On October, 10, at the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” has opened the VI All-Ukrainian Festival of Innovation Projects "Sikorsky Challenge 2017".
The festival is held from 2012. It received its name in honor of the world-renowned aircraft designer, a Kyiver by birthright, a former student of the Kiev Polytechnic Institute, Igor Sikorsky. So, in the logo of the festival there is also a hat – an unchanging attribute and, according to legend, a talisman, with whom a great innovator of the twentieth century never parted.
“Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute considers it a duty to hold such festivals for the education of young people, who are well prepared in engineering, mathematics, natural sciences and possess innovative thinking. We believe that this is our human capital, which should change the country for the better" emphasized the rector of the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Michael Zgurovskyi during the opening ceremony.
The best of the projects submitted for the festival undergo the competitions held within the framework of its program. These are competitions for startups (http://www.startup.kpi.ua) and the "Intel-Techno Ukraine 2017 2018" competition (http://isef.in.ua).
At the All-Ukrainian Startup Competition "Sikorsky Challenge", which in fact gave the name of the festival, there are project developers in many fields of science and technology and representatives of large investment business. So the victory in the competition of startups provides the authors of the best projects with a chance to get investments. And for the winners of Intel-Techno Ukraine (this is the Ukrainian finale of the regional stage of the World Intellectual Property Contest "Intel ISEF", which has been hosted by the world-famous Intel Corporation for more than 50 years) - the opportunity to represent Ukraine at the World Finale of the US Contest in the spring of 2018.
We can’t but mention that the Sikorsky Challenge 2017 startup competition began in April. 213 projects were sent to the competition. After the preliminary selection and training for the final, 63 of them were selected. They will be judged by an authoritative international jury, after which investors' negotiations will take place with representatives of project teams. Authors and authors’ teams of winning projects of this competition will be able to implement their projects in the environment of the Science Park "Kyivska Polytechnica" with the support of grant and venture funds.
Competition "Intel-Techno Ukraine 2017-2018" is a National stage of the International competition of scientific and technical creativity of schoolchildren and is held with the support from the US Embassy in Ukraine. This year it celebrates its anniversary, since it is already the 10th competition. Among 215 projects from 260 authors from 20 regions of Ukraine and Kyiv, which entered the Ukrainian final in six directions (Robotics, Power Engineering, Physics and Astronomy, Computer Science, Mathematics) , "Engineering (Mechanics) and Biomedical, Environmental and Materials Engineering"), the super-finalists of this competition will be identified during the actual festival. They will be able to improve their researches with scientists in the laboratories of KPI and the institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Among the members of the Ukrainian scientific jury there are leading scientists and educators from the scientific and scientific-educational institutions of Ukraine (institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute etc.). During the process of defining the winners jury members will evaluate not only the scientific level of projects, but also the presentation and communication skills of competitors, logical thinking, English language proficiency, independence and completeness of works, as the best of the super-finalists will represent Ukraine at the World Final of the competition "Intel ISEF "In the United States of America in May 2018. However, the finale of the "Intel-Techno Ukraine 2017-2018" competition is not only an exhibition, the presentation of works to the jury and experts and by all means the defining of winners. This is also the "Intellectual Education Academy" for the leaders of school age participants of the competition, the meeting of the contestants with the academicians of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, a thematic excursion to the State Polytechnic Museum of the KPI, scientific experiments demonstrated by the university students at the scientific and experimental sites, the exhibition of children's drawings "Science via the eyes of children", etc. And even the Open Door Day of the KPI, which will be held on October, 12, from 14:00 to 18:00, also at the Center of Culture and Arts of the University.
Before the solemn ceremony of the official opening of the festival its participants and guests had the opportunity to take part in the International Forum of participants of the innovation ecosystem at the Center for Innovative Entrepreneurship of the University. The forum participants discussed the development of Ukraine's innovation ecosystem, the issue of integration of innovations, startups with small and medium enterprises in Ukraine to bring them to international markets, prospects of the development of start-ups, legal issues of intellectual property in the context of the development of start-ups, etc. In addition, those who have gathered at the forum were able to get acquainted with stand presentations of projects selected for the finale of the "Sikorsky Challenge"; the plenary meeting of the forum was finished with signing of a Memorandum on the initiative to create an innovative Dnipro space cluster, the founder of which is the public organization “Cosmichna dolyna”. On behalf of the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute’s Scientific Ecosystem the corresponding signatures were put by their the academician of the NAS of Ukraine, rector of the KPI Myhailo Zgurovskyi, the CEO of the Science Park “Kyivska Polytechnica” Volodymyr Hnat and the director of the “Polyteco ScienceCity” Bogdan Andriytsev; the representative of the “Kosmichna Dolyna” LLC was a member of its Board, the head of the Working Group on the establishment of the Dnipro space cluster Yevhen Rokitskyi. This Memorandum was also signed by the leaders of the Dnipro Development Agency, the Cluster Platform «Polska 3.0», LLC «YUPROMEKS» and other organizations right in the hall of the Center for Innovative Entrepreneurship.
Participants and guests of the festival also had the opportunity to see two exhibitions at the Center of Culture and Arts of the KPI: the projects of school-age participants of the contest "Intel-Techno Ukraine 2016-2017" and projects of schoolchildren participating in the contest of youth innovative projects "Future of Ukraine", the finale of which will be held in November this year.
Announcement of the winners of competitions and the awarding of awards and prizes will take place at the Center of Culture and Arts of the KPI during the solemn closing of the festival on October, 13, at 11-00.
[10-13.10.2017] VІ Festival of innovation projects «Sikorsky Challenge 2017»
In October 10-13, 2017 in terms of National technical university of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv polytechnic institute” VI Festival of innovation projects “Sikorsky Challenge 2017” will start its work.
This is the main and already traditional annual event in the field of innovation of Ukraine. The festival gathers not only projects developers in many fields of science and technology and many representatives of big investment business as well.
The purpose of the festival is to choose the most interesting and the most relevant projects from various fields of technology and to facilitate their authors in commercialization, start-ups creation and bringing innovation products onto national and international markets. Not only recognized experts and grey-headed professors, but also students and school students who are choosing their path in their lives are taking part in the festival.
Within a framework of the Festival are the following:
- Start-up competition (http://www.sikorskychallenge.com);
- «Intel-Techno Ukraine 2017-2018» competition (http://isef.in.ua/o-konkurse/intel-tekhno-ukraina.html);
- Competition exhibition “The future of Ukraine” (http://man.gov.ua/ua/activities/page-677).
Development teams of winning projects of start-up competition will have a chance to realize their projects in the environment of Scientific Park “Kyiv polytechnics” under the assistance of grant and venture funds.
Super finalists of “Intel-Techno Ukraine 2017-2018” competition will be able to improve their developments together with scientists in laboratories of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv polytechnic institute of Ukrainian NAS and the best of them will represent Ukraine in spring 2018 on Worldwide final of the “Intel ISEF” competition in USA.
The winners of the competition will be announced in October, 13.
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