On 12 and 13 October, the "Create a Startup in Six Steps" entrepreneurial skills training sessions were held at the SPbGASU Educational Center for Project-Based Learning. More than 120 students from all faculties and year levels of our university took part, forming 20 teams.
Over the course of two days, participants went through the key stages of building a startup—from generating ideas and forming teams to developing a minimum viable product (MVP) and presenting their projects in a pitch session. The students put their knowledge into practice, honed their teamwork and presentation skills, and received feedback from experts.
Over the course of two days, the teams received support from experts in the field of technology entrepreneurship. Among the mentors were Yulia Lenyuk—a developer for the "Priority-2030: Far East" federal project, business coach, and social entrepreneur—and Olga Nagaychuk, a business tracker and senior tracker who has organized over 20 acceleration programs. Nagaychuk also specializes in preparing grant applications and pitches for the "Student Startup" program; more than 60 participants she has mentored have gone on to win the competition.
As a result of their work, the students presented projects for the construction, architectural, and social sectors. These include "Square Meter" — an AI-powered plugin that accelerates the preparation of technical drawings in compliance with GOST standards; "4K" — a structural quality control system utilizing an electrically conductive additive; and "NORDA" — an AI platform for monitoring construction costs. Additionally, the teams developed a robot equipped with an AI assistant, a solution for autonomous navigation within complex university campuses, and a project called "Tangible" — tactile models of historical buildings designed for museums and inclusive programs.
Entrepreneurial competency training sessions are conducted as part of the University Technological Entrepreneurship Platform. Launched by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation in 2022, the platform aims to unlock the entrepreneurial potential of young people and train professionals in the field of technological entrepreneurship. It is a component of the "Technologies" federal project, which is part of the "Efficient and Competitive Economy" national project.
Training sessions will be back at SPbGASU in the spring semester!
