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Campus - 27.06.2025 - 12:00 

HSG ranked third among the best universities for entrepreneurs

Startup power on the Alpine axis Munich-St.Gallen-Zurich: Together with TUM (first place) and ETH Zurich (second place), the University of St.Gallen is one of the most entrepreneurial universities in the German-speaking world. This has been confirmed by a recent study.

According to the evaluation, the University of St.Gallen (HSG) is one of the best places for entrepreneurial-minded students in German-speaking Europe. With 845 startups, it ranks third behind the Technical University of Munich (TUM) with 1,116 and ETH Zurich with 1,022 startups. 

The study was conducted by researchers from TUM, ETH Zurich, and the University of Innsbruck and submitted to WirtschaftsWoche prior to publication. Startup databases, company websites, and LinkedIn profiles were analysed to determine which universities in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland produced the most founders between 2014 and 2024.  

HSG also performs strongly in relative terms – measured by startups per 1,000 students – ranking sixth with 81 startups per 1,000 students. HSG startups are frequently found in the health, energy, transport, food, marketing, and fintech sectors.

Results of the study

Targeted promotion of entrepreneurial talent

In line with its vision of “Empowering talents, inspiring leaders,” HSG is continuously developing its support programs for entrepreneurial talent: The HSG Best Talents Programme is aimed at talented Bachelor's graduates who are planning to pursue a Master's degree at HSG. The HSG Best Founders Programme supports aspiring founders with connections to HSG.

In addition, HSG is intensifying its commitment to entrepreneurship with initiatives specifically tailored to young women: Together with the association Wirtschaftsbildung.ch, it is launching the summer camp “Let's Startup!” in July 2025, which is aimed at young women aged 17 to 19.

These new programs are in line with HSG's long-standing tradition of promoting entrepreneurship. This initiatives also include the START Summit, organized by the student-led organization START Global, which annually brings young founders, investors, and thought leaders to St.Gallen, turning the city into a hub for the startup scene for a day.

“We are proud of this result. Especially, as many of the new startup initiatives that have recently been launched are not yet reflected in these results. We are convinced that we can turbocharge entrepreneurship at HSG in the future.”
Prof. Dr. Dietmar Grichnik, vice president and professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of St.Gallen

The new study shows that HSG, as an entrepreneurial university, plays an important role in the European startup ecosystem. With a wide range of support programs and strategic partnerships in industry and business, the University of St.Gallen creates the best conditions for the founders of tomorrow.


Further information on the ranking can be found in the online article in WirtschaftsWoche.

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