Science & Startups Raises 8 Million Euros for a New Round of Funding in the Berlin Startup Scholarship Program
Call for proposals titled “Science & Startups for Democratic Resilience” launched
Approximately 8 million euros are available to support teams developing solutions for democratic resilience, social stability, and sustainable development. The funds come from the Berlin Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises and the European Social Fund.
With the new funding round of the Berlin Startup Scholarship, Science & Startups is focusing on the core themes of the Excellence Alliance: innovations for democratic resilience, social stability, and sustainable development. In this way, the startup support service within Berlin University Alliance specifically strengthens the transfer of research results into marketable applications and contributes to the further development of Berlin’s innovation ecosystem. The program is conducted in eleven rounds, each lasting between six and twelve months. This allows the funded teams to receive targeted support depending on their stage of development: from the further development of existing prototypes to preparation for market entry.
“Research-based innovations are key to addressing societal challenges and building resilient democratic structures. With the new round of funding for the Berlin Startup Scholarship Program, Science & Startups is pooling the strengths of Berlin’s universities in this field to translate research findings into effective applications even faster and to strengthen Berlin as a hub for innovation in the long term,” says Günter M. Ziegler, spokesperson for Berlin University Alliance and president of Freie Universität Berlin
Funding is provided for projects whose solutions stem from research, teaching, or theses and have a technological or scientific core. Grant recipients receive a monthly stipend of 2,500 euros per team member. Interested teams can book a consultation with Science & Startups via the website to discuss their idea, current stage of development, and individual funding opportunities in a confidential initial meeting.
With this new funding period, Science & Startups is building on the results of the previous round: From July 1, 2023, to November 30, 2025, a total of 38 teams and 137 grant recipients were supported through the Berlin Startup Scholarship Program.
About Science & Startups
Science & Startups is the joint start-up center of the partners of Berlin University Alliance: Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Technische Universität Berlin, in close cooperation with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The aim is to translate the excellent research results of Berlin's universities into innovative startups whose products and services are socially relevant, highly scalable, and sustainable.
The Berlin University Alliance
The Berlin University Alliance—a network of excellence comprising Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin—is positioning Berlin as one of the world’s leading knowledge and innovation hubs for integrated collaboration across various disciplines and sectors of society. Together, this ecosystem contributes to the sustainable success of major transformations. The Berlin University Alliance is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMFTR) and the State of Berlin as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments.
Further information
Media Contact
Suhana Reddy
Head of Communication of Berlin University Alliance
suhana.reddy(at)berlin-university-alliance.de
Contact Science & Startups
Ronja Kolls
Marketing & Communication Science & Startups
ronja.kolls(at)science-startups.berlin
Press release Berlin University Alliance, 20 March 2026