In the conditions of growing competition and the need for innovative solutions, the student accelerator of South Ural State University is becoming increasingly significant and relevant.
The SUSU acceleration program is aimed at creating a list of technological startup projects in the Chelyabinsk Region to ensure our country’s sovereignty through the interaction of student teams, companies, business experts and potential investors. In a short period of time, teams of students develop and present projects that could become the future of the market, changing people's lives for the better.
Adviser to the SUSU Rector for Technological Entrepreneurship Dmitriy Kozlenkov spoke about plans for the development of a new acceleration program.
–Could you please tell us how the new accelerator program differs from previous ones?
– Fundamental differences in the structure of the program are not planned this year. However, we are constantly working to improve the quality of the program. This applies to both the content of educational modules and the forms of events. We also strive to attract even more interesting and professional speakers and experts. We will do our best to make the program as interesting and useful as possible for students.
– How can students implement their projects? What do they need to do this?
– As part of the student accelerator, several tracks will be presented for participants: for those who already have a ready-made idea, for those who can formulate it while participating in the program, as well as a track for working on the tasks of the accelerator partners. Thus, everyone who is interested in entrepreneurship and is ready to be active has the opportunity to participate. And we'll teach you the rest!
– Last time we discussed the issue of a startup club for accelerator participants. How is the work going?
– The SUSU Startup Club continues to operate. Now we have paid special attention to preparing an application for a student startup grant. Together with the students we discuss ideas, try to improve their projects, and involve the necessary experts. In addition, we held several helpful meetings, for example, on the topic of public speaking and measures to support start-up entrepreneurs. The students also developed the club logo on their own and soon it will appear on various items: T-shirts, sweatshirts, caps. In general, the work is in full swing, but at the same time I would like to remind you that the doors of the club are open to all those interested in entrepreneurship.
– Please tell us, in your opinion, what points should a winning project have? So that the students understand in which direction they need to move.
– First of all, the project must solve a specific problem, or a pain of sorts. This will further influence the demand and, accordingly, the profits. It is also important that the project is relevant in terms of the technologies used. And the third component is the team. It is very difficult to work on a startup alone, so having a great team is also very important. And, probably, the last thing I would note is the interest in projects at the intersection of different sciences and fields of knowledge. For example, IT and medicine or robots and agriculture.