Rafaela Kraus

Professor Dr Rafaela Kraus is an expert in entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology transfer in the public sector and defence. After working as a management consultant, she has been a professor at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich since 2006, serving as vice dean, dean and vice president from 2010 to 2025. She has a proven track record in promoting entrepreneurship in academic institutions and has made significant contributions to the development of an ecosystem that supports technology transfer in dual-use, DefTech and SpaceTech start-ups across Europe. She founded founders@unibw, the centre for entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship at UniBw M; the SpaceFounders accelerator; and she brought NATO DIANA to UniBw M.
Her efforts have led to the creation of successful start-ups, such as ARX Robotics, and have established her as a key figure in European dual-use and NewSpace initiatives. Her ability to bridge the gap between academia, the public sector, and industry establishes her as an influential advocate for start-up promotion.