The ninth festival of innovative projects at Kyiv Polytechnic was held on-line: most of the participants from different countries and regions of Ukraine presented the developments remotely in the form of video. But despite the change in format, 34 projects have already found interested investors - Ukrainian and international.
In the finals of the festival, three winning projects were announced, selected by an authoritative international jury (27 well-known innovators from around the world). This is a blanket for babies suffering from jaundice, a virtual classroom and a mosquito repellent system. The last project has attracted the interest of many investors.
"Our company is addressing mosquito bites and the diseases they transmit, such as malaria or yellow fever, as well as the use of mosquito repellent chemicals that lead to climate change. The ecological system , that we have created, imitates humans, attracts mosquitoes and traps them, clearing the area around humans, ”says Anastasiia Romanova, founder of Mosquito Control, about her start-up.
Mosquito Control and Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute signed a memorandum of cooperation: plan to jointly create and integrate into the device sensors that will analyse information about caught mosquitoes. This will create databases that will be useful to physicians and scientists around the world.
Another memorandum of cooperation was signed with energy company Innovation DTEK. The company also found start-ups at the festival, with which it intends to cooperate.
“We were interested in 5 projects. They are related to materials and renewable energy sources, ”comments Emanuele Volpe, Innovation DTEK's Director of Innovation.
The permanent partner of Sikorsky Challenge - the Chinese company Golden Egg Technology - was interested in 7 projects of the festival.
“The projects we have selected are mainly related to materials science, environmental issues and the creation of devices. As for the next steps, we will receive detailed information about each project and send it to our Chinese colleagues. They will analyse the market, give feedback, and if all goes well, we will outline the format of cooperation. These can be, for example, jointly created enterprises or our consulting and promotion on the Chinese market, ”explains Bohdan Andryushchenko, a representative of Golden Egg Technology.
In addition to the competition of start-ups, during the 10 days of the festival, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute hosted three panel discussions on state policy on the development of Ukraine's innovative economy, development of innovation in medical engineering, development of the Ukrainian network of start-up schools. During the discussions, two important memoranda were signed: on cooperation with the Heart Institute in the field of medical engineering and the Zakarpattia region, which became the 14th representative office of the Sikorsky Challenge platform.
“The Sikorsky Challenge is a network that can set an example for all universities and research institutions. The combination of science, education, students and investors works very well here. I would very much like more powerful Ukrainian companies to join and find ideas that will change Ukraine and the world here. The world changes and, primarily, scientific man is changing it. The scientist's contribution to the economy should be influential, ”concludes Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute partner, parliamentarian Serhiy Taruta.