SumDU hosted the seminar “Opportunities for Development of Startup and Small Business Ideas in the Sumy Community”. The event brought together scientists and students, city officials, and business experts to find practical solutions for developing local innovation.

Technical stability as basis for innovation

Andrii PIVEN (coordinator of the New Generation Startup Center) presented an updated infrastructure for development of startup projects, which ensures a continuous innovation process even in face of security and energy challenges.

Thanks to SumDU participation in the experimental project “Creating a Network of Startup Schools, Incubators, and Accelerators within Higher Education and Research Institutions”, the startup center will be supplied with:

• Autonomous 24/7 power (EcoFlow and Starlink units);
• Powerful ASUS TUF F17 graphics servers for complex calculations;
• Modern equipment for video conferencing;
• Prototyping equipment (3D scanner and printer).

In addition, the university provides safe workplaces directly in shelters, allowing teams to work even in difficult conditions.

Project portfolio and success stories

In 2025-2026, the startup center’s portfolio was expanded with 30 new ideas in the areas of DefenseTech, MedTech, Green Recovery, Industry 4.0, and social services.

Among the most notable achievements are:

• Patobooking – winner of the Sikorsky Challenge 2025 festival. The project received funding and a cooperation offer from the Meridian JSC (head – Roman MOSKALENKO, Department of Pathological Anatomy);
• TerraVita Recovery – an eco-technology for soil restoration, selected for the prestigious Green Chemistry Accelerator 2025 program (head – Ruslan OSTROHA, Department of Chemical Engineering).

Support from the community and business environment

During the seminar, participants took a detailed look at financial support instruments in the Sumy community.

Kateryna BOZENKO (head of the relevant department of the Sumy City Council’s Inspection Department) presented the startup competition program. Projects that are being registered as sole proprietorships or limited liability companies in Sumy can receive up to UAH 200,000 in financial support.

Oleksandr DMYTRENKO (project manager of the 4Business association) spoke about practical cases of support for local entrepreneurs, educational programs. It may attract experts and organize fairs for craft producers in the Sumy Oblast.

Science and startups are a single process

Oleksandr KUSHNEROV (head of the SumDU NTSA association) emphasized that science and startup activities share a common logic. “A successful startup and high-quality science are a single process: identifying a problem, forming a hypothesis, and creating a solution. A scientific approach is the best argument for an investor. Science is not a theory; it is the first and safest stage of your startup", – he noted.

Serhii SOLODOVNIKOV (person responsible for the MES project to develop a network of startup schools at SumDU) informed participants about opportunities to prepare business plans and marketing strategies, in particular within the international COIL project course.

Plans for 2026-2028

The SumDU Startup Center will develop the innovation ecosystem. It will focus on:

• Expanding cooperation with the network of startup schools, incubators, and accelerators;
• Individual and group training of teams for pitching and competitions;
• Holding hackathons and workshops;
• Introducing annual formats such as Startup Pitch Day for investors and Demo Day to attract new students.

“We don’t just create ideas – we form sustainable teams capable of implementing world-class science-intensive projects”, – emphasized Andrii PIVEN, inviting everyone interested to cooperate.

Video recording of the seminar: https://youtu.be/vuIWpyq5ngc

You can find more information about activities of the startup center and registration of new ideas via the link: http://startup.sumdu.edu.ua.