Innovative start of the new academic year: Cooperation with the YEP network and development of Startup culture

An important global trend in recent years is that entrepreneurship continues to grow worldwide in a variety of forms including startups. In the current economic conditions, Ukraine needs to intensify entrepreneurial activity, support startup culture and develop ideas. This is one of the fundamental prerequisites for technological renewal and innovative development of the country in general.

Keeping pace with the time trends the Production and Investment Management Department has been supporting the implementation of projects and startups of our students for three years. All-Ukrainian competition of student projects "FROM IDEA TO SUCCESS" held by the department proves the relevance and creativity of approaches to the development of ideas. Analyzing the challenges of the presence the department decided to become a participant of the Project "Entrepreneurial University" from the network of academic startup incubators YEP and to introduce a new educational course for masters "Innovative Entrepreneurship and Startup Project Management" into the Masters’ Program "Management of Investment Activities and International Projects". During the first semester of the 2020-2021 academic year within the discipline "International Programs and Grants" students will create their own projects and submit them to the competition of startups from YEP. Currently, the possibility of priority selection of projects from students of our university in the annual competition "FROM IDEA TO SUCCESS" is being agreed. This will provide a basis for the implementation of ideas into business through better presentation of projects, attracting funding, either from investors or through international donors and grant programs.

Head of the Department Professor Lidiia V. Shynkaruk and Associate Professor Iryna M. Tytarchuk became participants of the training which was held on August 26-28 for 80 universities of Ukraine. The program reviewed by colleagues from Estonia, the United States and Israel, is supported by numerous partners and the state - the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

The best teams of universities represented in the competition of startups from YEP will have a chance to receive individual mentoring support from YEP, Diya.Biznes, Ukrainian Startup Fund, Cisco, OKKO, Genesis, reactor.ua, TechUkraine and other project partners.

Cooperation with the YEP Project, in addition to the implementation of the course, involves the signing of a memorandum, participation in seminars and workshops, as well as the organization of joint activities for masters in "Management of Investment Activities and International Projects".

We thank the university management for supporting the initiative of cooperation between the Production and Investment Management Department and the Project "Entrepreneurial University" from the YEP network.

Iryna Tytarchuk,
Associate Professor of the Production
and Investment Management Department

Translated by
Kateryna Alekseieva