Honestly Impactful #2 | Intrapreneurs in Rhein-Main
Most life science students know two paths: academia or Big Pharma. Some also discover startups.
But there is another path: building innovation from inside an established organization.
Intrapreneurs are people who drive new ideas, products, ventures, and change from within companies. Their work is not always as visible as founding a startup, but it can be just as bold: spotting opportunities, navigating uncertainty, and pushing science toward real-world impact.
At BI X, the digital innovation lab of Boehringer Ingelheim, teams identify promising ideas and turn them into digital health products. Christoph Brabandt works at the center of this process — spotting unmet needs, scouting new technologies, and shaping early concepts into real solutions.
Join us for an honest fireside chat on what it really looks like to drive innovation from within large life science company!
🔥 Fireside chat with Christoph Brabandt, Head of Digital Product Discovery at BI X
🍕 Pizza + peer-level guided networking
🧬 All people interested in creating impact in life science
Agenda
17:30 – 18:00 | Arrival & Informal Gathering
18:00 – 18:15 | Introduction by Nucleate
18:15 – 18:30 | Speaker Keynote Speech
18:30 – 19:30 | Moderated Fireside Chat
Block 1: Personal Journey & Spark
From student life to the first spark of startup curiosity.Block 2: Research to Innovation
How ideas move differently inside organisation: structure, stakeholders, priorities, and decision-making beyond academia.Block 3: Scientific & Innovation Details
What innovation actually looks like in practice: identifying problems, testing ideas, building alignment, and connecting science with strategy, product, and operations.Block 4: Honest Reality
The hard parts of creating change from withinBlock 5: Lessons & Advice
What students should know earlier if they are curious about driving innovation inside established organizations.
19:30 – 20:10 | Small Group Q&A with Speakers + Pizza
20:10 – 20:30 | Peer-Level Guided Networking
This event is part of Honestly Impactful: Role Models in Bio-entrepreneurship — an event series in Rhein-Main region featuring founders, startup scientists, and intrapreneurs who are translating life science research into real-world ventures. Our speakers share what that journey really looked like: the doubts, failures, trade-offs, and hard choices behind building something beyond the lab — and why it’s still worth it.
About the Event Host
Nucleate is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the next generation of biotech leaders. With chapters spanning 41 geographic regions and participation from over 280 academic institutions, Nucleate sparks new intellectual communities and embeds emerging talent within a global biotech community. Through open-access educational programming, Nucleate helps democratize biotech innovation — removing barriers and helping founders concentrate on building transformational technologies. Visit www.nucleate.xyz for more information, and visit https://nucleate.xyz/privacy-policy/ to read our privacy policy.
About the Event Series Sponsors
Honestly Impactful: Role Models in Bio-entrepreneurship is sponsored by biomindz.
biomindz – a hub designed for growth!
Mainz is one of Germany’s most dynamic cities, home to a vibrant biotech hub that unites cutting-edge research, global connectivity, and a fast-growing ecosystem. The 12-hectare Life Science Campus - under development next to the university - will empower startups, companies, researchers, and investors to shape the future of biotech in the heart of Europe. As a municipally owned nonprofit, biomindz drives this growth - through site development, networking, and positioning Mainz as a globally visible biotech hub.