Published on: 2026-09-07
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
At the end of August, the final of the fifth, anniversary season of the regional competition “Technostartup” for schoolchildren of the Novosibirsk region took place at the “Boiling Point — Novosibirsk” venue in Akadempark. The event was held as part of the Siberian Venture Fair — a satellite event of the International Technological Development Forum “Technoprom-2026.” The competition was organized by the regional center “Altair” and the Novosibirsk Regional Innovation Fund. For the first time, the Laboratory of Economics and Business of NSU became an educational partner of the competition, jointly with the Ural Federal University (UrFU) developing a remote educational track on economics and business.
The main goal of the competition is to transform school scientific research ideas into investment-attractive startups ready to enter the real market. This season, 81 teams applied at the application stage. After the remote educational track and the in-person semifinals, 15 of the strongest projects from Novosibirsk and the region’s districts advanced to the final. Students from grades 7 to 11 learned not only to invent but also to create a business model, analyze the target audience, and defend their solutions in front of potential investors.
Contest mission: from science to market
At the opening of the final, the head of the Altair Resource Center Natalia Gornostaeva emphasized that the main goal of “Technostartup” is to teach schoolchildren how to turn ideas into working technologies and present them to investors.
— We want you to find yourself professionally, to learn how to turn ideas into technologies that will be useful in the world of new directions. We always talk about the strategy of scientific-technological and socio-economic development of the region. Our main goal is to convey to you: today it is great to engage in science, and science can be explored through technology., — said Natalia Gornostaeva.
Elena Yarkova, a methodologist at the Altair RC, explained that the competition addresses an important problem: scientists often create breakthrough technologies in laboratories but cannot commercialize them due to a lack of entrepreneurial skills.
— We are trying to teach schoolchildren to do exactly this. Technostartup comes from the word “technology”: each child in the project has a scientific basis, they have developed something, applied a high-tech solution. And “Technostartup” allows these children, who have done something scientific, to work out a marketing scheme and enter the market with a finished product. Sometimes even on the market, — explained Elena Yarkova.
Organizers and partners
The “Technostartup” competition takes place within the framework of the Siberian Venture Fair, with “Altair” and the Novosibirsk Regional Innovation Fund acting as the competition organizers.
— The event is held in collaboration with the Regional Center “Altair”: colleagues work with children. We provide trackers to support the projects, a venue for the final, and involve partners, — said Ivan Kubanov, Program Director of “Boiling Point — Novosibirsk,” representative of the Novosibirsk Regional Innovation Fund.
According to Ivan, the anniversary season was bright: industrial partners were invited, who awarded the participants with commemorative gifts.
— It is wonderful that such events take place not only at the level of adult teams and students but also for school learners. This is 100% a small brick in the foundation of technological sovereignty, the future of innovation and Russia. If one of the 15 final teams eventually grows into a large adult company, it will be a great success, — noted Ivan Kubanov.
Educational track: video lectures from NSU and UrFU
The first stage of the competition was a two-month remote educational track, overseen by the Laboratory of Economics and Business. Video lectures were recorded for participants: four by the Laboratory (with the support of the Advanced Engineering School (AES) of NSU) and four by UrFU. The lectures were accompanied by assignments on the platform — in total about 10 tasks that the schoolchildren completed after each lesson.
Head of the Laboratory of Economics and Business Dmitry Markov noted that this was the first experience of organizing such a remote course.
— This is my first experience with such remote education: you record video lectures in the basement of the studio, in the dark, and send them out into the universe of the internet. Then schoolchildren come and present their projects, speaking in the language that the lecturer conveyed to them. I felt a truly creative joy, delight at the fact that remote technologies work and allow achieving such interesting results. Traditional lectures are dying—a dead format without interaction, — shared Dmitry Markov.
The Advanced Engineering School of NSU played a special role in preparing the video content, providing its studio for recording free of charge. The quality of the video lectures turned out to be so high that in August the AES requested a continuation — Dmitry Markov recorded another full course for schoolchildren lasting about five hours.
The partnership with UrFU also did not happen by chance. As __MIL_ATTR_TOKEN_1__ said Daniil Filippov, head of the technology entrepreneurship department at the Ural Federal University, the acquaintance took place at ‘Technoprom’ last year.
— In January 2026, Dmitry flew to Sirius for a week and mentored all 20 of our projects during the Ural project session: he provided templates and worked on efficiency calculations. That’s how we met and realized that we have common competencies and an interest in collaboration. We gladly took advantage of the experience and methodology of Novosibirsk State University, — Daniil Filippov said.
UrFU was responsible for two blocks of the educational program: the CustDev (Customer Development) methodology according to Steve Blank — how to understand the target audience, conduct in-depth interviews, and formulate the consumer properties of the future solution; and market research — studying the market using the SAM/SOM methodology, so that students would understand how much money is in the market and whether people are willing to pay for a solution to their problem.
Daniil Filippov also noted that there were few projects with artificial intelligence this season, and in his opinion, this is a good sign.
“— This time there are few projects with AI, and that’s cool. The schoolchildren focused more on real engineering and technological solutions rather than trendy topics,” emphasized the representative of UrFU.
From semifinals to finals: mentoring and protection
After the educational track, students who successfully completed all the tasks were invited to the semifinal, which took place on June 23 at Tochka Kipeniya. According to Dmitry Markov, out of 81 applications, about 30 teams made it to the semifinal. The geography of the participants was impressive: students from remote villages in the region traveled up to 10 hours to Novosibirsk to perform a three-minute pitch.
Based on the results of the semifinal, 20 teams were selected, who then worked with trackers — experienced mentors building businesses in the startup sphere — for two months. Four trackers, with five teams each, conducted eight individual sessions with each team, developing the business models of the projects. The teams created solutions in smart agriculture, eco-friendly energy, personalized medicine, and artificial intelligence.
The final defense took place on August 29 at the ‘Boiling Point — Novosibirsk’ venue. Fifteen teams reached the final. They presented their projects before an expert jury with the participation of industrial partners.
— The level of economic literacy and thinking among schoolchildren this season has increased by an order of magnitude compared to last year. We managed to create a cool, effective educational product, — noted Dmitry Markov.
Winners and prize-winners
Following the defense, the jury determined the winners. First place was taken by the Novosibirsk team “Ya tak vizhu” (I See It This Way), which developed the AI assistant Vedi, automatically correcting markup errors to make websites accessible for visually impaired users. Second place went to the AgroIgnite team from the Vengerovsky district—they proposed a technology for producing fire starter briquettes from recycled corn residues. Third place was awarded to the Dovolenskaya team AeroGrow for a smart automation system for aeroponic installations.
For many participants, the competition became a point of professional self-determination. Lev Zaitsev (MBOU “Novosibirsk Classical Gymnasium No. 17”) and Maria Doneva (MBOU School No. 187) from the “TechnoAgro” team are determined to continue pursuing techno-entrepreneurship in the future.
— We became passionate about the idea of continuing it and improving it. We really enjoyed engaging in tech entrepreneurship, and we plan to enter the market in the future, — the guys shared.
And some are more focused on scientific and technological activities.
— For personal experience, we needed to try ourselves in projects because our goal is to participate in the International Scientific and Technological Projects Competition “Big Challenges.” And “Technostartup” became a great leap to start. The entire program was new discoveries, new information, very informative. I learned how to work with text and presentations — this will be very useful to me in the future. — she told Ekaterina Mikhailova, a student at MKOU Vengerovskaya Secondary School No. 1, whose team developed an automated mini-greenhouse for growing greens.
The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Governor of the Novosibirsk Region Irina Manuilova. She highly appreciated the level of detail in the solutions.
— Your projects have shown a high level of readiness for the second year: you do not lag behind students and adult participants in your ideas and approaches. The most important thing that distinguishes you is that you are not afraid to implement your idea and your dream. You find a task where others see only problems and shortcomings, and you offer a solution. Believe in your idea, believe in your dreams — and they will surely come true, — said Irina Manuylova.
The organizers plan to reformat the competition into a larger, systematic story. Already in September–October, it is planned to attract industry partners with their real challenges, forming a pool of problematic situations that students will solve within the competition.
“Previously, schoolchildren simply invented solutions from scratch. Now we want them to work on real business requests. This is true tech entrepreneurship,” Dmitry Markov concluded.
Reference
The Laboratory of Economics and Business is a public educational organization supported by the Faculty of Economics of Novosibirsk State University. The Laboratory was created as an open platform for the development of economic thinking, entrepreneurial competencies, and the practical application of knowledge in the fields of economics and business.
The Laboratory’s activities involve faculty members from the Economics Department of NSU, as well as students and university graduates. The Laboratory’s team brings together representatives from academia and practitioners to create educational projects, develop project-based thinking, and establish a sustainable link between university education and the real economy.
One of the key areas of activity of the Laboratory is the popularization of economic knowledge among schoolchildren and students, the development of skills in analysis, modeling, and creating their own projects. The Laboratory acts as an organizer and partner of educational programs, competitions, project schools, and events aimed at shaping a new generation of entrepreneurs, researchers, and managers.
The Laboratory of Economics and Business is a partner of Novosibirsk State University in the development of the entrepreneurial and project environment, a partner of the NSU Startup Studio, and also collaborates with leading educational and technological platforms, including the Ural Federal University and the RC “Altair”.
The head of the Laboratory of Economics and Business, Dmitry Markov, is the author and instructor of the NSU university-wide course “Fundamentals of Economics and Business,” aimed at developing students’ systemic understanding of economics as a language for describing reality, fostering project thinking, and the ability to apply economic models for analysis and creating new solutions.
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