On May 1, 2025, there will be a change in the management of Hanse Innovation Campus GmbH (HIC GmbH). Anna Lena Paape, the previous Managing Director, is handing over her position to a new management team: Julia Sarre LL.M. and Claudia Linde M.A. will manage the business together in future.
HIC GmbH is a company of the Lübeck University of Applied Sciences and the University of Lübeck. It is the office of the Hanse Innovation Campus Lübeck and supports the transfer of knowledge between science and business. This also includes start-up consulting as part of the “GründerCube”, which will also be re-staffed with the change in management.
Thanks to Anna Lena Paape for her commitment
Anna Lena Paape is leaving HIC GmbH at her own request. She took over the management of HIC GmbH in April 2020 and has played a key role in shaping the company during this time. Under her leadership, HIC GmbH developed into a successful platform for innovation and knowledge transfer. She drove forward important transfer projects for the region, including the “AI Week”, the BMBF project “HI Lübeck”, “WINnovation”, “HörHanse” and the “Hanseatic Hackathon”. Particularly noteworthy is her role in the realignment of the campus brand “Hanse Innovation Campus Lübeck”, which today stands for the strong innovation and transfer network around the Technical University of Lübeck, University of Lübeck, Fraunhofer IMTE, UKSH Campus Lübeck, Technology Center Lübeck (TZL), German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and many partners from business, politics and research.
“The last five years have been an exciting time. The renaming of the campus, the establishment of the joint start-up consultancy in the GründerCube, the development of the Week of AI, the launch of HörHanse and many other small and large projects around HIC Lübeck have shaped the time. I am very grateful for all the experience I was able to gain and for all the people who worked with me to promote the idea of the joint campus,” says Paape, reflecting on the past few years.
New management team with clear distribution of tasks
With Julia Sarre and Claudia Linde, management will be spread over two shoulders in future. Julia Sarre will primarily take care of transfer projects, while Claudia Linde will be responsible for start-up consulting in the GründerCube.
“I would like to thank the universities for their trust and for entrusting me with this exciting task. Anna Lena Paape has achieved a great deal in recent years and has played a key role in shaping the development of HIC Lübeck. I look forward to continuing on this path together with my esteemed colleague Claudia Linde, a great team and the universities and partners of HIC Lübeck, to further develop HIC Lübeck and drive forward transfer innovations,” says Julia Sarre, who has already worked on various transfer projects at HIC Lübeck. Her areas of responsibility included in particular business law activities for the universities in Lübeck. She was also responsible for designing a culture of participation in university spin-offs at universities in Schleswig-Holstein, for the targeted promotion of social innovations and the scouting of start-up-relevant IP in the field of AI-Med.
Claudia Linde is also a familiar face on the university campus. Since 2013, she has been working in start-up consulting in the GründerCube with a focus on applying for funding and supporting applications. She emphasizes: “I am delighted that the Technische Hochschule Lübeck and the University of Lübeck have placed their trust in us as the new managing directors of Hanse Innovation Campus GmbH. I am particularly keen to promote the start-up culture and support founders on the Hanse Innovation Campus Lübeck. Together with our team, I would like to make start-up advice in the GründerCube even more visible and further expand and strengthen our advisory services.”
The universities congratulate the new management
Dr. Muriel Helbig, President of Lübeck University of Applied Sciences:
“The transfer of technology and knowledge between Lübeck University of Applied Sciences and our partners such as commercial enterprises and local authorities is essential for the innovative strength of the region. With the change in the management of Hanse Innovation Campus GmbH, we are focusing on continuity and fresh impetus in order to further strengthen precisely this cooperation and “think tank” and to bring practical solutions from research into application. I would like to thank Anna Lena Paape for her commitment and wish Julia Sarre and Claudia Linde every success in their new role.”
Prof. Dr. Helge Braun, President of the University of Lübeck:
“Hanse Innovation Campus GmbH plays a key role in translating outstanding research results into pioneering applications. Under the previous management, we were able to build valuable bridges between science and business – for this I would like to thank Anna Lena Paape expressly and with great appreciation. Together with the new dual leadership Julia Sarre and Claudia Linde, I would like to build on this strong foundation, further develop knowledge transfer and tap into new innovation potential – for our region and beyond.”
