"My German University" relocates to Hamburg

24 September 2020

Edtech start-up gets six-figure grant from IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH

The founders of the latest Hamburg-based start-up “My German University (My GU GmbH)” have lauded working conditions, funding programmes and the co-working scene in the Hanseatic city five months after relocating from Berlin. Stephan Paulini, who founded the ed-tech start-up with Tobias Bergmann, told Hamburg News in September: "We feel very comfortable in Hamburg thanks to the excellent conditions. The IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH is an excellent partner for start-ups, who in addition to the basic programmes, has also conducted several programmes to cushion the consequences of the corona pandemic. There is also a diverse co-working scene, a lively exchange with other founders and the media scene."

The start-up had secured a grant of EUR 150,000 from the IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH’s InnoRampUp, a subsidiary of the Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank, for early stage start-ups earlier in 2020. The founders are putting the funds towards expanding the online platform for international students.

Start-up to bring more international students to Germany

The My German University portal has a database of more than 1,650 English-language master’s programmes in Germany – at 220 universities. The start-up is a spin-off of the Free University of Berlin and already received funds from the EXIST-Gründerstipendium by the German Ministry of Economics and Energy in 2018/2019.

Hamburg's dynamic university landscape

The founders, Bargmann and Paulini, previously worked for the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and headed the offices in Italy and Peru respectively. The company has moved from Berlin to Hamburg to benefit from an “even more dynamic” university landscape. More than 20 German universities now have headquarters or a campus in Hamburg.
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