INTERHEI FOOD AND HEALTH INNOVATORS UKRAINE!

The call for Ukrainian students and startups/spin-off companies for the InterHEI Food and Health Innovators Ukraine program is open!

We are pleased to announce that the call for applications for the Student Training and Mentoring Program for Startups/Spin-Offs is now open! If you are a student with a startup idea or interest in the food and healthcare industries, or a representative of a startup or spin-off company in the relevant field at an early stage of development and want to accelerate your growth, take advantage of this opportunity and apply for the InterHEI Food and Health Innovators Ukraine support program now!

InterHEI Food and Health Innovators Ukraine is a two-part training, mentoring, and acceleration program:

– The first part of the program (mentoring and training) aims to provide a Design Thinking training course for students and representatives of higher education institutions to help participants better understand design thinking as an approach to solving complex problems and creating innovations in the food and healthcare industry. In parallel to the training, the program will provide support to early-stage startups and spin-offs related to relevant agri-food and health systems.

– The second part of the program offers acceleration for the best startups (including those that will be created as a result of training during the first part of the program) that are interested in creating competitive innovative companies. Participants will gain practical skills on the latest food and medical technologies and research trends, enabling them to showcase the program’s results during the Demo Day with industry experts, partners and program finalists.

WHO CAN APPLY?

The InterHEI Food and Health Innovators Ukraine Design Thinking course is aimed at training Ukrainian students who have ideas for startups in the food and healthcare sector, are studying in the relevant specialties or are interested in research in this area.

The competition for start-ups and spin-off companies is aimed at supporting early-stage companies working in one of the EIT Food innovation focus areas (please see the full list HERE) or in health-related fields such as dietary supplements, nutraceuticals and food safety.

Students and participating startup/spin-off companies do not pay tuition fees.

For more information, please download the brochure on the student and startup/spin-off support program from InterHEI Food and Health Innovators Ukraine, which describes the detailed aspects of the program.

TIMELINE

The InterHEI Food and Health Innovators Ukraine student training and startup/spin-off support program will begin in August 2023. Applications will be accepted from June 30 to July 21, 2023 inclusive. The organizers may extend the deadline at their discretion.

How to participate?

IF YOU ARE A STARTUP:

Before applying, please note:

• You can fill out this form ONLY as a registered legal entity (startup/spin-off company) or an early-stage individual entrepreneur, or you commit to registering before the end of the program.
• Only companies that are officially registered and operate in Ukraine are eligible to participate in the InterHEI Food and Health Innovators Ukraine program.
• In order to apply for the InterHEI Food and Health Innovators Ukraine program, your company’s core business must be in one of the EIT Food innovation areas, including protein diversification, circular food systems, digital traceability, sustainable agriculture, sustainable aquaculture, and targeted nutrition. Or be related to healthcare innovations, such as dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, food safety.
• You need to choose the types of support your startup/spin-off company needs.
• Priority will be given to start-ups/spin-off companies where at least one of the co-founders works for an academic organization (university or research institute).
• Priority will be given to start-ups/spin-off companies from Ukrainian organizations participating in the InterHEI project, namely Lviv Polytechnic National University Science Park, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Science Park, Vacuum Deep Tech Accelerator, Ukrainian Startup Fund, Lviv Polytechnic National University and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
• The support will be provided for at least two months. Therefore, the owner/founder/director of a startup/spin-off must confirm his/her readiness to participate in the support program for the entire two-month period.
• All support services will be provided in Ukrainian.
• The organizers reserve the right to change the set hours and types of services.

IF YOU ARE A STUDENT:

Join the InterHEI Food and Health Innovators Ukraine program today!

You can apply for the program from June 30 to July 21.

For more information on the details of the program:

– on student training, please contact: Anastasia Kovtun ([email protected]), Aleksandrova Polina ([email protected])
– on startup/spin-off support, please contact: Evelina Komarnytska ([email protected]).

InterHEI Food and Health Innovators Ukraine is implemented by Lviv Polytechnic National University Science Park, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Science Park and Vacuum Deep Tech Accelerator in partnership with the Ukrainian Startup Fund, Lviv Polytechnic National University and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

InterHEI Food and Health Innovators Ukraine is a part of the InterHEI project, a pan-European consortium implementing the Interdisciplinary Program for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship in Higher Education. InterHEI, led by the University of Warsaw, brings together consortium partners from Greece, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine, providing high-quality knowledge and best practices in the field of nutrition and health.