How does a good idea become a viable business model with social value? This is the question addressed by the new European project “AURORA seizmic EIT-KIC”, in which the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) is participating. The goal is to further develop the existing “seizmic APP” into an AI-supported mentoring environment for social entrepreneurship.

Prof. Dr. Hannes Rothe from the UDE’s Faculty of Computer Science is leading the university’s participation. As a professor of Sustainability & Innovation in Digital Ecosystems, his work focuses, among other things, on the intersection of digitalization, innovation, and sustainable development.

The AI mentor is designed to help students develop their startup ideas step by step. The focus is not on providing ready-made answers, but rather on offering targeted guidance and asking the right questions at the right time.

The project focuses on startup ideas that offer societal value, such as in the fields of climate and environmental technologies, digitalization, sustainable production, and health. Approximately 4,000 students across Europe are expected to benefit from the project.

At UDE, the first pilot users are expected to test the new features starting in spring 2027. In the summer semester of 2027, the AI mentor is also scheduled to be integrated into the course “Entrepreneurship with Purpose”, which is open to bachelor’s students from all disciplines.

To implement this, the UDE is collaborating with, among others, the impact incubator Anthropia, Place Beyond Bytes, and GUIDE. Together with Palacký University Olomouc, the UDE is also leading the work package on knowledge transfer.

The project, coordinated by the Copenhagen Business School, runs from September 1, 2026, to August 31, 2028, and is funded with just under two million euros as part of the EIT Higher Education Initiative. Approximately 150,000 euros of this funding is allocated to the UDE.