Boosting Trinational Innovation (KTUR2, EU project)
The Upper Rhine Metropolitan Region is set to become a cross-border innovation hub: The new KTUR project (Knowledge Transfer Upper Rhine) will aim to explore and advance the innovative capacity and especially the financing of startups in the Upper Rhine region. To this end, the Chair of Entrepreneurship at RPTU, together with renowned partners from Germany, France, and Switzerland, has received funding of 2.5 million in EU for three years.
The financing of innovations and startups is critical to their success. The objective of the new project will be to research and promote the innovative strength and in particular the financing of startups in the Upper Rhine region. To this end the Chair of Entrepreneurship at RPTU, together with renowned partners, has receivedEU funding of 2.5 million euros for three years.
The project “KTUR2: Boosting trinational innovation” brings together science and business in order to mapping the region's innovation ecosystem, analyzing the needs of the different stakeholders and identifying existing challenges. The project also aims to strengthen cooperation between companies and science as well as lifelong learning across borders. Through the development of best practices, the Upper Rhine is to become an internationally visible lighthouse for innovations and startups while at the same time strengthening their funding.
“Our ecosystem already offers a lot of support for startups, but we showed in a study in 2022 that there is still a particular lack of venture capital in the region,” says RPTU project manager Prof. Dr. Dennis Steininger. He emphasizes the importance of the project: “We know from research that a lack of financial resources is one of the most important factors in the failure of innovation and startup projects. This project therefore marks a critical milestone in our joint efforts to better understand the financing of technological innovations and thereby strengthen and internationalize the startup ecosystem in the region.”
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About the funding program:
The KTUR2 project is supported by the Interreg VI Upper Rhine Program 2021-2027 and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). With a total budget of 5,682,940 euros, it represents a significant investment in the future of the region.
Further details on the project can be found on the program's website: https://www.interreg-oberrhein.eu/projet/ktur2-trinationale-innovation-vorantreiben/
Circular Innovation (CIRKLA, EU project)
The Chair of Entrepreneurship, together with partners from the University of the Greater Region, has successfully acquired a pioneering project to promote innovation in the circular economy. This 4-year project, supported by European funding of almost 4 million euros, aims to strengthen sustainable innovation in the circular economy in the Greater Region and beyond.
The project, entitled "UniGR Interdisciplinary Competence Center Metals and Materials in a Circular Economy", is being carried out in close cooperation with start-ups, SMEs and other partners. It aims to provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge and resources in order to accelerate the development and implementation of circular business models and technologies. Through interdisciplinary research teams, the University of the Greater Region will develop innovative solutions that offer both economic and environmental benefits. The aim is to initiate sustainable change in the region and serve as a model for other regions.
RPTU project manager Prof. Dr. Dennis Steininger emphasizes the importance of the project: "This project marks an important milestone in our efforts to be a leader in the research and development of innovations and business models in the field of sustainable and digital technologies."
About the University of the Greater Region:
The University of the Greater Region is a network consisting of seven universities (the universities of RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, Liège, Lorraine, Luxembourg, Saarland, Trier and htw saar as an associated partner) located in the border area of the Greater Region (Germany - Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, Belgium - Wallonia, France - Grand-Est region - Lorraine, Luxembourg).
More than 10,250 researchers work at the University of the Greater Region. Together, more than 141,000 students and around 7,050 doctoral students are educated there.
Entrepreneurship and AI (PIONEER+, EU project)
The Chair of Entrepreneurship is a key partner in the newly launched European project PIONEER+ ("Pioneering Innovation & Entrepreneurship capacity building activities through Digital Transformation"), which is funded with €1.5 million by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) as part of its HEI Initiative.
The project’s goal is to turn universities across Europe into centers of excellence for digital innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. Under the leadership of the Ionian University (Greece), RPTU – represented by its Chair of Entrepreneurship and Startup Office – is working together with eight partners from seven countries.
RPTU’s involvement focuses on three main contributions:
- Developing and researching a methodology to foster university-based spin-offs, in collaboration with the Business + Innovation Center Kaiserslautern (bic).
- Designing and delivering courses on “AI in Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship”, which integrate cutting-edge AI tools into entrepreneurship education.
- Organizing international summer schools to support technology-based startups led by researchers and scientists.
“With this project, we are exploring and developing ways to strengthen science-based entrepreneurship across Europe,” says Professor Dennis Steininger, project lead at RPTU. “Digital technologies in particular open up new opportunities to turn research into entrepreneurial innovation – and with PIONEER+, we aim to unlock this potential in a sustainable way.”
PIONEER+ is part of the fourth call of the EIT HEI Initiative and runs from 2025 to 2027. Coordinated by the Ionian University, the project takes a holistic approach to innovation support, including mentoring programs, TTO development, new curricula, and creativity-focused entrepreneurship training.
More information: https://eit-hei.eu/projects/pioneer/
Website: https://pioneerplus.eu/
FRAME-AI: A Framework for the Identification, Modeling, and Evaluation of AI Value Creation in SMEs
The Chair of Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce the launch of a new doctoral project by Kathrin Weber, funded through the “InnoProm – Innovation and Promotion” initiative of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The project will run from January 2026 to December 2028 and is co-funded by the European Union and the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Project Overview
Titled “FRAME-KI: A Framework for the Identification, Modeling, and Evaluation of AI Value Creation in SMEs,” the research project addresses a key challenge faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): how to systematically identify and evaluate the business value of artificial intelligence (AI).
While AI offers substantial opportunities for improving processes, products, and business models, many SMEs lack structured approaches to assess where and how AI can create tangible value. This project aims to close that gap.
Research Objectives
The central objective of the doctoral research is to develop a practical and empirically validated framework that enables companies to:
- identify relevant AI use cases,
- model their contribution to value creation, and
- evaluate their economic and strategic impact.
The project adopts a dynamic capabilities perspective, examining how organizations can build and adapt internal competencies to successfully integrate and leverage AI technologies over time.
Relevance for Practice and Policy
A key strength of the InnoProm initiative lies in its focus on application-oriented research. The project is designed to closely align academic insights with real-world business needs, facilitating the development of solutions for pre-competitive research and development (R&D) challenges.
By bridging the gap between research and practice, the project contributes to strengthening innovation capacity in the SME sector while also supporting evidence-based decision-making in AI adoption.
Contribution to Talent Development
In addition to its innovation impact, the project plays an important role in the qualification of early-career researchers. Initiatives like InnoProm help ensure a strong pipeline of highly skilled professionals who can drive digital transformation and innovation in both academia and industry.
Project Partners
The research is conducted in collaboration with industry partners:
- AUFWERT GmbH
- Crateflow GmbH
- Wolman Wood and Fire Protection GmbH
These partnerships ensure practical relevance and provide valuable insights into real-world applications of AI in different business contexts.
Funding
The project is funded by the InnoProm – Innovation and Promotion program and co-financed by the European Unionand the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.