The applicant for an EXIST Business Start-up Grant is always the university or research institute. However, the entrepreneurs as well as the university, research institute or the relevant Entrepreneurial Network are equally involved in preparing the application.

The following tasks have to be completed:

• The potential entrepreneurs have to hand in their business idea in the form of a concept paper to the university, research institute or Entrepreneurial Network (for a contact person look in the network map).
• The entrepreneurs should name a mentor (e.g. supervisor, doctoral adviser) from the university or research institute, who would take on the technical-specialist aspects of guiding the preparation work.
• The relevant Entrepreneurial Network facilitates a coach, who accompanies the entrepreneurs in preparing their start-up and developing the business plan.
• The university or research institute must verify that the entrepreneur is in fact part of an Entrepreneurial Network. The network should either be an EXIST network, an EXIST partner region or a comparable region (see network map). The entrepreneur can also be mentored by a network of a different university nearby in case his own university or research institute has no Entrepreneurial Network.
• The entrepreneurs should have already been to a consultation organised by the Entrepreneurial Network of the respective university or research institute.
• The university or research institute forwards the application on to Juelich Research Centre.
• The university as well as the entrepreneur are informed by Juelich Research Centre of the approval. Funds are paid directly to the university or research institute.
• All applications for the EXIST grants have to be in German (EXIST Business Start-up and EXIST Transfer of Research).
  

Deadlines für application

• Applications can be made at any time.

The application itself is to be made using the Elektronische Formular-System für Anträge, Angebote und Skizzen (easy-online). One only has to upload a pdf file with all the documents for the electronic application. Hard copy originals of all documents in the application, with legally binding signatures also have to be sent by post to the address given below. The Entrepreneurial Network or contact person at the university or research institute also has information regarding this procedure.

Research Centre Jülich GmbH
Project Management Jülich (PtJ)
Office Berlin
Postfach 610247
10923 Berlin
Hotline
Phone: 030 20199-411
E-Mail: ptj-exist-gruendungsstipendium@fz-juelich.de

The start-up network or the contact person at the university or non-university research institution will also provide information on this.

Every university or research institute has a contact person for the entrepreneur or is part of an Entrepreneurial Network. Students interested in a start-up should turn to the contact person responsible for them for a first briefing. Students interested in a start-up can find the consultant responsible for them in the EXIST Entrepreneurial Networks map.