An entrepreneurial career

Are you interested in putting your research or an idea you're passionate about into practice and making it count in today's society?
Do you want to innovate or create new concepts, systems, processes, services, …
Then an entrepreneurial career might be the next step for you.

Explore entrepreneurship during your research

You could already test the water by combining your research job or fellowship with an entrepreneurial activity. Find out more about combining your research with other activities in the Framework for Good Research Practice. 

Support at Ghent University

Do you have an entrepreneurial idea that is based on your academic research?

• UGent TechTransfer facilitates and promotes the valorization of research from the university to the market for the benefit of society. Bringing research to life!
• UGent industrial liaison network – the IOF business developers group complementary research departments throughout Ghent university according to their domain of expertise. Every IOF consortium focuses on a specific research domain and forms the bridge with the corresponding industry.
• Ghent University Venture Track - the Ghent University spin-off trajectory
• IDC – Interdisiplinary research consortia for realizing societal impact
• 1 hour online info sessions on specific TT topic? Highlight your interest!
• DO! – Ghent University centre for student entrepreneurship

Do you have an entrepreneurial idea that is not based on your academic research?

• DO! – Ghent University centre for student entrepreneurship
• Coaching & advice
• Research to market
• Expedition DO!

Don't have any specific entrepreneurial ideas yet?

Find inspiration within the large offer of courses, fellowships, Innovation Bootcamps and info sessions at Ghent University. 

More inspiration

• Watch our videos about entrepreneurship.
• Are you curious about your potential to become an entrepreneur? Take the Hunchup simulation test
  to assess how you would execute different entrepreneurial roles.

• The Technology Transfer office of Ghent University has an annual course on commercializing your
  research results, including a part on social entrepreneurship: the ‘TechTransfer skills’ course.
• A useful initial screening to see if there is commercial value in your research and if you want
  to act on it, is the ‘Research to Market’ course offered by DO!
• Find out about the full range of courses, fellowships and info sessions at Ghent University
  or relevant literature on entrepreneurship for researchers.

• Take a look at the Euraxess Manual for Scientific Entrepreneurship: The manual for Scientific Entrepreneurship will help you learn about the major steps for research results valorisation and you will get practical tips, links and recommendations.
• Je eigen onderneming opstarten? Laat UNIZO je gidsen (in Dutch).

Steps in the career cycle