Student Tech Track
About
Student Tech Track (STT) is a 1-year program structured into 4 phases, bringing together ambitious, driven, proactive students in the field of AI and software who are willing to build something. The program combines education, community, mentorship, and hands-on prototye-building support to help participants turn deep-tech startup ideas and early-stage solutions into a functional prototype, a tested business model, and a pitch to investors.
STT Batch 4 Timeline
Who is a good fit for STT
Target profile
The strongest candidates tend to be:
- master's or late bachelor's students
- ambitious, driven, and proactive
- willing to build something or already building something
- curious about entrepreneurship and technology
- obsessed with AI, software, or deep-tech topics
- able to make decisions under uncertainty and pressure
- open to feedback and coachable
- strong communicators and team contributors
- experienced in team projects, hackathons, or extracurriculars where possible
Key dates
- Application phase: August 15 - September 15
- Onboarding week: October 5-7, 2026
Bonus: Earn 6 ECTS for Your Own Startup Idea (TUM Students)
TUM students can register their startup project as a project study under Prof. Meißner's supervision, and earn 6 ECTS while working on their own idea. Students from other universities are equally welcome to join STT - the ECTS credit is specific to TUM's project study framework.
Good to known.
Student Tech Track is designed to identify top talent on campus and build a thriving community of future entrepreneurs in Heilbronn. You will be equipped with practical tools to validate and launch your deep tech start-up after graduation.
Deep Tech Start-ups work on advanced or emerging technology in order to address deep complex societal/global challenges that result in creation of transformative and extremely valuable solutions.
Yes! The program requires in-person participation as we organize events and workshops in Heilbronn. Unfortunately, it is not possible to participate virtually in the Student Tech Track.
Student Tech Track runs for a full year, split into four 3-month sprints:
- Phase 1 — Learn the basics. Real case studies, idea sources, and discovery material help you find a problem worth working on.
- Phase 2 — Validate. Market research and customer interviews turn a raw problem into a validated solution idea. Ends with the first Pitch Night.
- Phase 3 — Prototype. Build a first working prototype and test it with real users.
- Phase 4 — Go-to-market. Turn the prototype into a functional product and business model, and prepare to pitch to investors. Ends with the second Pitch Night.
Each sprint runs on a steady rhythm: a Co-Working Session every two weeks, plus regular community events. A 3-day onboarding kicks things off before Sprint 1.
Time commitment builds over the year. Early sprints run on a working-session cadence every two weeks; by the later sprints — building and iterating on your prototype — expect at least 10 hours per week. Full commitment for the full year matters more than a packed résumé going in.
Primary target group are students pursuing a Master's degree. We want a diverse spectrum of backgrounds (tech; business; design) it helps to create an environment of open discussion and diverse ideas. Therefore, anyone interested in Software & AI technologies into application can apply.
No, the program is free of charge.
No, TUM Venture Labs does not offer funding. We focus on providing knowledge, mentorship, and general support to develop your venture.
In this batch we work with external active founders and domain experts as mentors. Mentors will support teams individually throughout the whole year with regular check-ins and coaching sessions.
If you have further questions, please reach out to us at: software-ai.heilbronn@tum-venture-labs.de
Apply · until Sep 15, 2026
Apply now for #batch 4.