On May 25-26, the Skolkovo Innovation Center will host the 10th international technology conference, Startup Village, where startup founders will meet with mentors and investors, corporations, scientists and public officials from across Russia. This year, the conference will address major challenges facing the Russian technology companies and ranging from import substitution and technological sovereignty to investments in the IT industry and support for startups. Here are some highlights of the forthcoming event.
The anniversary conference held under the motto Rethinking Innovation will focus on the development of technology businesses in Russia through a harmonious dialogue between startups, corporations, scientists, and the authorities. Along with rethinking the innovation agenda, Startup Village’22 aims to identify the technologies that businesses will need in order to survive in the current uncertain environment.
In a bid to help startuppers and developers to embrace the new reality, the participants will discuss some hot-button issues, such as recovering supply chains, dealing with the ESG agenda and human capital flight, speeding up the implementation of research results, and handling data in various industries.
On Wednesday, May 25, Professor of the Practice Dmitry Kulish from the Skoltech Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) will speak at the session Russian Tech. Startup as a Key to Technological Independence on the VEB Ventures Vision stage, where he will share his views about whether new technology businesses will succeed in solving the import substitution problem and whether startups can become the driving force behind a future technological breakthrough.
Skoltech professors Dmitry Lakontsev, Dmitry Dzhurinsky and Alexey Cheremisin will join a panel discussion within the TMK and CEI track Technological Entrepreneurship: Science and Business. Skoltech cases to discuss Skoltech’s case studies on the development and transfer of innovative technologies (moderator − Mikhail Akimov, Head of Investment Analysis at CEI). Shamkhal Dzhabrailov, Head of Industrial Programs Department, Zhanna Turubarova, Head of Industrial Studies, and Irina Gaida from the Project Center for Energy Transition and ESG, will join CEI’s interview session The Role of Technological Entrepreneurship in Addressing Sustainable Development Tasks, where they will present Skoltech’s Sustainable Development Goals Initiative (SDGI), collaborations with industrial partners, and success stories from Skoltech startups that create technology innovations for sustainable development.
On Thursday, May 26, Associate Professor Evgeny Burnaev will join the discussion about the key trends driving the Data Science industry, where he will discuss data handling technologies and their integration in corporate business processes, as well as the impact of Data Fusion on customer relations and the trend’s cross-sectoral relevance on VEB Ventures Vision Stage. Laurent Gentzbittel, Head of the Skoltech Digital Agriculture Laboratory, will participate in the discussion Biotechnology without Borders on the Hyper stage. The speakers will talk about whether biotechnology and society are geared up to address new challenges which, on top of national regulatory boundaries, now include substantial new barriers, such as disrupted logistics and bans on collaborations with Russian scientists. Business Development Director Dmitry Yumashev will talk about the role of entrepreneurs in the commercialization of research results and creation of technology startups at the session Technological Entrepreneurship. Choice of University and Student on the Sphere stage.
The key event on Thursday is a four-hour pitch session where 24 Skoltech startups will appear before the mentors to present their solutions running the gamut from genomic selection for crop farming and blockchain-based microlaser product labeling to 3D bioprinting of medical tissue and development of next-generation post-lithium batteries. The pitch session will include three tracks: student projects, student and alumni startups, and deeptech startups. The mentors will give useful tips on how to effectively set up business processes in the face of uncertainty, increase the investment appeal and scale up projects.
The TMK Junior track will include the Skoltech Mentor Hours session where young technology entrepreneurs will meet with Skoltech professors to get invaluable advice on how to create and develop innovative technologies. The best children’s teams will tour Skoltech’s research and project centers to see with their own eyes how Skoltech researchers create innovative science-intensive technologies.
A session steered by Aleksandr Chekanov, Head of Startup Incubation Programmes at CEI, will address early-stage student entrepreneurial activity at Skoltech, where the participants will discuss educational program modules, student initiatives and programs and join student project pitches.
Startup Village will offer a space for informal communication and networking in a relaxed environment, where real magic happens at such fascinating events.
Contact information:
Skoltech Communications
+7 (495) 280 14 81
