Published on: 2026-07-16
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
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The winners of the Innovation Assistance Fund’s ‘Student Startup’ competition of the University Technology Entrepreneurship Platform for 2026 have become known. This year 26 projects, presented by NSU students will receive a grant of 1 million rubles. This is twice as much as last year and is a record figure for all the years of NSU’s participation in the competition. In total, during the period 2022-2026, 93 student projects from NSU became winners of the competition. In total, 136 participants from the Novosibirsk region will receive grant support, with NSU ranking second in the region by number of winners.
Among the contest winners, the most projects are presented by students Faculty of Economics — 6; in second place Faculty of Natural Sciences — 5. A total of 54 applications were submitted to the competition this year, after the formal examination stage 46 remained, of which 26 projects became winners. Thus, more than 50% of participants won, which is also a historical record for NSU.
Talking about what ensured such high results, Alexey Starostin, the head of the Center for Entrepreneurial Initiatives at NSU, noted that systematic support was organized at all stages of preparation for the competition, starting from informing and ending with individual consultations during the in-person defense phase.
— In January and February, we started an information campaign, held master classes, including a separate master class within our Catalyst accelerator dedicated to how to write an application for the competition. Starting from March, we held weekly events to review projects that had already submitted applications to prepare them for the in-person defense. These events continued until the end of the in-person defense, that is, until the end of May. We discussed with the participants all the main points to pay attention to during the defense, working through them not only in groups but also individually. — commented Alexey Starostin.
— The NSU startup studio — a university venture fund investing in technology projects created with the participation of NSU students and staff, is considering the winners’ projects for further investment, — told (she) Maria Galyamova, general director NSU Startup Studios.
As for the fields affected by the projects, the record holder for the number of winning applications is biotechnology; the theme of using and implementing digital tools, including artificial intelligence, in various areas is also very widely represented.
Please note; This information is raw content received directly from the source. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.