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Prof. Dr. Kai Thürbach

Dr. rer. oec.
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law

Schmalenbach School of Business and Economics

Prof. Dr. Kai Thürbach

Campus Südstadt
Claudiusstraße 1
50678 Köln
Mailing address


  • Phone: +49 221-8275-3858

Positions

  • Professor, Chair of Management and Entrepreneurship

Responsibilities

  • Gateway TH Köln / »Fit for Invest« / Gateway Hochschulen Köln (Entrepreneurship Education and Start-up Advice)
  • Gateway Gründungsnetz, Cologne, Chairman of the Board
  • Gateway Factory, Member of the Steering Committee, Founding Director Gateway Factory

Teaching disciplines

  • Entrepreneurship
  • Management, Strategy, Organization

Research fields

  • Entrepreneurship Education
  • International Entrepreneurship Clusters and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
  • Start-up and Venture Management
  • Management, Strategy, Organization, Family Business
  • Leadership and Business Ethics, Sustainability
  • EXIST »Fit for Invest« / Gateway Hochschulen Köln
    »Fit for Invest« is a joint initiative of TH Köln, Universität zu Köln, Deutsche Sporthochschule and Rheinische Hochschule, together with Gateway Gründungsnetz. We represent a total of almost 100,000 students and people from the science system in Cologne. Prof. Dr. Kai Thürbach, Professor of Entrepreneurship and director/ head of Gateway »Fit for Invest«: "With »Fit for Invest« we have joined forces under the common brand Gateway Universities Cologne to work, together with our partners in the start-up ecosystem, on the ambitious goal of turning the Rhineland into an entrepreneurship cluster with supra-regional appeal for innovation, start-ups and successful investments."
    »Fit for Invest«
  • Gateway Factory
    We are creating the European hub for deeptech startups. Gateway Factory brings together strong partners and an ecosystem that is second to none. According to the German Startup Monitor, the University of Cologne, together with Gateway Hochschulen Köln and "Fit for Invest", is the most startup-friendly non-technical university, the Heinrich Heine University is located in the heart of Düsseldorf – an international business center in the heart of Europe – and RWTH Aachen is the most startup-friendly university in Germany. Start2 Group are considered the scaling and internationalization experts in Germany. Over 500 startups have emerged at the universities in Aachen and Cologne in the last five years. We support the best ones in developing into internationally successful scaleups. And we want to attract the best national and international startups. We not only promote their growth, we also offer the best location conditions. Prof. Dr. Kai Thürbach, Professor of Entrepreneurship and founding director and member of the academic advisory board of Gateway Factory: "Gateway Factory aims to be the leading deep tech start-up accelerator in the Rhineland. We create a leading entrepreneurship cluster in Germany."
    Gateway Factory
  • Gateway Gründungsnetz
    Prof. Dr. Kai Thürbach, Chairman of the board of Gateway Gründungsnetz: „The leading universities and research institutions in Cologne have joint forces with partners from the start-up ecosystem to built a successful start-up comunity and leading German entrepreneurship cluster!“
    Gateway Gründungsnetz
  • Start-up Center Gateway TH Köln (Start-up Center.NRW)
    With the “Start-up Center Gateway TH Köln” initiative, TH Köln is embedding startup support within a sustainably structured central operational unit. It positions itself as a hub for startups in technical fields and leverages the synergies and network effects within the regional startup ecosystem to professionalize and institutionalize startup support, particularly within the Gateway Universities Cologne network. The “Start-up Center.NRW” funding call supports universities in tapping into startup potential, preparing startups, and developing a sustainable startup culture with the goal of increasing the quality and number of university-based startups, as well as permanently strengthening the role of universities in regional startup ecosystems as a source of innovative startups. “Start-up Center.NRW” is implemented by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection, and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MWIKE) as part of European regional funding (ERDF/JTF). In total, the EU, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and the State of North Rhine-Westphalia are providing 40 million euros for this purpose. Prof. Dr. Kai Thürbach, founding director Start-up Center Gateway TH Köln: "With Start-up Center Gateway TH Köln, TH Köln is consolidating its role in the startup ecosystem as a key player in the development of a Rhineland entrepreneurship cluster and in the context of the further strategic development of the Gateway universities in Cologne. The collaboration among Cologne’s universities will be expanded and permanently established in conjunction with other partners, building on existing strategic partnerships and networks within the Gateway brand family.“
    Gateway Start-up Center Strengthens Startup Support at TH Köln
  • StartUpLab@TH Köln
  • Cologne Masterclass - The Most Interesting Startups from Cologne
    Through the Cologne Masterclass, the Gateway universities, in collaboration with KölnBusiness Economic Development and other partners, select outstanding startups in the region and introduce them to the investor community. The program aims to make the Cologne region even more attractive to investors and draw attention to outstanding Cologne-based startups. Stakeholders in the Cologne ecosystem nominate startups that have previously participated in one of the partners’ many programs and competitions. Through the Cologne Masterclass, participating startups receive marketing support, are listed in the Cologne Investors Guide, and have the opportunity to pitch to high-profile investors at Matching Day, the highlight of the Cologne Masterclass. Professor Kai Thürbach, Gateway director and co-founder of the Cologne Masterclass: "The Cologne Masterclass is a collaboration between Gateway Universities Cologne, the City of Cologne, and key partners in the startup ecosystem. Here, investors have the opportunity to meet the most promising startup teams from Cologne."
    Cologne Masterclass - The Most Interesting Startups from Cologne
  • Innovating Business Education for Responsible Global Minds (Erasmus+)
  • 5G Co:Creation Lab
  • Impact.Cologne
  • Transfer Award of the TH Köln
    The Transfer Prize of the TH Köln for "excellent transfer performance and outstanding commitment" was awarded to Professor Thuerbach and the team »Fit for Invest« for the successful development and built-up of the Gateway Universities network and their part in shaping a successful entrepreneurship cluster in the Rhineland.
current Prof. Dr. Kai Thuerbach
Professor, Chair of Management and Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, TH Koeln
Kai Thuerbach has been Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at TH Koeln since 2016. He studied Business Administration (Dipl.-Kfm./M.Sc.) with a specialization in Marketing at the University of Muenster and Harvard University and received a doctoral degree Dr. rer. oec. from HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management (supervised by Prof. Dr. Manfred Kirchgeorg, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Heribert  Meffert). His research interests and areas of expertise include Entrepreneurship, Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Start-up and Venture Management and Public Policy regarding Entrepreneurship Development and Clusters of Entrepreneurship. Furthermore he is working in the domain of Family Businesses as well as Marketing, Management and Business Ethics. He is a member of various academic and professional associations. Previous to his appointment as a Professor, Kai Thuerbach was a founder, managing director and investor of several companies in the media and e-commerce industry, some of which have been exited to leading players in the industry. He has more than 20 years of experience in founding, managing and investing in new ventures. He has a strong personal network in business, public administration and politics as well as in the academic field. In the Business Degree Program of TH Koeln he is teaching, among other courses, Market-oriented Management, Management and Ethics and Entrepreneurship.

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