HSE Students Receive Grants for Launching Startups
Following the results of the 5th round of the ‘Student Startup’ competition, 32 HSE University students emerged as winners. Twelve students submitted applications in the ‘H1. Digital Technologies’ category with the support of the Faculty of Computer Science Entrepreneurs Club.
The Student Start-up programme is implemented by the Innovation and Science Promotion Foundation as part of the ‘Platform of University Technological Entrepreneurship’ federal project. The programme aims to provide grant support for startup projects created by students of Russian universities.
In 2022, the foundation selected 1,000 winners, and in 2023, 1,500. By the end of 2024, another 2,000 technology entrepreneurs will receive a grant of 1 million roubles to launch their business projects. This significant support allows young innovators to bring their ideas to life and contribute to the development of technology and the Russian economy.
This year, the number of applications has increased significantly, indicating a high level of student interest in technological entrepreneurship. The main selection criteria were project innovativeness, viability, and commercialisation potential. To ensure that all the submitted works were evaluated objectively, the jury included experts in various fields of science and business.
Twelve students among the winners of the Student Startup competition received the support of the FCS Entrepreneurs Club:
keepfood—Victoria Shchur, first-year student of the Software Engineering Bachelor’s Programme, Faculty of Computer Science;
Chitch—Ilya Prosyanoy, first-year student of the Bachelor's Programme in Computing and Data Science, Faculty of Computer Science;
A digital advertising agency specialising in the development of business and brand strategies, technological and creative innovations, and supervision— Sofia Tereshko, second-year student of the Faculty of Creative Industries;
Astar Grid cluster computing system—Ksenia Tusheva, third-year student of the Faculty of Economic Sciences;
‘many factory’ HR platform for talent search within a company and career recommendations using AI—Dmitry Dergunov, second-year student of the Bachelor's Programme in Applied Mathematics and Information Science, Faculty of Computer Science;
Methodology for fuzzing testing of RISC-V architecture—Egor Zheliba, third-year student of the Bachelor's Programme in Software Engineering, Faculty of Computer Science;
Plain software for automation of landscaping projects with the help of AI—Artem Novotochin, first-year student of the Master's Programme in Data Science, Faculty of Computer Science;
SkillPortal—an LMS platform for creating and promoting CPD courses—Andrey Vasilkov, second-year student of the Bachelor's Programme in Data Science and Business Analytics, Faculty of Computer Science;
InvestSymphony—Oleg Kurilov, fourth-year student of the Bachelor's Programme in Applied Mathematics and Information Science, Faculty of Computer Science;
‘Gallery of Life’—an online platform for creating family history photo books using AI—Vladislav Ovcharov, first-year student of the Software Engineering Bachelor’s Programme, Faculty of Computer Science;
NanimAI—a web service for conducting interviews using AI and virtual avatars—Timofey Valov, fourth-year student of the Software Engineering Bachelor’s Programme, Faculty of Computer Science;
StudHub event aggregator for students—Tengir Sangadzhiev, first-year student of the Software Engineering Bachelor’s Programme, Faculty of Computer Science.
Irina Plisetskaya, Deputy Dean of the HSE Faculty of Computer Science
— For several years, the faculty has been actively fostering student entrepreneurship. The success of FCS students in the Student Startup grant competition highlights the quality of our efforts. We are committed to ensuring that students feel confident participating in such contests and know where to seek advice and support. The FCS Entrepreneurs Club, established by the FCS Centre for Practices, Project Work and Entrepreneurship, serves as a hub for these activities. I wish the winners every success with their ventures! For those who missed the application deadline or were considering it, don't miss out next time; we are here to support you.
Victoria Shchur, creator of the keepfood startup, first-year student of the Software Engineering Bachelor’s Programme
— The team and I have been working on the project for quite a while now. We're planning to put most of the grant towards marketing and getting the word out. It is fantastic that young and ambitious teams can now receive this support.
Timofey Valov, creator of the NanimAI stratup, fourth-year student of the Software Engineering Bachelor’s Programme
— NanimAI is a service for video conversations using virtual avatars. The service will be useful for job seekers to train before a real job interview, as well as for employers to interview candidates for entry-level positions. The team is now ready to work. This project is technically more complicated than HiBye, which we launched earlier, but its market potential is much higher. HR-tech is actively growing, and we are entering the right niche at the right time.
Ksenia Tusheva, creator of Astar Grid cluster computing system, third-year student of the Faculty of Economic Sciences
— Grant support is particularly important for technical projects, where it is difficult to secure initial investments, and the prototype requires funding. I would advise future participants of the Student Startup competition not to postpone their application until the last moment, as the platform may crash at any time. Take everything into your own hands; this is a great opportunity to develop your project. Do not forget about deadlines, and believe in your idea and in yourself!
See also:
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Applications Now Open for Winter HSE Startup Cup 2022
The HSE University Business Incubator has started accepting applications for the HSE Startup Cup. The competition, which is being held for the fourth time, has become a large-scale event for the best student startups from all of the university’s campuses. Participants of the competition have the opportunity to launch a startup and receive financing for their projects.
First University Startup Fest Held at HSE St. Petersburg
On June 24 – 28, HSE University – St. Petersburg hosted the International University Startups & Spin-Offs Festival (HSE Fest), which brings together students from across the world to pitch their startups for a one-time chance to win grants that will help them take their projects to the next level.
International Teams to Compete at HSE SPb Startup Festival
On June 24-28, HSE University – St Petersburg will be hosting HSE Fest, an international festival featuring university startups. 22 teams from 10 countries, including the HSE SPb team, ‘Sphere’, will be competing for grants in support of tech startups.
‘Don’t Be Afraid to Try’: What You Can Learn at the HSE Business Incubator
The HSE Business Incubator works as a business accelerator, helping start-ups raise investment through a network of business angels, mentors and partners. The incubator is open not only to HSE students and graduates, but also for other startuppers. Below is some information on the programmes it offers, as well as about some common mistakes startuppers should try to avoid.
500 mln
rubles in investments were raised over the last year by startups that are part of the HSE Business Incubator. The head of the HSE Business Incubator, Mikhail Erman, reported this figure during the Tekhnoprom forum in Novosibirsk, Russia.
HSE to Help Develop Legislature to Boost Technology Entrepreneurship
Artem Kritsyn, Manager of regional programmes and projects at the HSE Business Incubator, now heads the Working Group to Involve Secondary and Higher School Students in Entrepreneurship. The Working Group was created in October 2017 by the Expert Council on the Development of Civil Education and Student Socialization under the State Duma Committee for Education and Science. The Working Group also includes Tatyana Stroganova, Head of the HSE Innovation and Enterprise Office.
International Accelerator Invests in HSE Student Project
Dolphin Blockchain Intelligence, a Russian startup that graduated from the second intake of the fintech startup accelerator HSE{Pro}Fintech, was evaluated by Startupbootcamp, an international accelerator in Amsterdam at EUR 6 million and was given both investment and consulting assistance.
Winners of Startup of the Year Competition Selected
On February 19, the award ceremony for the 2015 Startup of the Year competition was held at Moscow’s Digital October Centre. Nearly 300 applications were submitted for the competition from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. Twelve of the best projects made it to the finals in four main categories, as well as in a special category called ‘People’s Love.’ The winning teams included students and alumni of the Higher School of Economics.