Thank You for the first Innovators Homecoming at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar!
On 14 November 2025, the first Innovators Homecoming took place at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. This new event format brought together alumni, students, and staff who are driving fresh impulses with their ideas, start-ups, or creative projects – in business, design, technology, and society.
Whether through personal entrepreneurial journeys, visionary project ideas, or transdisciplinary perspectives, the Innovators Homecoming offered space for connection, exchange, and inspiration. The event highlighted the diverse ways in which entrepreneurship and innovation are and have been lived at our university – from student initiatives to far beyond.
The format was organised by the neudeli start-up hub of Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.
We are delighted about the overwhelmingly positive feedback and are taking many valuable ideas with us for future events.
Weaving Connections. Shaping the Future.
Inspired by the weaving workshop of the historical Bauhaus – once a place shaped by visionary women who, despite patriarchal and structural limitations, thought innovatively and wove their own futures – its foundational spirit serves as a guiding thread for the first Innovators Homecoming of Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.
Today, we understand networking as a conscious act: open, interdisciplinary, and based on equality. The Innovators Homecoming seeks to create a living fabric of ideas, experiences, and perspectives – for and among alumni, students, and entrepreneurs. Here, threads of art, research, technology, and entrepreneurship intertwine.
From these connections, impulses for a new, collaborative shaping of the future are meant to emerge – driven by courage, a spirit of innovation, and the power of connection.
– Lina Louise Wolff, Graphic Design
Speaker
Unsere Speaker
Introducing our speakers IHB 2025
The four keynote speeches showed how many paths you can take after studying at Bauhaus University and how much these years here shape you.
- Paul Foeckler (co-founder of Mendeley and Blueberg AI) reminded us that teamwork always comes first and that perseverance is the real key to success.
- Gesa Hansen (designer and founder of The Hansen Family) shared how she developed her passion for design at the university and how wood plays a decisive role for her as a personal material.
- Jens Wille (managing director of Ubilabs) emphasized how much Weimar means to him and how this place represents freedom to experiment and create. He also stressed how important it is to truly value diversity in a team.
- Dr. Nathalie Jean-Baptiste (Deputy CEO and Head of Programs at Julius Baer Foundation) spoke about wonder, searching, rethinking, the courage to venture into the unknown, and how formative the Bauhaus University was for her own path.
Paul Foeckler
Paul Foeckler – Pioneer in Science Technology & Passionate Entrepreneur
Paul Foeckler is co-founder of the renowned platform Mendeley, a milestone in the digitisation of scientific work processes. Founded in 2007, the start-up was acquired by Elsevier in 2013 and is now considered one of the leading tools for literature management in research. Paul played a central role in growing the team and product development.
As a graduate of the Bauhaus University Weimar with a dual background in computer science and economics, he combines in-depth expertise with entrepreneurial spirit. With Blueberg Scientific, he recently launched another start-up that as a first step supports scientists with publishing in scientific journals more easily, quickly and with a higher chance of success – an innovative step towards faster visibility of scientific work.
Gesa Hansen
Gesa Hansen – An International Design Signature with Bauhaus Roots
Designer Gesa Hansen combines craftsmanship, sustainability, and aesthetics at the highest level. As the founder of the furniture brand The Hansen Family, she creates timeless pieces defined by Scandinavian minimalism and emotional depth.After studying at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and Nagoya Design University in Japan, she gained experience in various design studios in Tokyo as well as at Jean Nouvel in Paris. Her work has been honored with the Red Dot Design Award and the Good Design Award. In both 2022 and 2023, Architectural Digest named her one of the 100 most influential designers worldwide. Collaborations with brands such as Villeroy & Boch, Skagerak, and Fritz Hansen reflect her international success.
Jens Wille
Ubilabs: Making Data Tangible with Data and Location Technology
Ubilabs embodies a pioneering spirit at the intersection of data, location, and cloud technology. The company was founded in 2007 by Bauhaus alumni Jens Wille, Martin Kleppe, and Michael Pletziger and has since specialized in data visualization and location intelligence.
Ubilabs develops innovative software solutions and advises clients such as Google, the European Space Agency (ESA), and Deutsche Bahn on how to make complex data tangible and usable. Cloud technologies are utilized to efficiently process even large amounts of data and transform them into valuable insights. Under the leadership of its three founders and owners, Ubilabs today employs around 40 experts and is known as a leading Google Partner in the field of Location-Based Services and Data Analytics in German-speaking countries. Managing Director Jens Wille is also actively involved in the Entrepreneurs' Organization to specifically promote innovation.
Dr.-Ing. Nathalie Jean-Baptiste
Dr.-Ing. Nathalie Jean-Baptiste – building bridges between Research and Philanthropy
Nathalie Jean-Baptiste embodies a visionary connection between science and social impact. A doctoral graduate of Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, she now serves as Deputy CEO and Head of Programmes at the Julius Baer Foundation. As an internationally recognized expert in urban infrastructures and social equity, she offers a crucial perspective on sustainable innovation across continents. Her focus goes beyond traditional start-up narratives, putting at the centre people and inclusive systems and with a clear and lasting impact on the future.
Netzwerkveranstaltung
The networking evening at the Bauhaus Museum Weimar offered a special opportunity for alumni and members of the university who are involved in start-ups and innovation. After an inspiring tour of the Bauhaus Museum – with exciting references between the exhibits and today's founders – we then got together for drinks, stimulating conversations, and live jazz music.
Numerous entrepreneurs from a wide variety of disciplines and from all over the world found their way back to Weimar that evening. Together, we spent a wonderful evening full of exchange, reunions, and new connections. Impressions of the event will follow shortly.
We invite all interested parties to join our LinkedIn group to continue networking:
LinkedIn Group