Join the iF Summer School 2026!

From Lab to Impact: iF Summer School Equips PhD Students to turn Research into Venture Opportunities
 

iFSummerSchool helps PhD students turn breakthrough science into structured opportunity spaces for future ventures, spinouts and technology transfer.

Impossible Founders has launched the program in collaboration with the University of Hamburg, UKE (Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf), DESY, Stellenbosch University and the University of Groningen.

It addresses a structural gap in PhD education: breakthrough research in physics, medicine and Deep Tech often develops without early exposure to market contexts, application environments or venture perspectives.

The program brings together up to 40 PhD students from physics, medicine, medtech, innovation and business for a 6-day intensive format in Hamburg.

Participants work full-time on translating scientific ideas into structured opportunity spaces - combining scientific depth with market and application perspectives.

Across the week, the program includes: 
→ expert input sessions and lab exposure 
→ ecosystem visits and real-world context 
→ interdisciplinary team formation 
→ structured market and application analysis 
→ mentoring and peer feedback 
→ final opportunity pitch presentations

The focus is early-stage translation: Developing a first structured understanding of how scientific work can be evaluated through a venture and impact lens.

The program is cohort-based, takes place fully onsite in Hamburg and awards 7.5 ECTS.

📍 Next cohort: September 13–18, 2026 
📍 Applications are now open (rolling admissions) 
⏳ Application deadline: July 31, 2026

A limited number of travel stipends are available for participants from outside the Hamburg area.

More information: https://www.impossible-founders.com/programs/if-summer-school