17.04.2020

Corporate Edupreneurship as a driver of innovation

In Edupreneurship, companies and educational institutions cooperate to provide valuable practical knowledge. This is more important in the corona crisis than ever before.
/artikel/corporate-edupreneurship-innovation-driver
elearning studentin mit laptop
(c) Adobe Stock / Antonioguillem
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In times like these, both companies and the education sector face new challenges. It is essential now to react more and more flexibly and agilely to new developments. At the moment we all feel how fast our environment is changing and how quickly we have to react to it in order to survive.

Entrepreneurship is an essential tool to be able to react successfully. Because it does not mean inventing something new or managing the company in difficult times – it means much more to recognize market opportunities, find solutions and implement them successfully.

Just as companies react to new circumstances, educational institutions must constantly adapt and create new learning concepts and content to equip students with the right skills. Edupreneurship describes this process of driving change and developing new learning programs to best meet the challenges of our time.

Corship: An EU-project for Co-Innovation

The concept of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ is also the core of the EU project Corship, in which co-innovation between established companies and startups is supported with innovative training formats. The knowledge alliance is funded by the EU and brings together seven industry and research partners: FH Joanneum (AT; coordinator), AVL List GmbH (AT), Cracow University of Economics (PL), Hasso Plattner Institute (DE), BETA-I Incubator (PT) and European Startup Network (BE).

The core element is a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), which brings together over 1500 entrepreneurs, managers and students online to learn about the potential, challenges and opportunities for cooperation. The next MOOC starts already on April 22, 2020, and free registration is available under this link.

Toolbox and MasterClass as parts of Corship

A specially developed „toolbox“ facilitates matchmatching and cooperation between the participants. The „Co-Innovation Builder“ is at the centre of the toolbox: This is a kind of business model canvas for collaboration, which is used in the MOOC.

Additonally, the Co-Innovation MasterClass offers 30 startups, managers and students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and work together on Co-Innovation Challenges in two Innovation Bootcamps in Berlin and Krakow.  The Co-Innovation MasterClass will take place in 2021, you can apply for a place via the MOOC .

„With Corship we want to show new ways of connecting key players of the start-up ecosystem through innovative training approaches in order to exploit the full potential of co-innovation,“ says Christian Friedl, Coordinator and Senior Lecturer at FH JOANNEUM.

The project partner AVL List GmbH has been working with innovative startups as part of the Startup Initiative Creators Expedition since 2017 and can therefore contribute valuable experience and learning.

TECC: FH JOANNEUM cooperates with companies

Another example of Edupreneurship, in which Styrian companies and FH JOANNEUM have joined forces to develop a new learning format is TECC (Training On Entrepreneurship & Company Creation).

The Institute for International Management at FH JOANNEUM, together with its partners AVL List, Raiffeisenlandesbank Steiermark and 360Lab, launched the project „TECC – Training for Enterprise and Company Creation“ at the beginning of March 2020. The aim of the project is to enable students to develop creative ideas on an interdisciplinary, hands-on basis and to take them through to maturity in a 2-semester applied training programme. Students from different courses of study at the FH Joanneum Graz are admitted to this project. The programme offers a mixture of teaching, seminars, company visits and pitching sessions.

„At TECC not only students learn from the partner organisations. Through close cooperation with the student teams, we also learn for our activities at Raiffeisen TATEN-Bank. We learn where startup customers need support from a bank at an early stage and where we should dive deeper into the startup business in the future,“ says Martina Hölzl, Startups & Digitalization, Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark AG.

TACC: Training for entrepreneurship in the automotive industry

AVL List has already been able to gain experience in this area, as TACC (Training for Automotive Companies Creation) was already developed in 2018.

TACC is also a new training concept with a focus on entrepreneurship – but with a specialization on the automotive industry. With a strong technological component, TACC offers orientation in the rapidly changing automotive industry – a course for those who want to understand, study and explore the world of entrepreneurship and innovation in the automotive industry. For this purpose AVL cooperates with the University of Modena UNIMORE and regional partners of the Automotive Innovation Hub. The output after two semesters is a business case for starting your own startup.

„With TACC we want to promote the entrepreneurial spirit of young people by creating a link between universities, incubation centres and companies. As part of the Automotive Innovation Hub, the initiative enables us to respond optimally to trends in the automotive sector“, says Marta Pellegrino, Program Coordinator TACC.

The target group of this program are motivated students who want to start their own business and acquire the necessary skills. The program includes classes with the participation of experienced managers, participation in national and international trade fairs, workshops, company visits, complementary seminars, prototyping, and design and validation sessions for the planned startup project.

Further information about TACC can be found via this link.

„With programs such as TACC and TECC, we not only want to support the founding process of new startups, but also want to give students the entrepreneurial mindset that we consider essential in today’s working world. It is not only about developing their own ideas, but also about the skills to implement these ideas,“ concludes Viktoria Ilger, Creators Expedition AVL Startup Initiative, summing up the programs.

Deine ungelesenen Artikel:
31.07.2026

Sonnnig: Wie das Energy-Sharing-Startup seine Endkund:innen-Plattform für Energieversorger weiterentwickelt

Das Wiener Startup sonnnig baut eine White-Label-Lösung zur Verwaltung von Energiegemeinschaften. Nach dem Erfolg bei Privatabnehmer:innen will das zwei Jahre alte Unternehmen nun Energieversorgern unter die Arme greifen. Mit einer neuen aws-Seedfinancing-Förderung im Rücken sucht das Team Partnerunternehmen.
/artikel/sonnnig-wie-das-energy-sharing-startup-seine-endkundinnen-plattform-fuer-energieversorger-weiterentwickelt
31.07.2026

Sonnnig: Wie das Energy-Sharing-Startup seine Endkund:innen-Plattform für Energieversorger weiterentwickelt

Das Wiener Startup sonnnig baut eine White-Label-Lösung zur Verwaltung von Energiegemeinschaften. Nach dem Erfolg bei Privatabnehmer:innen will das zwei Jahre alte Unternehmen nun Energieversorgern unter die Arme greifen. Mit einer neuen aws-Seedfinancing-Förderung im Rücken sucht das Team Partnerunternehmen.
/artikel/sonnnig-wie-das-energy-sharing-startup-seine-endkundinnen-plattform-fuer-energieversorger-weiterentwickelt
Das sonnnig-Gründerteam: Roman Öfferlbauer, Jonathan Buchinger und Lukas Hückel © sonnnig

Dort, wo Technik und Unternehmertum zusammenkommen, kann Großes entstehen. So auch an der TU Wien im „Extended Study on Innovation“-Programm, wo sich das Gründer-Trio, bestehend aus Roman Öfferlbauer, Lukas Hückel und Jonathan Buchinger, zum ersten Mal begegnete. Parallel dazu gründete Öfferlbauer 2023 in seinem Heimatort in Niederösterreich eine Energiegemeinschaft, zu einem Zeitpunkt, an dem das Thema noch jung und „technisch schwierig abzuwickeln“ war, so Öfferlbauer.

Aus improvisierten Tools und selbst geschriebenen Mini-Scripts für den Eigenbedarf wurde ein Jahr später sonnnig. Eine White-Label-Lösung für Abrechnung, Mitgliedermanagement und Datenanalyse von mittlerweile 30 Energiegemeinschaften in ganz Österreich.

Wenn Strom aus der Nachbarschaft kommt

„Unser Blick war eigentlich immer auf Endverbraucher und Verbraucherinnen fokussiert. Also Privatpersonen, Unternehmen, Gemeinden“, erklärt Öfferlbauer im Interview. Eine Mission, die über die letzten zwei Jahre tausende Haushalte in ganz Österreich erreicht hat. Mittlerweile kann man über sonnnig den generierten Strom auch als Mitarbeiter:innen-Benefit oder Spende abgeben. „Im letzten halben Jahr hat sich da aber auch ziemlich viel auf der anderen Seite, also bei den Energieversorgungsunternehmen, getan“, verrät der Co-Founder.

Energieversorgungsunternehmen stünden zunehmend vor einem Einkaufs- und Prognoseproblem. In der Regel verbraucht die Kundschaft ihren Strom nach einem Standardprofil, mit dem der jeweilige Versorger seine Stromeinkäufe prognostiziert. Sind die Abnehmer:innen aber Teil einer Energiegemeinschaft, verschiebt sich dieses Profil radikal: Ein großer Teil des Energiebedarfs wird jetzt von der Energiegemeinschaft gedeckt und nur noch die Restmengen werden durch den Energieversorger geliefert. „Der Energieversorger hat die Energiemenge aber schon im Vorhinein eingekauft“ – und müsse sie kurzfristig wieder verkaufen, erklärt Öfferlbauer. Ein teures Ausgleichsenergie-Problem, das mit wachsendem Energy-Sharing-Anteil immer größer wird.

Sonnnig als potenzieller Partner für Energieversorger

Genau hier setzt das neue Produkt an, für das sonnnig gerade die dritte Förderung der Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws) erhalten hat: eine White-Label-Lösung zum Energy Sharing, die Energieversorger direkt in ihr eigenes Kund:innenportal einbinden können. Im Hintergrund liefert sonnnig die Restlastprognose auf 15-Minuten-Basis, damit Versorger gezielter am Großhandel einkaufen können.

Möglich macht das die Prognosefähigkeit, die sonnnig über Jahre mit echten Energiegemeinschaften aufgebaut hat. Ziel ist es, Versorgern einen besseren Einblick in ihre Stromverläufe zu geben und ihnen zu helfen, selbst ein Geschäftsmodell rund um Energy Sharing aufzubauen, auch als Beitrag zur Kund:innenbindung, erklärt Öfferlbauer. Am Markt kommt das gut an: „Energieversorgungsunternehmen spüren das Problem und sind zunehmend auf der Suche nach Lösungen und neuen Geschäftsmodellen im Energy-Sharing-Bereich, deshalb reden sie auf einmal mit uns“, sagt der Co-Founder. Davor sei die Beziehung eher einseitig gewesen. Zwei Pilotbetriebe hat sonnnig für das geförderte Projekt bereits akquiriert und zeigt sich offen für weitere Kooperationen.

Von First bis Seed: Der aws-Weg

Möglich wurde diese Entwicklung durch drei aufeinanderfolgende aws-Förderungen. Mit aws First Incubator, einem Programm für sehr junge Teams, teils noch vor der Firmengründung, kam das Startup zu ersten Beratungsleistungen und Mentoring. Mit aws Preseed – Innovative Solutions wurde zunächst die inhaltliche und wirtschaftliche Machbarkeit des Vorhabens überprüft und der Proof of Concept entwickelt. Darauf aufbauend unterstützt aws Seedfinancing – Innovative Solutions die Weiterentwicklung bis zum Markteintritt sowie die ersten Skalierungsschritte. In diesem Rahmen werden nun der Aufbau und der Launch des neuen B2B-Produkts finanziert.

Erwarteter Boom durch neues Elektrizitätswirtschaftsgesetz

Als besondere Meilensteine nennt Öfferlbauer Referenzprojekte mit bekannten Unternehmen wie Hartl Haus, der Nationalbank-Tochter IG Immobilien oder der Volkshilfe Wien sowie die wiederholte Verdopplung des Jahresumsatzes. Im ersten Halbjahr 2026 hat sich die geteilte Energiemenge, die über sonnnig abgewickelt wurde, laut eigenen Angaben gegenüber dem Vorjahr mehr als verdoppelt. Investor:innen hat das fünfköpfige Team bislang bewusst keine an Bord geholt, da laufende Umsätze und eine halbe Million Euro an lukrierten Entwicklungsförderungen das Team organisch tragen.

Rückenwind kommt bald auch auf politischer Ebene: Im Oktober tritt das neue Elektrizitätswirtschaftsgesetz (ElWG) in Kraft, das Energy Sharing über bilaterale Peer-to-Peer-Verträge statt über eine juristische dritte Instanz wie einen Verein oder eine GmbH erlaubt. Für sonnnig eine freudige Entwicklung: „Das baut natürlich extrem viele Hürden ab. Und deswegen erwarten wir auch einen ziemlichen Boom an neuen Mitgliedern und das nehmen auch Energieversorgungsunternehmen wahr.“


Disclaimer: Der Artikel entstand in Kooperation mit der Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws).

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AI Summaries

Corporate Edupreneurship as a driver of innovation

  • In times like these, both companies and the education sector face new challenges.
  • It is essential now to react more and more flexibly and agilely to new developments.
  • At the moment we all feel how fast our environment is changing and how quickly we have to react to it in order to survive.
  • Educational cooperations within the framework of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ help us to do so.
  • The concept of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ is also the core of the EU project Corship, in which co-innovation between established companies and start-ups is supported with innovative training formats.
  • Another example of Edupreneurship in which Styrian companies and FH JOANNEUM have joined forces to develop a new learning format is TECC.
  • The TACC programme, on the other hand, imparts the knowledge necessary to set up a company in the automotive sector.

AI Kontextualisierung

Welche gesellschaftspolitischen Auswirkungen hat der Inhalt dieses Artikels?

Leider hat die AI für diese Frage in diesem Artikel keine Antwort …

Corporate Edupreneurship as a driver of innovation

  • In times like these, both companies and the education sector face new challenges.
  • It is essential now to react more and more flexibly and agilely to new developments.
  • At the moment we all feel how fast our environment is changing and how quickly we have to react to it in order to survive.
  • Educational cooperations within the framework of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ help us to do so.
  • The concept of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ is also the core of the EU project Corship, in which co-innovation between established companies and start-ups is supported with innovative training formats.
  • Another example of Edupreneurship in which Styrian companies and FH JOANNEUM have joined forces to develop a new learning format is TECC.
  • The TACC programme, on the other hand, imparts the knowledge necessary to set up a company in the automotive sector.

AI Kontextualisierung

Welche wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen hat der Inhalt dieses Artikels?

Leider hat die AI für diese Frage in diesem Artikel keine Antwort …

Corporate Edupreneurship as a driver of innovation

  • In times like these, both companies and the education sector face new challenges.
  • It is essential now to react more and more flexibly and agilely to new developments.
  • At the moment we all feel how fast our environment is changing and how quickly we have to react to it in order to survive.
  • Educational cooperations within the framework of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ help us to do so.
  • The concept of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ is also the core of the EU project Corship, in which co-innovation between established companies and start-ups is supported with innovative training formats.
  • Another example of Edupreneurship in which Styrian companies and FH JOANNEUM have joined forces to develop a new learning format is TECC.
  • The TACC programme, on the other hand, imparts the knowledge necessary to set up a company in the automotive sector.

AI Kontextualisierung

Welche Relevanz hat der Inhalt dieses Artikels für mich als Innovationsmanager:in?

Leider hat die AI für diese Frage in diesem Artikel keine Antwort …

Corporate Edupreneurship as a driver of innovation

  • In times like these, both companies and the education sector face new challenges.
  • It is essential now to react more and more flexibly and agilely to new developments.
  • At the moment we all feel how fast our environment is changing and how quickly we have to react to it in order to survive.
  • Educational cooperations within the framework of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ help us to do so.
  • The concept of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ is also the core of the EU project Corship, in which co-innovation between established companies and start-ups is supported with innovative training formats.
  • Another example of Edupreneurship in which Styrian companies and FH JOANNEUM have joined forces to develop a new learning format is TECC.
  • The TACC programme, on the other hand, imparts the knowledge necessary to set up a company in the automotive sector.

AI Kontextualisierung

Welche Relevanz hat der Inhalt dieses Artikels für mich als Investor:in?

Leider hat die AI für diese Frage in diesem Artikel keine Antwort …

Corporate Edupreneurship as a driver of innovation

  • In times like these, both companies and the education sector face new challenges.
  • It is essential now to react more and more flexibly and agilely to new developments.
  • At the moment we all feel how fast our environment is changing and how quickly we have to react to it in order to survive.
  • Educational cooperations within the framework of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ help us to do so.
  • The concept of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ is also the core of the EU project Corship, in which co-innovation between established companies and start-ups is supported with innovative training formats.
  • Another example of Edupreneurship in which Styrian companies and FH JOANNEUM have joined forces to develop a new learning format is TECC.
  • The TACC programme, on the other hand, imparts the knowledge necessary to set up a company in the automotive sector.

AI Kontextualisierung

Welche Relevanz hat der Inhalt dieses Artikels für mich als Politiker:in?

Leider hat die AI für diese Frage in diesem Artikel keine Antwort …

Corporate Edupreneurship as a driver of innovation

  • In times like these, both companies and the education sector face new challenges.
  • It is essential now to react more and more flexibly and agilely to new developments.
  • At the moment we all feel how fast our environment is changing and how quickly we have to react to it in order to survive.
  • Educational cooperations within the framework of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ help us to do so.
  • The concept of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ is also the core of the EU project Corship, in which co-innovation between established companies and start-ups is supported with innovative training formats.
  • Another example of Edupreneurship in which Styrian companies and FH JOANNEUM have joined forces to develop a new learning format is TECC.
  • The TACC programme, on the other hand, imparts the knowledge necessary to set up a company in the automotive sector.

AI Kontextualisierung

Was könnte das Bigger Picture von den Inhalten dieses Artikels sein?

Leider hat die AI für diese Frage in diesem Artikel keine Antwort …

Corporate Edupreneurship as a driver of innovation

  • In times like these, both companies and the education sector face new challenges.
  • It is essential now to react more and more flexibly and agilely to new developments.
  • At the moment we all feel how fast our environment is changing and how quickly we have to react to it in order to survive.
  • Educational cooperations within the framework of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ help us to do so.
  • The concept of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ is also the core of the EU project Corship, in which co-innovation between established companies and start-ups is supported with innovative training formats.
  • Another example of Edupreneurship in which Styrian companies and FH JOANNEUM have joined forces to develop a new learning format is TECC.
  • The TACC programme, on the other hand, imparts the knowledge necessary to set up a company in the automotive sector.

AI Kontextualisierung

Wer sind die relevantesten Personen in diesem Artikel?

Leider hat die AI für diese Frage in diesem Artikel keine Antwort …

Corporate Edupreneurship as a driver of innovation

  • In times like these, both companies and the education sector face new challenges.
  • It is essential now to react more and more flexibly and agilely to new developments.
  • At the moment we all feel how fast our environment is changing and how quickly we have to react to it in order to survive.
  • Educational cooperations within the framework of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ help us to do so.
  • The concept of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ is also the core of the EU project Corship, in which co-innovation between established companies and start-ups is supported with innovative training formats.
  • Another example of Edupreneurship in which Styrian companies and FH JOANNEUM have joined forces to develop a new learning format is TECC.
  • The TACC programme, on the other hand, imparts the knowledge necessary to set up a company in the automotive sector.

AI Kontextualisierung

Wer sind die relevantesten Organisationen in diesem Artikel?

Leider hat die AI für diese Frage in diesem Artikel keine Antwort …

Corporate Edupreneurship as a driver of innovation

  • In times like these, both companies and the education sector face new challenges.
  • It is essential now to react more and more flexibly and agilely to new developments.
  • At the moment we all feel how fast our environment is changing and how quickly we have to react to it in order to survive.
  • Educational cooperations within the framework of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ help us to do so.
  • The concept of „Corporate Edupreneurship“ is also the core of the EU project Corship, in which co-innovation between established companies and start-ups is supported with innovative training formats.
  • Another example of Edupreneurship in which Styrian companies and FH JOANNEUM have joined forces to develop a new learning format is TECC.
  • The TACC programme, on the other hand, imparts the knowledge necessary to set up a company in the automotive sector.