Participants of the reporting presentation. Photos provided by academ.media

On 4 March, representatives of EDIH Kyiv HiTech took part in a presentation on the project ‘Startup School Academ.City – an innovative ecosystem for the development of academic startups at scientific institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine’, organised by the Innovation Centre of Kyiv Academic University in a mixed format.

As part of the block of speeches by invited speakers from EDIH Kyiv HiTech, Lesya Sobolevska, coordinator of EDIH Kyiv HiTech and project manager of the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance, took the floor. She presented a report entitled ‘EDIH as an element of the regional innovation ecosystem and cluster interaction,’ in which she spoke about the possibilities for scaling scientific developments, the role of cluster cooperation, and the integration of Ukrainian innovations into the European technological space. During the presentation, the opportunities offered by European Digital Innovation Hubs to support digital transformation and the development of innovative teams were also presented.

Olga Sokolova, Head of the Industrial and Cluster Policy Department of the Industry, Entrepreneurship and Investment Department of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, which is an associate partner of EDIH KyivHiTech, presented a report entitled ‘The Role of the Innovation Ecosystem in the Smart Specialisation of the Region,’ dedicated to the development of regional innovation ecosystems and their role in shaping the economic specialisation of regions.

During the reporting part of the event, the organisers presented the results of the project implementation and key initiatives aimed at supporting academic entrepreneurship. In particular, Volodymyr Nochvay, Head of the Virtual Centre for Digital Innovation and Head of Internationalisation at EDIH Kyiv HiTech.

Participants presented the results of the BOOSTER incubation programme, the BE FIRST hackathon, the JoinNOW idea exchange, as well as case studies of academic start-ups Smart Materials, AIREST, DPP Chain and other innovative projects.

During the event, special attention was paid to intellectual property issues and tools for commercialising scientific results. The event ended with an open discussion and networking between representatives of state institutions, universities, scientific institutions, and startup teams.