APE is based on the academic year and comprises two semesters (October to February and March to July). During the semester break (beginning of March), the APE International Bootcamp takes place with participants from abroad.
Short facts
Target group
Age: 18 - 45+ years
Students from all universities, professionals, trainees, professors
Costs
5.000,- € per participation
(can be provided by 100% or 50% scholarship, scholarship not dependent on your grades)
Contents
As an additional and further training program, the primary goal is to teach APE participants entrepreneurial thinking and innovation processes, to show them alternative career planning options and to provide them with the necessary tools for this.
Time required, ECTS...
2 semesters (always start in the winter semester)
20 ETCS (optional)
6-10h/week
Follow us!
Impressions under #areyouAPEenough
Application deadline
01.09.2024
I was taught skills that I never learned in my studies or anywhere else. These are helpful for both business and professional life.
Anna M.
This is where the entrepreneurs of tomorrow are trained. It's a great opportunity to acquire entrepreneurial skills that also offer huge added value in a "normal" career.
Marco W.
My most important learning at APE was: I can do that too!
Leonie B.
"APE has shown me what strengths I bring to an innovation project as a designer. The different projects have also taken away my fear of familiarizing myself with completely foreign subject areas."
Felix S.
My tip: Get out of your comfort zone & try new things!
Pheline H.
About Academic Programm for Entrepreneurship (APE)
APE is one of the leading entrepreneurship, design thinking and innovation programs in Europe.
As a supplementary and continuing education program, the primary goal is to teach APE participants entrepreneurial thinking and innovation processes, to show them alternative possibilities for career planning, and to give them the necessary tools to do so. If successful start-ups and companies emerge during the program, we will be all the more pleased.
The program was established in 2008 by the Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE). As an entrepreneurship certificate program of the HM Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences and the SCE, APE offers an additional qualification in entrepreneurship and innovation for professionals and students of all universities. Over the course of ten months, participants learn methods and tools such as design thinking, lean start-up, prototyping or business modeling. At APE, the focus is on implementation, and the methods learned are applied directly.
In a total of three different projects and team constellations, knowledge and experience in dealing with the innovation methods are deepened. On a personal level, participants expand a wide range of key competencies, such as teamwork and communication skills, and can test themselves in leadership skills in particular. APE works closely with companies and organizations. These enter real issues and projects for which the participants develop new products, services or business models - which are then often implemented in the companies. Under certain conditions, there is often also the opportunity to work on your own projects.
Your Benefits
Know-how & Experience
Learn exciting methods and tools in the innovation process that will take you from a challenge or a problem, from a technology or from a simple idea to a successful innovation in the market. You will deepen your knowledge in three different projects, becoming more confident and stronger with each experience. You will learn to think customer-oriented when solving problems and developing innovative products, services and business models.
Personality & Leadership
In interdisciplinary teamwork, your personal skills are challenged: Taking initiative, taking responsibility for yourself and your team, defining your role in the team. How good are your leadership skills? Customer orientation requires empathy and understanding of needs. The closer you work with your customer in development, the more successful your solution will be for them. Integrating feedback constructively and moving on is a key experience in APE.
Community & Network
Many alumni stay connected to APE and enrich our program as coaches, speakers, or as project partners. Once a month, APE alumni visit the current cohort. They work together with the current APE teams on their tasks, give feedback, work on their own projects or exchange ideas over pizza and beer. Many APE'lers start up companies together or hire other graduates as employees. In addition, exclusive alumni regulars' tables with interesting external guests are held on a regular basis.
International experience
Thinking outside the box also means exchanging ideas with people from other cultures. By participating in APE you will expand your intercultural experience. On the one hand, through the APE International Bootcamp (mandatory module), which takes place here in Munich. On the other hand through exclusive workshops abroad (optional). These workshops have so far taken place in Edinburgh, Scotland (Product Design // Edinburgh Napier University), Barcelona(Service Design // ELISAVA University) or Bordeaux, France (Cultural Entrepreneurship // Goethe Institut).
(These free workshops are held exclusively for APE participants, but are not required for earning the certificate. The workshops are free of charge. Airfare and lodging are the responsibility of the participants).
ECTS
Students can achieve 20 ECTS through full participation in APE (successful completion of all modules). We cannot provide information on whether and how many ECTS will be credited at your college/university/faculty. This depends on your college/university/faculty.
Program sequence
Semester #1 (Entrepreneurship Module)
In the first semester, you will learn the basics of our innovation process. This includes methods of qualitative user research, design thinking, prototyping, and business model development. The framework is either a start-up project or a project with a company. Through additional exclusive workshops with experts from various fields, you will expand your horizons and your entrepreneurship skills (entrepreneurship module).
International Bootcamp (Internat. Modules)
In the International Bootcamp you deepen your know-how and experience from the first project in an international context and act as a team-internal coach. For one week we work in English speaking teams on a new topic or challenge. In 2021, the topic was "Innovative Solutions in (E-) Sports Business". Two resulting international teams were subsequently accepted into joint accelerator programs of SCE and international partner incubators. They are currently working on their successful market entry (International Module). For an impression of our Corona-related online edition of the 2021 APE International Bootcamp, click here.
Semester #2 (Intrapreneurship Module)
In the second semester, you will now apply your growing skills to a corporate project. Our corporate partners submit various challenges and topics for which you and your new team develop and test innovative solutions and business models. The tasks come from a wide variety of industries. Many of the solutions developed in APE are later implemented in or by the companies. Often with the APE team involved (intrapreneurship module).
APE Method
We refer to the process that starts with a problem, a societal challenge, a technology or crazy idea, and leads to a marketable solution as the innovation process. Various approaches and tools are united in this process: Design Thinking, Lean Startup, Business Model Development. The process is not linear in reality, it serves as a guide for the application of the methods. Often there are jumps forward or backward within the process.
The APE Mentorship Program
The APE Mentorship Program has been in place since the 2020/21 program year. Each APE participant is assigned a personal mentor for the entire program year. Mentee and mentor usually meet once a month for a personal discussion or exchange. The primary focus is on the personal development and career planning of the APE participants, not on the APE projects to be worked on.
The idea behind this is to enable participants to discuss personal development, career planning and options outside their own circle of family and friends.
The mentors are all founders, managing directors of various companies, experts and executives from different industries and fields, or professors.
They are assigned by the APE program management at the start of the program, in consultation with the mentors and mentees.
Time required
APE continuing education is time-intensive. All workshops and seminars are planned in such a way that participation is also possible alongside regular studies or employment. Our workshops always take place on Mondays from 18:30 to approx. 21:30, as well as on each of three Saturdays in the rooms of the SCE. Additional workshops (at least 3 per semester) usually take place on Wednesday evenings. Due to holidays and availability of guest speakers, some dates may be held on other days of the week in the evenings. Semester break bootcamp includes six full days in a row. (Attendance is mandatory during the bootcamp in order to receive the certificate and earn ECTS).
All dates will be announced in time. Participants in the program are expected to be present on the specified dates.
In addition to the professional know-how, we also emphasize personal development and the enhancement of key competencies such as teamwork, communication or presentation skills. To this end, in addition to the regular APE dates, exclusive workshops are held on various topics. These are conducted by top-class experts from various industries, coaches or successful founders.
Applications
Conditions of participation
The application window for the program year 2023/24 starts on 25.03.2024. Participation in the APE is free of charge for (full-time) students of the HM Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences. A financial contribution of 5,000€ is required from other participants for participation. (Full-time) students from other colleges or universities can apply for a full scholarship, while working professionals and part-time students can apply for a partial scholarship (50%). Motivation and commitment are decisive for the awarding of scholarships, not your grades from your studies. The earlier you apply, the better your chances for a successful application.
In order to apply to APE, we need a CV, a short letter of motivation (max. 2 pages) and the completed application form.
You can support your scholarship application by completing one of the following tasks (max. 1 page):
- Which business model fascinates you personally and why?
- Sit in a public place, observe and find three problems that should be improved. Pick one of them and explain how you would approach a solution to it.
The available places will be awarded in two rounds. Applications received by the 31st of June will be considered for both rounds. The final application deadline is September 1st. Please send your complete application to Moritz Hoffmann (moritz.hoffmann@sce.de). We will let you know no later than two weeks after the end of the respective application period how things will proceed and whether you will be included.
Watching the participants become more confident and self-assured in their use of the methods within ten months and also grow personally makes me happy and of course proud!
Moritz Hoffmann, Head of APE
Lead APE & Executive Education
T: 089 1265 3213
Linkedin moritz.hoffmann@sce.deMoritz Hoffmann joined the Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship in the summer of 2015. First, he was responsible as a founding consultant and start-up coach for the care of various teams in the start-up league. At the end of 2017, he became head of the Academic Program for Entrepreneurship and Executive Education. He uses his own experience from founding two companies. Moritz holds a M.Sc. in Finance & Controlling at the University of Applied Sciences Munich and previously studied International Marketing (B.Sc.) at the University of Applied Sciences Pforzheim and International Business (B.A.) at the ESCEM Paris - Tours - Poitiers. In addition, he sits on the advisory board of various start-ups, is on the road as a coach of various start-up formats and supervises further projects at the SCE.
Downloads & Links
Downloads Registration form