Business calendar Münsterland

"Material, cell, pack, recycle and back again!" This is the motto of the Kickstarter4Battery@Münsterland series of events, presented by Technologieförderung Münster GmbH.

For commercial and technical managing directors, business development, innovation and product managers from companies in the mechanical engineering, plant engineering, electrical engineering, materials manufacturing and processing, chemical industry and IT sectors, our cooperation partners will show the opportunities for companies in the rapidly growing battery market.

The experts from the Fraunhofer Research Unit Battery Cell FFB, the Fraunhofer Battery Alliance, the MEET Battery Research Center, the Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) - RWTH Aachen University and Münster University of Applied Sciences get to the heart of the matter in five one-hour digital KICKs along the entire #value chain of lithium-ion #battery production. The content is also relevant for companies that do not yet offer products or services in the field of battery systems. Starting points for their own product development as well as cooperation opportunities become immediately apparent.

Following the five KICKs, all participants will be able to exchange ideas and discuss the next steps for entering the battery value chain at a networking event in Münster. Food and drinks will also be provided.

Here is the full programme (from 10-11am each day):

10.11.22 - Launch event with all battery partners.

23.11.22 - KICK 1: Battery materials and cell chemistry (MEET)

07.12.22 - KICK 2: Manufacturing process of the lithium-ion battery cell (Fraunhofer FFB)

21.12.22 - KICK 3: Module and pack assembly, energy storage systems (PEM | RWTH Aachen)

11.01.23 - KICK 4: Life Cycle Consideration (Fraunhofer Battery Alliance)

25.01.23 - KICK 5: Recycling, 2nd Life and Re-X processes (FH Münster)

08.02.23 - Networking event in Presence

In the mentor network of the North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce, former managers volunteer their entrepreneurial expertise and management experience to start-ups, young companies and company successors.

Participants can receive feedback on their plans from up to five mentors in a confidential one-hour contact meeting. They introduce themselves and their company or business idea and describe problems and the need for action. The mentors give the participants an initial assessment of their project and help them take further steps or, if necessary, provide individual support.

Appointment by arrangement.

The Gründerstipendium.NRW supports prospective founders and teams of up to three people who have not been in business for a year at the time of application with 1,000 euros per month per person for a maximum of 12 months. The decisive factor is an innovative business idea. The prerequisite for an application is the submission of a meaningful idea paper to the start-up network münster-gründet!

Promote yourself with moving images. Good films inspire in seconds, remain in the memory and are usually the most successful posts on social media platforms. This makes emotional films, catchy clips and smart explainer videos an important factor in online presentation.

Christoph Schmitz, Managing Director at 3eins Kommunikation GmbH from Hamburg, shows participants how to approach such a project, what needs to be considered and how to come up with a communication idea. In this workshop, the participants create small video sequences themselves and learn about the possibilities of Youtube and Co.

The WESt offers business start-up advice for all interested parties. Appointments are made directly with the start-up advisor Yasemin Örlü Köksal.

Is your own company experiencing immensely rising energy and raw material prices, growing supply bottlenecks and increasing climate protection requirements? The strategy of circular economy offers an answer to this. Tapping alternative sources of raw materials and energy offers flexibility in dealing with limited resources and rising costs. Adapted and new business models increase competitiveness in a changing market environment.

The Dutch construction sector is an important economic engine of the country. It accounts for about 9% of the gross domestic product and a construction output of 70 billion euros per year. The government is investing 2.3 billion euros in the construction sector to counteract the housing shortage. Every year 100,000 dwellings are to be built - always with an eye on the goals set in terms of sustainability and CO2 savings in buildings. This offers good opportunities for NRW companies that want to offer their services and efficient construction methods in the Netherlands. In addition: the shortage of skilled workers in Dutch construction is still very evident. At 21,900, the number of vacancies in 2021 was already a third higher than in the previous year, and with an unemployment rate of 3.3% in the construction sector, there is almost full employment. The EIB Construction Institute even expects the labour market to tighten further.

With the AI qualification programme, the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum offers small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Weser-Ems and Münsterland regions a seven-week basic AI course free of charge. Building on the successful online course "Elements of AI", the AI trainers offer direct added value for interested companies with numerous additional and practical contents as well as practical examples from SMEs. The aim of the programme is to increase understanding in the field of AI, to network like-minded companies with each other and to empower users to initiate their own AI digitisation projects in their companies.

The event will take place both on-site and online.

The labour market is currently changing dramatically. Due to demographic factors, the potential of skilled workers is decreasing more and more. At the same time, digitalisation in particular is creating completely new demands on employees. Added to this are global crises and upheavals.

All these developments are exacerbating the already existing problem of a shortage of skilled workers. At the DIALOG Fachkräfte on Wednesday, 8 February, at Parador GmbH in Coesfeld, participants will learn what role qualification and further training play in this context. How can companies recognise their qualification needs? How can they create good conditions for new knowledge? And what subsidies offer support for the further training of employees?

The second part of the workshop will be the discussion of the "homework". All participants of the first workshop can create a film concept for their own company between the two workshop dates. This will be discussed together in the second round. Christoph Schmitz, Managing Director at 3eins Kommunikation GmbH from Hamburg, offers help with questions and with optimising the technical implementation. At the end, all workshop participants will have a finished film concept or image film.

Every company with its tax domicile in Germany is legally entitled to financial support if it conducts research and development. 25 % of the personnel costs incurred - up to an amount of one million euros per year - are tax-subsidised on the basis of the research and development allowance (FZul). Companies of all sizes and from all sectors can benefit. R&D projects in the categories of basic research, industrial research or experimental development are eligible.

Jan Raack, innovation manager and managing director of the company INNOMAGO GmbH, will present the tax research allowance in his lecture and answer the following questions:

• What is funded under the research allowance and under what conditions?
• What is the general procedure and timetable for submitting an application?
• How much funding can be expected?
• What are the difficulties in submitting an application? How high is the risk?

In this seminar, participants learn about classic start-up financing as well as the possibilities of financing innovative and growth-oriented start-ups. They will also learn how to best prepare for the financing interview for their project.

Michael Monstadt, Head of NRW.BANK's Promotion Consulting Westphalia, will provide the necessary basic knowledge in the online seminar so that the participants can use the optimal financing options for their individual start-up project, including public funding.

The event takes place as an online meeting via zoom.

Mit Auslandsaufenthalten können Azubis internationale Berufserfahrung während ihrer Ausbildung sammeln. Auf einer gemeinsamen Online-Informationsveranstaltung mit Kammern aus NRW werden mögliche Zielländer und die Vielfältigkeit des Programms vorgestellt. Ob als Goldschmied:in nach Italien, als IT-Systemelektroniker:in nach Lettland oder als Raumausstatter:in nach Schweden - es wird ein kompletter Service rund ums Auslandspraktikum für Auszubildende, junge Fachkräfte und Ausbilder:innen angeboten. Themen sind unter anderem:  Die individuelle Vorbereitung, die Betriebssuche, die Wohnungssuche, die Betreuung vor Ort und die Beantragung der Erasmus+ Fördergelder.

When preparing for self-employment and/or shortly after starting a business, it is not uncommon for tax questions to arise that cannot or may not be answered by the tax authorities.

The Chamber of Tax Advisors of Westphalia-Lippe and the North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK Nord Westfalen) offer an initial consultation on tax law so that founders and young companies do not fall into impending tax traps.

Possible topics include the questionnaire for tax registration, which every founder must submit to the tax office in electronic form in a timely manner, as well as questions about turnover and income taxation, the treatment of start-up costs or the legal consequences of the private use of a company car.

Appointments can be made after a preliminary discussion.

The Münster Chamber of Skilled Crafts offers a good introduction to the topic of self-employment with its information afternoon. With a comprehensible and meaningful business concept, financing by credit institutions is often positive for start-ups. In addition, the founder must deal intensively with the topics of trade law, taxes, insurance, professional associations and many others.

Important start-up knowledge is imparted competently and practically by experienced management consultants from the Münster Chamber of Skilled Crafts.

In many professions, qualification and further training are an essential part of working life as well as a cost factor in the company. The federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia support companies with various subsidies that are intended to help create incentives for more continuing education.

At the virtual information event, participants will be briefly and concisely informed about various current funding instruments.

For business expansions, relocations, restructuring, takeovers or even reorganisations, there are interesting financing and promotion products from the state and federal governments. Together with the experts from NRW.BANK and Bürgschaftsbank, the North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce provides information about this in personal talks that end with targeted recommendations for action.

The support and advisory services are aimed at existing companies and potential successors who have a concrete need for capital and want to know more about a sustainable financing structure. Start-up projects with capital requirements of more than 150,000 euros are also in the right place here.

Whether for internal and external communication, the use of apps or logging on to online services - smartphones and tablets have become an indispensable part of everyday business life. However, the use of mobile devices also brings challenges and risks. This is especially true if private mobile phones are also used in the company. Here too, it is better to be safe than sorry. Effective strategies can be developed with little effort to be prepared for incidents such as the loss of a device.

Arbnor Memeti, Digital Security Advisor at DIGITAL.SICHER.NRW, will explain what the development of such a strategy looks like, what risks there are and how the use of mobile devices can be implemented securely in your company, using practical examples.

Registration is possible until 13 February 2023.

Solo self-employed people and micro-enterprises in particular face great challenges today. In addition to productive work, the commercial aspects must also be managed from a single source. This includes costing - which is becoming increasingly difficult due to material and energy price increases - as well as process optimisation and planning for business growth. Occupational safety and social security must also remain in the focus of the entrepreneur. This information event will focus on this topic.

In this event, experts teach participants what they need to know in order to set up a successful business in Münster. They learn what a start-up concept is and how to create one. They will receive a detailed "roadmap" for their own start-up. The participants will learn what funding and support is available and get to know the institutions that will support them on their way to self-employment in Münster.