Within the Memorandum on the realization of the program of creating and supporting an innovative cluster in Poltava, Head of SIKORSKY CHALLENGE Innovative Holding Inna Maliukova held a motivational meetings with students and graduates of different education and research institutes and faculties of National University "Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic".
Students and teachers discussed the main directions of activity of the SIKORSKY CHALLENGE All-Ukrainian Innovative Eco-System, the interactive model of existing start-ups and leading Ukrainian higher education institutions, representatives of local government bodies and investors. With the examples of certain innovative activity forms, stimulation of talented youth’s interest in start-ups, the participants discussed existing problems of Ukrainian startupers, including the lack of support of youth's innovative projects at the local level, the lack of experience and practical skills, the lack of faith in one's own strengths.
The starting point among the key moments in the appearance of the Ukrainian start-up system was National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” and Inna Maliukova's learning of practical activities in start-ups of Israel and California.
The idea of creating a system of start-up schools appeared unexpectedly during traveling in the USA and Israel, while visiting University of California, Stanford and Berkley. Inna Maliukova then understood one thing: she has to do everything in a different way in her university, because their business model will not work here.
“The SIKORSKY CHALLENGE All-Ukrainian Innovative Eco-System is a powerful start-up that was founded in the difficult year of 2014, but some elements of the innovative ecosystem were introduced much earlier in the scientific and educational activity of Kyiv Polytechnic. Since 2018, whenthe first start-up school in Poltava region was opened at Poltava Polytechnic,many positive changes have happened, and we have got the first useful experience. It is such a pleasure to see that the dynamic development of start-ups all across our country motivates youth to work harder on their own projects.
“The great change of the existing business models, the context of interrelations with the best innovative universities of our country, friendly partnerships with all the participants of the ecosystem, the state and local support on the stage of realization of the coolest projects are the keys to understanding what we do,” Inna Maliukova said.
The main part of any innovative system is still the young person that aims to develop in the business field and be inspired with the ideas of their predecessors and contemporaries.
“Our innovative holding performs the role of a systemic manager that motivates and inspires the best start-up projects for achievements at regional and state levels. Each of us is a certain mini-model of an innovative enterprise founded on intellect that aspires to take an appropriate place in the system of innovative start-ups,” the leading startuper of Ukraine continued.
It is important to mention that the SIKORSKY CHALLENGE All-Ukrainian Innovative Eco-System now includes universities, local territorial communities and regional state administrations, regions and international representatives in other countries. The main conceptual basics for the activity of SIKORSKY CHALLENGE include the creation of innovation centers at the best universities, education and support in realization and branding of innovative projects.
“Higher education institutions make for finding the people who will be able to develop and introduce their ideas among a large amount of talented youth. That is why the most important task is to teach the youth the basics of innovative entrepreneurship and strengthen the cooperation of universities with the existing start-up schools. Besides, the support and promotion of start-up projects should first of all be held at the local level - in a certain city, region, and only then in Ukraine, at a more global level. Startuper makes a few steps, sees, that no-one supports them, and just stops. The local-level support has to be provided with small financing, organizational measures, assurance of the possibility to realize one's own project, opening small companies with the help of local government. Signing the Memorandum on Partnership and Creation of an Innovative Cluster in Poltava is a possibility to help the local government understand that modern youth has real business demands, aspirations to create their own innovative enterprises and teach others with their examples,” Inna Maliukova emphasized.
According to Doctor of Economics, Professor, Director of Education and Research Institute of Finance, Economics and Management of Poltava Polytechnic Iryna Chernysh, such meetings, live communication and the convenient Q&A format allow the youth to learn about useful cases and arm them with the necessary innovative tools to promote their ideas into a real economy sector.
“When my daughter, a fifth-grader, asked me what startup is, it was not easy for me to explain it to her. Our students are luckier here. During the meeting, they learned how the idea to create a startup system appeared, remembered the key messages and found answers to the question of why the business models actively introduced in the USA and Israel do not work at all in our country. The large number of questions that they asked to our speaker shows that there is a great interest of the student youth in scientific and innovative activity. I hope that the lockdown will not stop us from having such warm meetings, because the new experience, support and positive motivation are the key grounds to success in any field,” Director of ERIFEM commented.
As of today, SIKORSKY CHALLENGE provides opportunity of a free-of-charge two-month course for students, post-graduates, teachers, scientists, entrepreneurs and inventors, incubating the most creative and competitive ideas and supporting them at all the stages of their realization. The annual festivals of innovations are another way of complex selection process and the possibility of attracting investors, since the best projects of every startup school are presented by the representatives of local self-government and entrepreneurs.
Graduate of the Startup School of National University "Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic", second-year student of Education and Research Institute of Finance, Economics and Management Mykhailo Buhaievskyi won the Competition of Investment Projects “Horyzons of Poltavshchyna” organized by Poltava Oblast State Administration in 2020 - his startup project “Digital Platform for Market Analysis, Start-up Projects Approbation and Search for Financing ‘Project Market.UA’” got the first place.
Media Center of
National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
