18 September 2026

Photo: Juan Camilo / Impossible Founders

Impossible Founders Summer School, Day 4 at the University of Hamburg Business School

At the Impossible Founders (iF) Summer School “Deep Tech Science in Physics & Medicine Meets Business” in Hamburg, 50 early-career researchers had the opportunity to develop ideas in an interdisciplinary setting and draw inspiration.

Together with the startup factory Impossible Founders (iF), the University of Hamburg, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg Eppendorf (UKE), Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), Stellenbosch Business School, and the University of Groningen organized a 6-day summer school for 50 PhD students at the intersection of physics, medicine, medtech and business. The students, all working on developing deep tech startups, came from Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and even from India. During the summer school from September 13 to 18, they had a chance to explore the market potential of breakthrough science, work in interdisciplinary teams, and turn promising technologies into first venture-ready opportunity spaces. There was i.e. input on quantum (Prof. Ludwig Mathey) and x-ray physics (Prof. Florian Grüner) as well as med tech (Prof. Meike Saul) at the University of Hamburg and a workshop about opportunities in the deep tech branch (Prof. Michel Clement) .

Claus Hegmann, a doctoral candidate at Prof. Mark Heitmann’s professorship of Marketing & Customer Insight, says: “The iF Summer School was an exciting opportunity to see my own research in a new light and discover potential startup opportunities. In addition to academic input from professors in various disciplines, we had the chance throughout the week to speak with experienced mentors and people from the startup scene.”

His colleague Tijmen Jansen, a Ph.D. student at the same professorship, adds: “I suddenly worked with people from quantum computing and medical technology. That was a challenge at first, because everyone looked at the same problem from their own field and we often talked past each other. It took some time to find a common language, but the different perspectives also made us spot things none of us would have seen alone. Every round of feedback made us rethink and rebuild the idea and the pitch, which made the week intense and exciting.”

Co-initiator Michel Clement, professor of marketing and media, offers a positive assessment: “It was very interesting to see the ideas that talented individuals from all over the world brought to Hamburg. I think a very nice, new format has emerged here.”