KHARKOV TECHNOLOGIES

CENTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

First stage of the joint project “Kharkiv Innovation Platform”

In the end of June, 2013 Civil Research and Development Foundation /СRDF Global/ in partnership with the Ukrainian State Agency for Science, Innovation and Informatization completed implementation of the First stage of the joint project “Kharkiv Innovation Platform”.

The aim of this project was development of human resource potential in the field of science commercialization and technology transfer, assistance in promoting competitive Ukrainian innovation technologies to domestic and international markets. The project was implemented on the base of the “Kharkiv Technologies” Center (www.kt.kharkov.ua).

The project was designed for all interested specialists, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, inventors and developers who were invited to take part in either of the two training courses of the Commercialization Pathfinder Program developed by the University of Texas IC2 Institute. Both Innovation Readiness trainings were offered entirely online.

1. Skill Development Training for Technology Transfer Professionals (Train-the-Trainer Program) has been developed to train in-country technology commercialization professionals to become certified mentors and trainers.

In general 15 participants took part in the first training course; four of them were selected and involved as mentors into the second training course along with the trainers from the IC2 Institute.

2. Entrepreneurship Development Training Course was designed for IC2 scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and inventors who were interested in commercializing their innovation ideas and technologies.

50 Ukrainian specialists took part in the second course. 36 participants completed successfully full set of the training modules and received the certificate of completion from the IC2 Institute of The University of Texas at Austin. The best program participants were selected for two-day intensive Entrepreneurship Development Bootcamp where they worked with their mentors on polishing their business models and presentation pitches. The two-day training bootcamp followed by the Business Pitch Competition judged by a panel of experts and culminated in selection of three winners.

The Business Pitch Competition winners – Oksana Davidovich (Technical Mechanics Institute of NASU-NSAU, Dnipropetrovsk), Oleksij Kuleshov (A.Usikov Institute for Radiophysics and Electronics of NASU, Kharkiv) and Dmytro Malahov (founder of developer’s company AppevoStudio, Kyiv) were awarded with travel grant for business trip to USA aimed at meeting potential investors and promoting their technologies to international market.

The second stage of the Project – Creation of the e-resource “Kharkiv Innovation Platform” will be implemented independently by the Kharkov Technologies Center and will be designed as the instrument for joining efforts of science, education, business and the state aimed at creation of conditions for science commercialization, raising qualification of technology transfer specialists, attracting investments for innovations.