Brandenburg Innovation Professionals

With the funding program, the Ministry of Economy, Work and Energy supports the implementation of innovative measures through the ILB, for which special work students or innovation assistants are to be employed.

The part-time employment of full-time enrolled students as well as the employment of innovation assistants in small and medium-sized enterprises in the context of an operational innovation task is promoted. Innovation assistants are graduates of state or state-recognized universities or regulated vocational training.

In the case of an innovative task, these are activities/work packages that are carried out by an innovation specialist within the framework of an operational innovation. Concrete goals and associated operational developments are pursued with the processing of the innovative task. The innovative task must not have been processed in the applicant company before.

An operational innovation is a targeted change in a company in the context of which products, services and procedures (methods and processes) are introduced for the first time and thus have a novelty character for the company.

Work-Study Students
It is to be agreed upon a monthly gross salary of the work-study student of at least €1,076.00 for a weekly working time of 20 hours. In case of a lower weekly working time, the amount of the minimum gross salary to be agreed upon is also reduced. For this there is a table which specifies the weekly working hours and the corresponding minimum wages (see guideline number 3.1.4.5). There is a standard unit. A calendar month in which the respective work-study student is employed against remuneration in the company is considered to be the standard unit.

The subsidy amount depends on the subsidy level according to the gross monthly salary and the weekly working hours.

A subsidy is excluded if the contractually agreed number of weekly working hours exceeds the number allowed for the respective subsidy level. The subsidy is granted for a period of at least six to a maximum of twelve full calendar months.

Innovation Assistants
It is to be agreed upon a gross salary of the innovation assistant of at least €2,750.00 per month based on at least 38 weekly hours. In case of a lower weekly working time, the amount of the minimum gross salary to be agreed upon is also reduced. For this there is a table which specifies the weekly working hours and the corresponding minimum gross monthly salaries (see guideline number 3.2.4.5). There is a standard unit. A calendar month in which the respective innovation assistant is employed against remuneration in the company is considered to be the standard unit. The subsidy amount depends on the subsidy level according to the gross monthly salary and the weekly working hours.

A subsidy is excluded if the contractually agreed number of weekly working hours exceeds the number allowed for the respective subsidy level. The subsidy is granted for a period of 18 full calendar months. For employment with an operational innovation task from a sustainable area, the duration of the subsidy can be up to 24 months.

Applications according to the guideline can be submitted online via the customer portal of the ILB from 1.07.2024. Applications can be submitted at any time. For each subsidy, a separate application must be submitted if several subsidies are claimed.