ's Transfer & Innovation team offers regular events for networking and further training in the field of entrepreneurship. This is also intended to encourage other employees to bring their research results and competences to the market in the context of a spin-off.

Start-up dynamics at the GFZ

This should further strengthen the already high start-up dynamics: Ten start-ups have emerged from the GFZ since 2018 alone, and more are expected in the current year. Almost all of the 16 companies founded since 2004 and still in existence are based in Potsdam or Berlin; with around 50 jobs created, they contribute to the economic development of the region.

Further information:

Start-up support

GFZ spin-offs

Short portraits of the spin-offs 2022