TU Dresden's first participation to EUTOPIA programme TeamWork 2024

TU Dresden took part in the Europe-wide EUTOPIA TeamWork program for the first time this year and gained the Dresden biotechnology company Lipotype as a cooperation partner. An ecosystem based on diversity, cosmopolitanism and inclusion is an important foundation for education and knowledge transfer.

In the TeamWork programme, international teams of up to 8 students enrolled at universities in the EUTOPIA alliance work virtually on a project or challenge set by a company or organization. The program lasts four weeks and takes place every summer. The four-week project work is preceded by three online seminars and an introductory seminar on topics such as collaboration in intercultural teams, presentation skills, storytelling and project management. The objectives of TeamWork include the development of intercultural skills and the ability to work on interdisciplinary projects.

TU Dresden entered the competition this year with 7 students and was able to win the Dresden biotechnology company Lipotype for one of the international teams. Lipotype is the world's leading provider of lipidomics analysis services for customers in the biotech, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries as well as for academic researchers. Lipotype's mass spectrometry-based technology can identify and quantify over 4,200 different lipids. Scientists from different disciplines can use this technology to analyze and understand lipids, their structure, their metabolism and their role in various processes.

In this year's TeamWork program, students from EUTOPIA universities worked closely with Lipotype to identify and prepare customer use cases for a new Lipotype health test. The students learned why a product-market fit is important, how to conduct a SWOT analysis and what business models can look like. The collaboration helped to accelerate Lipotype's product development process and ensure the transfer of knowledge between academia and industry.

A win-win situation for Lipotype as well as for the students in the EUTOPIA program and TU Dresden. At Lipotype, it is part of the entrepreneurial self-image not only to build a better company, but also to shape a better future together. This commitment gives Lipotype's vision "Lipidomics for a better life" a deeper meaning. Dr. Oliver Uecke, CCO of Lipotype: "Our commitment to a cosmopolitan Saxony reflects our conviction that diversity, openness and inclusion are essential drivers of creativity, innovation and business success."

TeamWork and the cooperation with Lipotype is of great importance to TU Dresden in several respects. According to Peter Rosenbaum, Head of the International Office at TU Dresden, and Henriette Greulich, Head of the Center for Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching (ZiLL), "the program offers an innovative teaching format that allows students from different degree programs to apply their knowledge in a creative and practical way. In addition, TeamWork takes the internationalization of teaching a further step forward and at the same time promotes the further integration of TU Dresden into the European University Alliance EUTOPIA. For our university, which sees itself as a global university with a regional anchor, TeamWork is a prime example of successful knowledge transfer at local and international level."