Students from TU Dortmund University’s DLab initiative recently reflected on their time at Lehigh University, where they participated in the 2024 edition of Technical Entrepreneurship (TE) Week.
This year’s program marked the first international collaboration in the decade-long history of TE Week, adding a cross-cultural dimension to its focus on technology transfer and entrepreneurship.
TU Dortmund partnered with Lehigh’s TE program to create teams of four—one DLab student and three Lehigh students—tasked with developing commercial business models around cutting-edge technologies. These included innovations such as thermal batteries, tire technologies, and portable oxygen filters, licensed from NASA and Lehigh’s patent pool.
“The DLab trip to the US felt like a mini exchange semester that changed my perspective on technology and patents in the field of entrepreneurship,” shared one student. Another student described the program as “highly intensive yet profoundly educational,” highlighting the differences in teamwork and problem-solving approaches between the American and German students.
To read more about the TU Dortmund students' experience, visit the DLab website.