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Innovation needs financing to exist. Yet 80% of start-ups fail, and only one idea in 58 becomes a commercial success. This observation lies at the heart of Axis 4 of the KTUR² “Financing” project, which aims to structure a trinational financing ecosystem linking capital and innovation in the Upper Rhine.

In this cross-border region, innovation potential is high, but investment opportunities are unevenly distributed. On the one hand, strong ideas struggle to find financing. On the other, capital exists, but without access to viable projects. KTUR²'s ambition is therefore clear: to connect the right players across the three countries and bridge the financing gap to accelerate technology transfer and bring innovations to market.

As Dennis Steininger put it at the KTUR launch conference,

The working group is deploying several flagship actions:

• Mapping of financing instruments (public and private) in the region;
• Organization of roundtables between investors, public institutions and innovation players;
• Creation of a trinational “speed dating” event, enabling targeted meetings between start-ups and financiers;
• Development of a roadmap towards a trinational innovation fund, inspired by European models such as those of the Bodensee and Meuse-Rhine regions.

The first editions of the KTUR Investor Speed-Dating, on June 25 in Kaiserslautern and November 4 in Landau, will enable project promoters to meet public and private investors directly, in a spirit of concrete impact and cross-border cooperation.

By building a coordinated financing network, KTUR² aims to reduce risks, strengthen cooperation and sustainably support the growth of start-ups in the Upper Rhine region.

With Work Priority 3, the KTUR² project focuses on entrepreneurship as a driver of innovation in the Upper Rhine region. The aim is to stimulate entrepreneurship, support the emergence of start-ups and promote the trinational ecosystem across borders.

The working group is coordinating a series of concrete actions to strengthen the region's entrepreneurial potential: development of joint training courses, organization of innovation challenges, inspirational podcasts, soft landing programs, innovation fairs, and support for internationalization.

A flagship event illustrates this ambition: the KTUR Summer School on Entrepreneurship. Every year for the past four years, this summer school has brought together some forty students from the three countries. Over the course of an intensive week, they travel between the partner universities of Freiburg im Breisgau (DE), Basel (CH) and Strasbourg (FR), learning about entrepreneurship from experts in the field. The program combines fundamental learning, intercultural immersion and the creation of a fictitious team project. The aim is to inspire lasting entrepreneurial vocations.

Dario Meyer, researcher at the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW) and representative of the working group at the KTUR² project launch conference, reminded us in his speech that :

This approach aims to create an environment conducive to the emergence of talent, while enhancing the international visibility of the Upper Rhine as a dynamic hub of innovation. A survey is currently being carried out at the 12 partner universities to measure students' entrepreneurial intentions and adjust future actions.

The next edition of the Summer School will take place from August 25 to 29, 2025, between Strasbourg, Basel and Freiburg im Breisgau. An eagerly-awaited highlight that promises, once again, to be a springboard for tomorrow's entrepreneurs.

Priority 2 of the KTUR² project “Continuing education” deals with a key challenge for the competitiveness of the Upper Rhine: meeting the skills needs of companies in a constantly changing technological environment. Its ambition is to transform specific practical requests into cross-border training courses with high added value.

The working group implements this strategy in close cooperation with the socio-economic players. Based on real problems expressed by companies, the teams identify or design tailor-made training measures that meet the requirements of each partner country. Two objectives are pursued: To support the skills development of skilled workers and to promote the transfer of knowledge to the local economy.

The method is simple and effective: needs assessment, analysis, adaptation of an existing program or creation of a new one, then organization of the session. The entire process is designed to be agile, concrete and results-oriented. The themes covered are strategic: artificial intelligence, industry 4.0, sustainability, innovation, data skills, health, soft skills… So many levers to anticipate tomorrow's professions.

As Romina Kolb, Managing Director of the HKA Institute for Continuing Education, and Charlotte Joumier, Continuing Education Project Manager at UNISTRA, emphasized at the KTUR² project launch conference:

The next step announced is a series of cross-training courses for future skills. These tailor-made events will be developed with the partner universities and co-constructed directly with the companies concerned.

As part of the KTUR² project, Axis 1 “Access to innovation and technology for research units” brings together the academic strengths of the Upper Rhine to meet the needs of local businesses and create a common dynamic between France, Germany and Switzerland.

This ambition is structured around two working groups:

• The first facilitates companies' access to research infrastructures. It is based on the networking of researchers already cooperating with industry, the identification of equipment that can be mobilized and the development of a joint cooperation model, based on experience, existing contracts and real-life case studies.

• A second working group offers a trinational response to the R&D needs of economic players. Applicants can contact each of the partner institutions, which will then share their requests and pool their responses, providing easier access to cutting-edge skills and equipment spread across the three countries. Simplified procedures to speed up project implementation!

As Pauline Pupier, European Projects Manager at SATT Conectus, reminded us in her speech:

All of this is in line with a logic of agility, simplification and direct response to industrial needs. This commitment to co-construction will take concrete form this summer.

Pauline Pupier's speech concluded with an announcement: the first edition of the Lab Visit Series will take place on June 18, 2025 at ICAM Strasbourg. This immersive visit will enable companies to discover, on site, how research-industry collaborations take concrete shape: sharing experiences, presenting technologies, direct exchanges with researchers. A unique opportunity to get to the heart of trinational innovation.

May 20, 2025

The launch of the KTUR² project took place on May 20, 2025 at the 360 Grand-Est trade fair at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès in Strasbourg. The day kicked off with a consortium meeting bringing together 15 partners for a series of highlights focusing on cross-border innovation. This was followed by the Industrial Advisory Board, which discussed the project's strategic vision.

The morning ended with the KTUR project launch conference, during which eight speakers took turns to talk about the project. The conference was moderated by Michel DE MATHELIN, Senior Vice-President and Vice-President Strategy and Innovation at the University of Strasbourg. He introduced Alice FRETON, Startup Program Manager at the University of Basel, who came to share a concrete example of a successful collaboration in technology transfer.

KTUR and its workstreams were then presented.

The conference closed with a speech by Michiel SCHEFFER, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the European Innovation Council (EIC), who shared the project's strategic orientations. A total of 120 people attended the KTUR² project launch conference.

The launch day continued with the Associated Partners Forum, a networking cocktail organized around islands corresponding to the four strategic axes of KTUR².

The day ended with the Communication Circle, bringing together members of the communication working group. KIT, RPTU and HKA presented their communication orientations.