What do nuclear fusion, AI and the construction industry have in common?

In Munich, you get a seat at the table for all three. Over four days we split into small groups and worked our way across Munich's scene, from climate tech to deep tech to AI. Stops included Tacto, Emidat and Beo, alongside VCs like Picus Capital and Earlybird, who showed us what they really look for in young teams.

What's it like to solve a real problem with the people who own it in the room?

A team from a partner comes in, shows what they do, and hands you a live challenge from their own business. You walk away with a real skill and the contacts to go with it, a new partner and a new case every time. Open to all Mannheim students, with Sereact, finmid, KPMG, Avelios Medical and more.

For years, thinc! journeys meant Munich and Berlin.

This time we headed straight for the beating heart of European tech: London. No city on the continent raises more venture capital. Across four packed days we visited over 16 companies, including Accel, Lightspeed, Databricks and Google, with sessions from 20VC, Chronext and terralayr. London was thinc!'s first professional international journey, and it was just the beginning.

What happens when you send thinclers to one of Europe's most vibrant cities for a week?

Spoiler: quite a lot. The Lisbon Journey 2026 was a community experience of a different kind, no startup visits and no workshops, just six nights of shared moments. 40+ participants explored Lisbon together: beach days and sunset sessions on the Atlantic coast, surfing, a beach volleyball tournament and community dinners. What made it special happened between the activities, in the conversations that turn a group into a real community.

What's it like to spend five days not just talking about startups, but actually being inside one?

30 of the most motivated students at the University of Mannheim spent a week working inside ten young startups, many of them pre-seed or still in stealth: go-to-market strategies, automations, real products. The week closed with a Pitch Battle in front of 400+ spectators, four startups competing for €100,000 in Google Credits. Keynote by Daniel Jung, hosted by Henric Meinhardt (Comstruct), judged by the CEOs of finmid, flatsforfriendz and PERI plus an investor from High-Tech Gründerfonds.

Can business students build?

Five applications landed for every single spot. The Codex Community Hackathon ran 30+ hours in Munich, with OpenAI, Google AI, Langdock and UVC on board. Mixed teams built on real cases from ManexAI, Comstruct, Reonic and Augustus, judged on what counts: impact, execution and pitch. In between, a morning rave, a barista and a sound artist for the mental reset, and everyone slept right there in the office.

100+ talents.

10+ startups. One room. We built MATCHUP to solve one of the biggest pain points in Europe's startup ecosystem: connecting top talent with the best startups. Students came from Oxford, Cambridge, Bocconi, ETH, TUM, St. Gallen and Mannheim, and founders pitched their vision directly to the people bold enough to join them. No career fair noise, no passive networking, just direct access to the people building what's next.

What does it actually take to spot the next unicorn before anyone else does?

In 2026 we ran the VC Academy with High-Tech Gründerfonds, one of Europe's most active early-stage investors. Four workshops took Mannheim students through how VCs really work: sourcing deals, due diligence and supporting portfolio companies long after the term sheet is signed. Case studies and candid insights from people who evaluate hundreds of startups a year.

Some questions about your career can't be answered by anyone in your own circle.

We lined up over 80 mentors who can. The thinc! Mentoring Program matched students with a mentor whose professional experience fit their interests, from the startup and VC world to consulting, corporates and finance. Among the mentors: investors and partners at Creandum and Picus Capital, partners at McKinsey, BCG and Bain, Mannheim alumni and startup founders.

What happens when three German founders who made it into the world's most legendary startup program come together for one evening?

On April 24, 150 students filled Mannheim Palace for the YC Talk. Y Combinator made Airbnb, Stripe and Dropbox big, and getting accepted is roughly as likely as getting a spot at Harvard. Our guests talked founding stories, the mistakes they made and what YC really wants from you.

Five days, one city where it feels like the next big startup emerges every month.

On the Berlin Journey we moved through the capital in small groups, knocking on the doors where the most exciting things are happening right now. Trade Republic, Spotify and Tesla, plus top VCs like Point Nine, Cherry Ventures and Northzone, who gave us an honest look at their everyday life as investors. No lecture-hall theory, just founders answering without filters, and for most members an office visit turned into an internship.

What if a single conversation changed your entire perspective?

The thinc! Foundertalks brought founders straight to Mannheim for an interview and an open Q&A about what building a company really looks like. Guests included Götz Rehn (Alnatura) and Alexander Rittweger (Payback). Brands you know, suddenly with a face, a story and real lessons.

Only 19% of all startups in Germany are founded by women, and all-female teams receive just 1% of total venture capital.

We think that's not enough. On March 6, over 200 people came to Mannheim for the Female Founders Night. 15+ speakers from VC, AI, startups and the influencer business, plus a workshop with Bain & Company, goodie bags, a raffle and an event dinner with an after-party.

Once a year, Mannheim Palace turns into the best party of the university year, and this time the tickets were gone in under 30 minutes.

Every February, thinc! throws the welcome ball for the sixth-semesters fresh back from their semester abroad. 400 students, evening gowns and suits, a jazz trio, an open champagne reception, a photo wall and a raffle. The palace made the difference, and so did the mix: returning alumni, first-semesters at their first ball, everyone in between.

The best connections are not always made in lecture halls.

Sometimes they happen on the volleyball court. Around 200 students from thinc!, AKB, Q-Summit and MIC came together at the University of Mannheim's inter-initiative sports event for football, volleyball and fun games. Team spirit on the sidelines, competitive spirit on the pitch, and a community that left closer than it arrived.

VC, SaaS, CAC, Seed, Series A.

The startup world can be overwhelming at the start, so we took over 60 first-semesters through it from day one. Our How-to-Startup Workshop covered how the ecosystem really works. During exam season we swapped that for yoga, reformer Pilates. And ahead of internship season, an HR expert walked thinclers through career paths, interviews and what recruiters really pay attention to.