RESULTS OF THE AUTUMN SESSION OF THE “INNOVATION PROJECTS BOOSTER-2025” PROGRAM: 12 TEAMS, 30 PARTICIPANTS, DOZENS OF IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE

We are summing up the results of the “Innovation Projects Booster – 2025” Incubation Program (Autumn Session), which has become an important milestone in the development of academic entrepreneurship and in supporting innovative teams in Ukraine and beyond. The program is implemented within the framework of the project “Academ.City Startup School – an Innovative Ecosystem for the Development of Academic Startups of the NAS of Ukraine Research Institutions.”

From September 17 to October 17, 2025, thirty graduates from twelve scientific teams representing research, educational, entrepreneurial, and public institutions and organizations across Ukraine gained valuable experience in preparing business presentations, conducting market research and financial planning, promoting their projects for grant and investment opportunities, and developing roadmaps.

Throughout the program, six online training sessions, more than thirty-five consultations, and a demo day with online pitches from twelve teams were held. The participants presented high-quality visualizations of their projects and demonstrated the knowledge and skills acquired during the program.

This Booster season reached the international level — Polish researchers from Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin joined the program, presenting three projects on the production of clay- and amber-based composites for the cosmetics and food industries, which show strong potential in global, European, and Ukrainian markets.

During the program, cross-team (interdisciplinary) collaborations were formed, which may serve as a foundation for launching new international scientific and innovative projects.

Consultations and training sessions were conducted by leading experts from the Academ.City project, Kyiv Academic University, National University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy,” and Kyiv School of Economics, specializing in innovation project management, R&D, grant application preparation, and pitch presentation development.

All team members who participated in the demo day or submitted their updated presentations received certificates of professional development from Kyiv Academic University.

We express our sincere gratitude to all participants, trainers, and experts for their active involvement and contribution to the development of Ukrainian science and the national innovation ecosystem, and we invite everyone to join our upcoming events.

The program was implemented as part of the experimental project of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in cooperation with the Innovation Development Fund to establish a network of startup schools — incubators — accelerators based at higher education and research institutions.