An acceptance of applications from students for a grant of 1 million rubles for the creation of startups within the framework of a new federal project “Platform of University Technological Entrepreneurship” has started. Students of universities of the Republic of Tatarstan can also take part in the federal project. The first wave of applications for the Student Startup competition will last until April 11, 2022.
The selection of projects will take place in seven thematic areas. These are digital technologies, medicine and health-saving technologies, chemical technologies and new materials, new devices and intelligent manufacturing technologies, biotechnologies, resource-saving energy and creative industries.
Participation in the competition will be open to students studying undergraduate, specialty, master’s and postgraduate programmes who are ready to develop a new product, technology or service with the potential for commercialization on the basis of their own scientific and technical and scientific and technological research. A university student who has received a grant will have to register a legal entity, develop a business plan and a startup website.
According to world statistics, every fourth startup, that is, a quarter of all those launched, is born at universities. In Russia, this figure is only three percent. The main objective of the federal project will be to stimulate the development of youth entrepreneurship.
“This year, one thousand students will be able to receive grants. The size of each will be 1 million rubles. In the future, we will expand the number of grant recipients. In 2023, we plan to support 1.5 thousand students, and in 2024 - about 2 thousand university students. The government of the country will allocate 4.5 billion rubles for these purposes by 2024,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
He added that 15 pilot university startup studios and 20 entrepreneurial “hotspots” will be created this year. In total, 5.2 billion rubles will be allocated from the federal budget for the implementation of the federal project this year.
In addition to grants, aspiring entrepreneurs will also be able to receive support in the form of an annual academic leave, which they will be able to spend on the development of a business idea. At the same time, a project can be implemented either alone or in a team.
The organizers of the competition are the Ministry of Education and Science together with the Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE), VEB.RF. Winners of the first wave of application selection are planned to be announced in May, and contracts will be signed with them in the same month. Detailed information can be found on the competition website.
