DTA Community Events
The DTA Alumni Network was founded in 2021 by Digital Tech Fellows from Batches #3-#7 and organizes regular on- and offline events to bring the continuously growing DTA community (150+ Fellows) together. Past events include: Metaverse – the new Normal? with FAU President Prof. Joachim Hornegger & Prof. Benedikt Morschheuer ; Do’s & Don’ts in Innovation with ITONICS CEO Christian Mühlroth & Online Event: How to rock your Linkedin Profile with Eva Wittenzellner from Linkedin
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The 1. FAU Start-up Demo Day took place in September 2022. The goal was to determine the FAU Start-up which will travel to the EELISA-wide European Start-up Demo Day in Pisa in December of 2022. We are super proud that our DTF B#8 Start-up Evolonic was selected as the winner. More info here
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The yearly recurring Franken Finance Festival is a full day filled with talks and workshops on all forms of equity and dept financing opportunitites for your start-up endevaours. Of course also a great way to network with liked-minded entrepreneurship enthusiasts. Check out Franken Finance Festival 2022
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The HACK| Bay is a 2 day hackathon organized by the Zollhof- Tech Incubator. Get together as a team, work on cool company challenges and most importantly have a great time and connect with others.
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The Digital Tech Summit is another great hackathon & conference organized by our friends at Zollhof Tech-Incubator. Join a team and challenge by the corporate partners such as Adidas, Schäffler or Nürnberger Versicherung and spend 2 days with many other innovation enthusiasts and tech lovers. Fun fact: The last DTS took place at the Max-Morlock-Stadium of the 1.FC Nürnberg. Stay tuned for the next DTS. Check out the last DTA here
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Our Ideators meets Co-Creator event aimed to bring start-ups looking for employees together with people interested to gain some experience by working at a start-up. The event took place at the JOSEPHS – the open innovation lab and was super successfull with more than 20 start-ups and over 100 participants. Currently planning the next event. Stay tuned.
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In March and September 0f 2019 we were able to take a trip to Silicon Valley together with other FAU students, employees & professors and company representatives and explore the innovation ecosystem there. We took trips to the Amazon Warehouse, Facebook, Google and also met a former Tesla manager, visited local start-up incubators and also learned from start-up founders ther!. 5 Digital Tech Fellows from B#3 and B#4 got a full paid scholarship for the trip. It was an amazing experience!
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The Shenzen Fall School took place in September of 2019 and also aimed to connect FAU students, employees, professors and company representative with our partners from the Peking University Shenzen Graduate School. It was an amazing trip.
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Our regular Digital Tech Academy Community events serve to bring our great community of Digital Tech Fellows together and have fun, such as during our Christmas parties, the Erlanger Bergkirchweih and many other opportunities. Of course meeting for sports activites is just as much fun, for example at the Ninja Warrior Gym or for a Yoga session 🙂
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DTA Community Voices
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The DTF program is a place to discover your new self. Whether you end up being an entrepreneur or not, DTF offers you tremendous opportunities to grow as a person and find like-minded people. For me, DTF unexpectedly opened a door to the aerospace industry that I had dreamed about. Firstly, I received a lot of support from the DTA network for my space-related student initiative. Secondly, Lisa personally introduced me to a great job opportunity, so I am now working for an early-stage startup that produces innovative batteries for the aerospace industry, and I am super excited about it! Come and see for yourself that DTF is the place where miracles happen.
Oleksandra Derikova: Working Student in Business Development, Excellion // B#9 -
The DTA program embodies the type of experience that international students, like us, aspire to engage in alongside our academic pursuits. This program offered me a platform to pursue my aspirations, facilitating the expansion of my knowledge, connecting me with remarkable peers, and involving me in an exceptional team. We delved deeply into the entrepreneurial journey through workshops, extraordinary coaches, team-building activities, and enlightening startup discussions. The insights and skills I acquired from the DTA program contribute to my personal growth and represent enduring knowledge for a lifetime 🙂
Divya Mittal: Co-founder, Sportbuddy // B#9 -
The DTF Program was an invaluable experience for me. Meeting all these talented and creative people from different backgrounds was amazing, and I have learned so much from them. This program provided me with a new perspective to see the world and myself. I discovered some potential in myself that I never knew I had, which helped me make new career plans for myself: to start a company and build my own business. I highly recommend the DTF Program to anyone who wants to develop professionally and personally 🙂
Baihui Liu: Co-founder, SafetyNet // B#9 -
We were an inspiring group of people with amazing ideas. I am so glad that I was part of this and had the opportunity to work on innovative ideas with like-minded peers. Before DTA, I was just interested in start-ups, but I could never imagine founding one. Fast forward to today, I am working on an idea with people I met during the DTA journey. Without DTA, this would have never happened. I am more than grateful for this opportunity.
Moritz Kraus: Co-founder, Velo-HR // B#9 -
My journey in Batch 9 of the DTA has been truly transformative. It’s like holding the keys to the future of tech and innovation. This program isn’t just a course; it’s a catalyst for innovation, refining my skills with hands-on training and invaluable mentorship. What truly sets DTA apart is its vibrant community – a melting pot of diverse backgrounds that breeds groundbreaking ideas. It’s here that I’ve learned age, background, and nationality aren’t barriers; they’re the cornerstones of creativity. The knowledge, skills, and network I’ve gained are shaping my future, making DTA not just a program but a game-changer. Don’t miss your chance to join this incredible ride!
Naveen Narasapura Narasimhappa: Masters in Electromobility, FAU // B#9
DTA Testimonials Batch#3-8
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Even though our team stopped working on our idea at the end of the program, we all gained invaluable insights into business design and entrepreneurship. The workshops organized by the DTA team were consistently filled with fun and useful information, always practical and never boring. I would recommend joining the DTA to anyone interested in tech and business!
Nils Jansen: Open Formation GmbH, Software Engineer // B#8 -
In my opinion, the DTF program is the most fun and real-life educational extracurricular activity the FAU has to offer. For anybody wanting to dive into the world of start-ups or wanting to kickstart their career – you can’t get more hands-on practice, support, and valuable input than here. As a bonus the food, trips, and people are great!
Johanna Schlinger: FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Student // B#8 -
The skills that I have acquired during the DTF program are not only beneficial for understanding how a startup can be founded, but also for working in a normal job at a company. I am applying my DTF knowledge almost daily because I regard every data science project that I am working on as its own ‘startup’. DTF also helped me to succeed in the interviews for my job! So you should attend even if you don’t plan to found a startup (now) because you will meet a lot of exceptional people and internalize a new way of tackling problems! DTF is nothing more but the best extracurricular program @FAU!
Tim Löhr: Apple, Data Scientist // B#8
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The DTF Program provides by far the most hands-on training I have experienced in a university setting so far. A crucial element is the amazing community. I got to meet so many inspiring people that made this experience unique and helped me grow personally and professionally. Being the youngest candidate of Batch#8 I was intimidated at first but exactly this diversity (age, background, nationality, etc.) helps in creating new flourishing ideas. I would therefore recommend anyone interested in startups and innovation to take the chance and apply for the future batches.
Karla Horbelt: FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Student // B#8 -
The DTF was one of my best experiences during my bachelor degree. I gained new skills and learned to step out of my comfort zone in a way no book nor teacher could have taught me. Learning by doing! The program gave me a safe place to learn and try out new things, surrounded by really smart and inspiring people. The environment and the energy was just great and motivating. And even after the program I still enjoy the alumni events and hope the DTA will always stay as it is: a great network and community, inspiring source of insights and a place to learn and grow individually and as a team.
Julia Pham: Adidas, Intern Content Technologies
// B#7 -
The DTA was my first point of contact with the topic of founding and the startup ecosystem in general. Through workshops, mentoring, and networking, you get the tools you need to give it a try yourself. Even if innovative ideas don’t always turn into long-lasting startups, the time at the DTA awakens an entrepreneurial spirit in many. As a result, I am still firmly connected to the topic of startups, live out this passion in further projects, and am convinced that even founding a company is still a potential future for me.
Bastian Heinrich: FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Student // B#7 -
I am very thankful for the chance of taking part in the DTF program. The greatest achievement was learning how to think outside the box and to focus on the problems – not on the potential solutions in mind. Moreover, I am thankful for the great network and the great people I met at DTA, they are an accelerator for everybody who wants to solve real-life-problems and create an impact.
Paulus Guter: FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Student // B#6 -
It was one of the best decisions I’ve made during my studies to participate in the FAU Digital Tech Fellows program. It not only pushed me on a professional but also on a personal level as I refined my soft skills and made close friends. The dedicated coaches provided us with advice and hands-on tools, but also challenged our ideas constantly. I’d recommend the program to anyone who either is simply interested in entrepreneurship or who already has an idea he/she wants to realize and who’s willing to go that extra mile to make a change. Be prepared to meet great minds, take initiative, be challenged to think out of the box, and accelerate your extracurricular skills in a fun atmosphere.
Dorothee Ritthaler: Medical University of Innsbruck, Student | Libati, Co-Founder // B#4 -
From our kickoff weekend to the first prototype and the final pitch — the DTF program was an awesome journey. The only way to learn more about how to start up, is to start up. And as an alumni, I am also happy to continue to be a part of the DTF network.
Dr. Stefan Seegerer: IQM Quantum Computers, Quantum Education Manager // B#3 -
Being part of the FAU Digital Tech Fellows program has been a unique hands-on experience that taught me how to build a start-up and fostered my entrepreneurial workforce. This program provides all of the resources for those ready to take their entrepreneurial journey to the next level. Therefore, I would definitely recommend the FAU DTF program and would encourage all students, especially Ph.D. candidates, to apply for it.
Loui Al Sardy: FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Ph.D. candidate // B#3