Master in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Make your mark as a founder, innovator, investor, or consultant
In a fast-changing world, the ability to spot trends, formulate new business ideas and drive innovation are invaluable skills, whether you want to found your own startup or join an established market-leader.
Learn how to build and scale a new business and disrupt established industries with innovative new ideas, or acquire the skills to implement new ideas or technologies in to an existing global business in the Master in Innovation & Entrepreneurship from ESMT.
- Gain first-hand experience from the heart of Europe’s most vibrant startup ecosystem.
- Start your own business in the first year of the program
- Build the necessary skills to become a corporate innovator
- Work with ESMT’s in-house incubator Vali Berlin.
- Tailor the program to your career goals
How you benefit from a Master in Innovation & Entrepreneurship
- Tailor your learning experience to meet your career goals
- Start your own business during the first year of the program
- Build your own network through Vali Berlin, ESMT's Entrepreneurship Hub
- Gain preferential access to corporate partners active in innovation
- Have the opportunity to join and advise startup founders through participating in the Deep Tech Innovation Program
- Get hands-on learning opportunities from experts
- Practice what you learn through internships and the Ideation Bootcamp
- Gain a 18 month residence permit to work in Germany
You are a perfect fit if...
- You are a young professional in your twenties with 0-3 years of post-graduate work experience.
(applicants with up to five years of post-graduate work experience will be considered for admission on a case-by-case basis). - You are eager to get hands-on experience, build your network and prepare for a career in innovation. You might even have your own startup idea that you want to develop.
- You are interested in joining the world of innovation and entrepreneurship either as a startup founder, venture capitalist, innovation consultant or corporate innovator.
- You are a technologist who wants to learn how to turn new tools and tech into viable businesses and develop the skills to assess, analyze, and take calculated risks.
Where the Master in Innovation & Entrepreneurship could take you...
Corporate Innovator
You want to drive for and implement change but rather than heading to the world of startups, you want to bring your skills to established global businesses.
Become a corporate innovator and help business adapt, survive and thrive.
Jump into a career as a:
- Chief innovation officer (CIO)
- New Business Development Manager
- Innovation Manager
Startup Entrepreneur
You want to start your own business and use your studies as platform to help develop your idea, partner up with a co-founder and expand the network that will help your startup thrive.
Become a startup entrepreneur and learn how to turn your idea into successful, scalable business.
Jump into a career as a:
founder or co-founder of a new business
Venture Capitalist
You are passionate about working with a variety of startups, identifying valuable opportunities and using your skills to help new businesses grow.
Become a venture capitalist and develop promising new companies.
Jump into a career as:
associate, analyst or partner at a venture studio.
Innovation Consultant
You want to advise different companies and start-ups as they seek to implement new ideas or overcome the challenges of growing and scaling.
Become an innovation consultant and help companies identify and leverage untapped opportunities.
Request a profile review
MIE Track options
Your learning and development journey
Build your foundation
- Organizing for Innovation
- Economics of Innovation & New Technology
- Foundations of Entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurial Finance & Fin Tech
Improve yourself
- Talent Management: Acquisition & Retention
- Cross-Cultural Management
- Building Professional Networks
Refine your knowledge
- Open and Distributed Models of Innovation
- Social Entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurial Sales & Marketing
Program Advisory Committee (PAC)
Each MSc program at ESMT Berlin is supported by a Program Advisory Committee (PAC) made up of alumni and industry professionals. These committees offer strategic guidance on program development, career placement, and market relevance, working closely with the Director of Programs and Faculty Leads.
Dash (Daria) Markova
Dash is an impact-driven entrepreneur and startup advisor with a decade of experience scaling ventures and building innovation ecosystems worldwide.
An ESMT MBA alumnus and Master’s degree holder in Economics, Dash has designed, launched, and managed over 30 successful startup programs—accelerators, incubators, and venture studios—benefiting more than 1,000 enterprises across Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
Beyond guiding early-stage teams on venture building, impact business modeling, financing, and pitching, Dash has founded four ventures, including a startup hub (Space Shack) and an event series (Coworking Festival Germany), and led a biannual startup course at TU Berlin.
Dr. Andreas (施安德) Schmidt
Dr. Andreas Schmidt is a serial entrepreneur who has built deep tech startups across Asia, Europe, and the US. After selling his last company Proteona to Singleron Biotechnologies, he now leads their global business development, applying single-cell technologies to precision medicine.
Andreas is Managing Director and Co-Founder of Springboard Health Angels, an expert network and venture capital firm investing in innovative health and life science startups globally. He serves as a board member, mentor, and shareholder across companies, research, and government institutions. Andreas holds a joint PhD in immunology from Berkeley and Cologne and was an early entrepreneur at the Singapore-MIT Alliance of Research and Technology (SMART).
Dr. Lisa Portz
Dr. Lisa Portz is an ESMT Berlin Master in Management alumna who runs a consulting and training business supporting early-stage founders.
She designs, leads, and advises on startup programs and entrepreneurship training, while also consulting founders, SME owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs. Lisa gained first-hand experience across all stages of building a business, from idea to seed funding, through multiple ventures she was a part of.
Lisa also holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship from Imperial College London, focusing on first-time founders and ways to support them through startup programs.
Matthias Treutwein
Matthias Treutwein is the co-founder of enpact e.V., founded in 2013. Previously, he worked in international development and cultural management at Transparency International, The Owners Forum, InWent, the Goethe-Institut, and the Robert Bosch Foundation.
He leads monitoring, capacity building, and sustainable development at enpact and is active as a mentor, business angel, and speaker on leadership, entrepreneurship, and impact. Matthias has strong intercultural expertise, especially in the Middle East and North Africa, and holds an MA in Arabic, French, and Spanish Linguistics & Literature from the University of Göttingen as well as an EMBA from ESMT Berlin.
Michael Tekabe
Michael Tekabe serves as the COO at Kubik, where he guides a team committed to transforming hard-to-recycle plastic waste into low-carbon building materials.
Armed with an MBA from ESMT Berlin—and bolstered by certifications in Data Analytics and UX Design—he brings a decade of cross-functional financial experience to the table, driving sustainable, tech-focused solutions.
A dedicated champion of venture building and startups, Michael oversees strategy, operations, and finance at Kubik, ensuring data-driven innovation delivers tangible social and environmental impact.
Dr. Alfred Oetker
Dr. Alfred Heinrich Christoph Rudolf Oetker, commonly known as Alfred Oetker, studied economics at the University of Passau and Oxford, and serves as the co-CEO of Geschwister Oetker, a German holding company formed in 2021 after the Oetker family divided their conglomerate into two independent groups. The company oversees various brands in sectors such as wine and spirits, chemicals, and luxury hotels.
Adeline Lee
Adeline holds an MBA from ESMT Berlin andis an experienced product leader with a strong track record in Europe, driving growth and innovation across B2B and B2C products. She is currently Head of Product at Babbel in Berlin, shaping language learning experiences.
Previously, she led growth at Framer in Amsterdam, launching Framer X and building the growth team from the ground up. At Clue in Berlin, she played a key role in expanding the app’s user base from 1 to 15 million. Adeline is also an active advisor and angel investor, supporting early-stage startups across Europe.
A good network is everything. Berlin's start-up community is thriving, and the Sustainability Bootcamp (SB) was a fantastic opportunity to make initial connections.
I got to know some of the founders associated with Vali, one of whom is now our mentor for the SEP.
At ESMT, learning isn't confined to classrooms. It thrives through dynamic student initiatives and inspiring conferences hosted right on campus.
Innovation is our beacon for tackling collective challenges, and everyone holds a pivotal role. I'm thrilled to collaborate on groundbreaking ideas with the Innovation Club. Together, let's break barriers and pioneer change! Join us in pushing the boundaries at ESMT.
09:00 - 17:00 | TBC / Munich
09:00 - 17:00 | Warsaw, Poland
10:00 - 20:00 | Tokyo
16:30 - 21:15 | Shanghai, China