Practice immersion
Gain real-world experience while you study
The Master in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIE) at ESMT Berlin offers multiple opportunities to gain practical experience that prepares you for the real challenges of scaling a business or driving change within a global organization.
Throughout the program, you can develop and launch your own startup, collaborate with established companies on innovation projects, and connect directly with investors, mentors, and founders in Europe’s largest startup hub.
Meet Vali Berlin, the Entrepreneurship Hub at ESMT
As an integral part of the MIE program, Vali Berlin - Entrepreneurship Hub at ESMT Berlin plays a crucial role in supporting your entrepreneurial development. Vali fosters entrepreneurship for economic, environmental, and social value in Europe and beyond. The core mission of ESMT Berlin and Vali is to create and spread knowledge that advances business and society.
Vali supports responsible entrepreneurship for sustainable value in four primary areas: venture building, corporate entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education, and research.
Specifically for MIE students, Vali collaborates closely with ESMT Berlin to offer specialized startup and innovation programs within its venture and educational funnel.
These initiatives guide you through every phase of the entrepreneurial process, from ideation to implementation. This ensures that you gain the practical experiences and insights needed to successfully launch and sustain impactful businesses.
Meet DEEP – Institute for Deep Tech Innovation
DEEP focuses on turning scientific discoveries and advanced technologies into viable business innovation. It brings together researchers, founders, and corporate partners to accelerate the development and commercialization of deep-tech ventures.
One of DEEP’s flagship initiatives is the Creative Destruction Lab Berlin (CDL Berlin), the first CDL Lab in Germany. Through this global network, early-stage science and technology startups receive structured mentorship from entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts.
MIE students take part in this ecosystem through the Deep Tech Innovation Program (DTIP), where they work directly with CDL Berlin ventures. The program offers hands-on experience in evaluating and supporting deep-tech startups, giving students a practical view of how cutting-edge research becomes market-ready innovation.
Explore your opportunities
Sustainability Bootcamp
In collaboration with Vali Berlin, the sustainability bootcamp brings students, corporations, startups, NGOs and other like-minded entrepreneurial talents together to conceptualize solutions for the greatest challenges of the 21st century that can then be developed into new ventures.
Vali Berlin serves a platform on which the ESMT community can engage, develop new ideas, find collaborators and acquire resources to develop and scale their startup.
The Vali community consists of a broad range of individuals and organizations, including students, alumni, faculty, serial entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and subject matter experts.
Value Proposition
- Workshops, guest lectures, coaching and mentoring with entrepreneurs, sustainability and industry experts
- Work with corporates and other key players of the innovation and sustainability ecosystem
- Receive insights from industries
- Exposure to find (external) co-founders
Click here for more information on the Sustainability Bootcamp.
Corporate Innovation Project (CIP)
For the Corporate Innovation Project (CIP), you will either deliver an innovation consulting project or develop venture ideas together with a corporate partner.
Summer Entrepreneurship Program
The Summer Entrepreneurship Program (SEP) helps you develop and elaborate your own startup ideas. Over three months during the summer, you will work on every aspect of your startup, from finding co-founders and identifying trends and problems, to building your product or solutions and pitching to Venture Capitalists (VCs) and angel investors. The program includes an ideation process where you will either generate or validate ideas. Participants benefit from expert mentoring, access to the ESMT and Vali Berlin network, and a structured series of workshops led by entrepreneurs and thought leaders.
Value Proposition
- Identify problem opportunities
- Validate problem and solution through customer discovery
- Connect with tech and business talents
- Meet potential co-founders
- Gain valuable insights into trends, technologies, and sustainability
- Develop landing pages, prototypes and an MVP
- Receive mentorship and coaching
- Meet the Vali network, including investors and serial entrepreneurs
- Get access to the Vali Hub in Berlin-Schöneberg
NEXT - B2B Accelerator Program
The NEXT - B2B Accelerator Program supports ventures created in the Summer Entrepreneurship Program in six different areas:
- Product-market fit
- Human capital
- Fundraising
- Legal
- Administrative
- Tax issues.
DEEP Tech Innovation Program
You will have the opportunity to join and advise startup founders by participating in the Deep Tech Innovation Program. ESMT Creative Destruction Lab Berlin is the first CDL Lab in Germany.
International exchange semester
Whether you choose to do the NEXT program, Corporate Innovation Project (CIP) or Deep Tech Innovation Program, you will have the opportunity to spend an academic term (Term 5) abroad at one of ESMT's top-ranked partners in Europe and beyond.
Internships
As an MIE student, you can pursue an internship at a company's innovation or intrapreneurship unit. You will earn credits towards your master’s degree by completing a mandatory paid internship between April and September of your first year.
Your internship must be at least 12 weeks in duration, though many students choose to stay up to six months. Internships can be completed either in Germany or abroad.
Past internships: MIE Class of 2025
- Student with a background in Economics and Musical Studies: Private Equity Intern at capiton in Germany (Private Equity)
- Student with a background in Commerce: Venture Capital Intern at SBI Ventures Europe in Germany (VC)
- Student with a background in Economics and Management: Corporate Venture Capital Intern at Deutsche Bank in Germany (Banking)
- Student with a background in Socioeconomics: Business Development & Sales Intern at Tucan AI in Germany (Technology)
- Student with a background in Electronics & Telecommunications Engineering: Revenue Operations Intern at Pliant in Germany (Fintech)
How ESMT supports your internship journey
From identifying the right opportunity based on your goals to helping you prepare for interviews and leverage your internship experience for your future career, ESMT’s Career Development Center (CDC) is with you every step of the way. Some services and support offered by the CDC includes:
- Career Bootcamp and targeted skills workshops
- One-on-one coaching with CDC advisors
- Internship search strategy and application support
- Access to company visits, career fairs, and networking events
- Mid-internship check-ins
- Job search coaching and strategy
- Personal branding workshop
"SEP was an extensive program that allowed me to focus on the founding process under the guidance of more experienced entrepreneurs."
Ian Wainana, Master alum
"The integration of this 6-month internship in the master curriculum at ESMT is the highlight of the whole program. It enabled me to use the knowledge I gained in the business world and it also helped me establish strong networks with top organizations."
Anish Kakroo, Master alum
"Vali supported My Top Career with continuous feedback, insightful workshops from experts in the Berlin startup scene and the mentorship program."
Francesca Manganella, Davide Bonomi, founders of My Top Career
"The weekly cohort chats with all the SEP co-founding teams, the continuous idea exchange and support from our mentor Oliver Hasse, and the rich series of workshops and hackathons with experts and serial entrepreneurs organized by the Vali team, proved to."
Ludovica & Maria Vittoria, founders of Berglin
Get involved beyond the classroom: Student clubs and initiatives
At ESMT, applied learning doesn’t stop with internships and projects. Students also take the lead through clubs and initiatives that shape campus culture and connect with the global community. Whether you're organizing a major conference, launching a social initiative, or exploring the future of tech and business, these groups offer space to lead, collaborate, and grow.
Examples of ESMT student clubs and initiatives
- DigitalFuture Summit, a student-run business and tech conference featuring global leaders, academics, and startups.
- TEDxESMT, student-organized TED events that spark meaningful conversations and inspire action.
- Vali Venture Club, a community for aspiring founders, offering student-led venture consulting, workshops, events and visits to leading startups in Berlin.
- Tech & Innovation Club, a space for tech-enthusiasts exploring emerging trends like AI, fintech, automation, and startups through events, Berlin Product Managers meetups and panel discussions.
