The aim of the initiative is to discover new, innovative ideas, to encourage entrepreneurship, to foster the emergence of innovative ideas from the university and to promote regional cooperation. Startup Campus University also aims to provide closer collaboration between large companies, universities and investors.
“One of the keys to economic competitiveness is the extent to which we can exploit the innovations of national and regional universities and students and how we can market these ideas. At present, all the conditions for launching a successful business are available, there is nothing left to to than to make these ideas discoverable," said Zsolt Kovács, Managing Director of Enterprise Hungary.
In addition to Hungarians, students from the following countries can apply for the competition: Croatia, Austria, Romania, Ukraine, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia.
Following the online application period, 16 student teams selected by the professional jury will take part in a two-day training (bootcamp) in Budapest, where they can build on their business strategy and prepare for pre-investor trainings with professional mentors. The best 8 teams from the bootcamp will be chosen to proceed to the finals in Vienna.
The 8 finalist teams will get one step closer to attaining the Hiventures’ €30.000 incubation investment offer, following the training session. The winning team will have the chance to receive an investment of up to €500.000 by the jury of international investors.
The final will take place on 24-25 May 2018, as part of the Pioneers startup event in Vienna.
The official language of the program is English.
Patron of the Startup Campus University Program is József Pálinkás, president of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office Hungary.
Application form: http://startupcampus.hu/scu/
Application deadline: 2018 - March 31, 2018
Partners: Pioneers, Hiventures, EH Invest, Zyntern, Incube, National Research, Development and Innovation Office Hungary.
About the Startup Campus Program:
Enterprise Hungary Nonprofit Ltd. launched the Startup Campus University-based incubation program with the support of the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office. Its goal is to create an „innovation acceleration system” to support and sustain national universities, research centers and utilize the untapped innovation potential of R&D projects in rural areas. Since its inception in 2015, Startup Campus has launched additional innovative business incentive programs.
The two main pillars of the Startup Campus Program:
-
University Incubation ProgramHelping young Hungarian innovators to develop their entrepreneurial skills and broaden their business knowledge. One of its subprograms is Startup Campus London at the Imperial College in London, which encourages the young Hungarian diaspora residing in the United Kingdom to develop their innovative entrepreneurial skills. Participants receive professional trainings that cover the most important topics of entrepreneurship, such as team design, target audience identification, market segregation, business model building, and pitching techniques.
-
Soft Landing Program
Offering speedy and efficient global validation for CEE startups, primarily from the V4 region – Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland – by acting as a ‘talent agency’ for startups. Startup Campus serves as a matchmaker for talented startups by connecting them with relevant investors and business partners, building bridges with international markets.Under the soft landing program, local partners, international programs and their own offices can represent startup teams on a permanent basis, not just an event or brief introduction. Following the launch of the Berlin Program in 2017, the program is also planned to spread to London, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Singapore, and more.