NaWik gGmbH

What NaWik gGmbH does

NaWik gGmbH (Nationales Institut für Wissenschaftskommunikation) is a German non-profit limited company founded in 2012 by the Klaus Tschira Foundation and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) to deliver science communication training to researchers and research institutions. It is registered in Mannheim, headquartered in Heidelberg, and operates additional offices in Karlsruhe (on the KIT campus) and Berlin, with the supervisory board chaired by Prof. Dr. Klaus Bös and managed day-to-day by Managing Director Dr. Philipp Niemann.

The core offering consists of three product lines: live instructor-led workshops and courses delivered on-site at customer premises, at the KIT campus, or virtually; self-paced e-learning courses via the WissKomm-Campus platform (launched 2022); and customized evaluation and consulting services grounded in the company's own evaluative research area established in 2019. Supporting infrastructure includes the WissKon network (launched March 2022) for communicating researchers, featuring an annual conference, mentoring program, and community platform, as well as the Wissenschaftskommunikation.de news portal co-operated with Wissenschaft im Dialog and KIT. A team of approximately 21 core staff plus 30+ external trainers — drawn from major German broadcasters and publications such as SWR, WDR, ZDF, and ARTE — delivers the curriculum.

NaWik earns revenue through per-engagement fees for customized institutional training (multi-year contracts with travel costs invoiced separately), transactional sales of open online workshops and individual e-learning courses via its web shop (pay-as-you-go, with a €195 cancellation fee), and bespoke evaluation/consulting engagements. By November 2024, the company had delivered over 1,000 seminars. Customers are predominantly German universities, research institutions, and research-funding foundations (including VolkswagenStiftung and Körber Stiftung). As a non-profit, the company reinvests earnings into its mission and receives structural support from its two founding shareholders.

Name

NaWik gGmbH

Legal name

Nationales Institut für Wissenschaftskommunikation (NaWik) gGmbH

Website

https://nawik.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NaWik gGmbH is a German non-profit founded in 2012 by the Klaus Tschira Foundation and KIT that delivers science communication training, e-learning courses, and evaluation/consulting services to researchers, universities, and research institutions across Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Training & Education Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPACALAD

Workshops, Webinars & Live Masterclasses

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Digital Media & Content Platforms (Online Video, Podcasts, Creators)/Online Learning Content Platforms (Creator-Led Courses)

SECONDARYEDANADAH

Project-Based Learning & Presentation Coaching

Education/Tutoring & Test Preparation/Homework Help & Study Skills Coaching

Keywords

• Science communication training
• Researcher education
• Professional workshops
• E-learning courses
• Consulting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Karlsruhe

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Live Workshop and Course Fees: In-person and virtual workshops, seminars, and training sessions for universities and research institutions. Revenue generated through customized training programs commissioned by institutions and open enrollment workshops for individuals. In-person events held at customer premises, KIT campus, or virtually.
2. E-Learning Courses: Self-paced online courses on science communication accessible via the WissKomm-Campus platform. Individual course purchases and group bookings available through the web shop. Courses include video content, animations, text, and exercises.
3. Evaluation and Consulting Services: Customized evaluation and consulting services for science communication projects. Services include evaluation of science communication projects and advisory services for developing strategies. Art, scope, and objectives are individually coordinated with clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NaWik gGmbH provides professional training, workshops, e-learning courses, and consulting services focused on science communication for researchers, universities, and research institutions. The organization delivers in-person and online seminars covering topics such as social media communication, presentation skills, media training, and digital engagement for scientists.

Product overview

NaWik gGmbH offers a unified training and education portfolio focused on science communication. The core offering consists of live instructor-led workshops and lectures (in-person at customer sites, KIT campus, or virtual) alongside self-paced E-Learning courses available through the WissKomm-Campus platform. Complementary services include customized evaluation and consulting for science communication projects. Supporting infrastructure includes the WissKon Network for communicating researchers with annual conference and mentoring, and the wissenschaftskommunikation.de news portal operated with partners. Products are available in both German and English, with offerings ranging from basic science communication foundations to specialized topics including AI tools, media training, scientific writing/visualization/presentation, podcasts, policy advising, and participatory approaches.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live Workshops & Training Programs
• WissKomm-Campus E-Learning Platform
• Evaluation & Consulting Services
• WissKon Network Community
• Wissenschaftskommunikation.de Content Portal
• WissKomm-Bundle Package

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 seminars delivered by November 2024
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• WissKon NetworkmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Network launched March 2022 for communicating researchers to exchange views on communication issues. Includes annual WissKon conference, mentoring program, Mayday Button support, and networking events. Open to all communicating researchers.
• Wissenschaft im DialogcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Joint operation of the Wissenschaftskommunikation.de portal. Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) is a German science communication organization. Together with KIT, the three partners debate current science communication topics, present new formats, and share research findings on the portal.
• Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Co-founder and shareholder of NaWik. KIT is a German university with both university and national research center missions in the Helmholtz Association. NaWik is located on KIT campus in the mathematics college building, adjacent to the Science Communication Department of the Institute for Technology Futures (ITZ).

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Coursera: Global online learning platform hosting thousands of courses including science communication content from universities. Competes with NaWik's WissKomm-Campus in the broader self-paced online learning category but lacks NaWik's specialized, German-anchored expert-trainer model.
• AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology: American Association for the Advancement of Science runs public engagement, communication training and outreach programs for scientists. Broader incumbent with overlapping training capabilities but a much wider portfolio beyond scicomm training.
• Public Engagement Professional Development (UKRI / Wellcome): UK funders (UKRI, Wellcome Trust) run public engagement training and resources for researchers they fund. Indirect peer shaping the same scicomm-training demand curve as VolkswagenStiftung and Körber Stiftung do for NaWik.

Regional players

• Sigma Xi: US-based scientific research honor society offering research communication grants, workshops and resources to its member researchers. Comparable professional-development offering for scientists, but US-focused and does not directly compete in the DACH market.

Direct peers

• Nature Masterclasses: Springer Nature's training brand offering online courses and live workshops for researchers on scientific writing, publishing and communication. Closest functional peer to NaWik's e-learning and live workshop portfolio for the academic researcher segment.
• Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD): German science communication organization that runs public engagement programs, debates and the joint wissenschaftskommunikation.de portal with NaWik and KIT. Co-operator of NaWik's portal and a natural German peer in scicomm programming.
• Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science: US-based center providing immersive workshops, certificate programs and online courses that train scientists to communicate clearly with public audiences. Highly comparable mission, delivery formats and target learner to NaWik.
• COMPASS Science Communication: Non-profit that designs and delivers science communication training, workshops and consulting for scientists and institutions. Overlaps with NaWik's evaluation, consulting and workshop offerings for the research community.
• Elsevier Researcher Academy: Elsevier's free online learning platform offering modules on scientific writing, peer review, funding and communication for early-career researchers. Direct competitor in the self-paced online scicomm/researcher-skills category.

Emerging players

• Spektrum der Wissenschaft: Leading German-language science magazine and digital publisher that translates research for general audiences. Operates adjacent to NaWik in the science-to-public translation space and shares board overlap (Founding Director Carsten Könneker is Managing Editor).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/nawik.de
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NaWikDeutschland
• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalesInstitutfuerWissenschaftskommunikation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nawik
• Instagraminstagram.com/nawik.de

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NaWik gGmbH