Six BSNRU Projects Enter Regional Stage of the 'Open Innovations Start-up Tour'

The competition was held by the Skolkovo Foundation, with support from the Russian Government and leading national development institutions. In Belgorod, the regional stage is supported by the Belgorod Region Economic Development Department. Among those who addressed the competition on 4^th April were Pekka Villakainen, the adviser to the President of the Skolkovo Foundation, who spoke on the topic of working with 'business angels', and Alexei Okunev, who explained how to get state support for start-ups. Other speakers discussed issues concerning digital solutions for the region, the digitisation of agriculture, the selection of the right business model, and how to create a 'dream team'.

The two-day event also included a competition for innovative projects and start-ups in three categories, Information Technology, Biotechnology in Medicine and Agriculture, and Industry. Six BSNRU projects were entered for this regional heat of the competition. Among them was a project by Ulyana Krut called 'The Development of a Bioactive Sorption Composites for the Treatment and Prevention of Purulent Wounds in Animals', and Vitaly Sokolovsky's work on 'The Development of Technology for Obtaining Blanks from Inter-metallic Alloy for Gas Turbine Engine Blades'.

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The 'Open Innovations Start-up Tour' is the most ambitious event in Russia for finding promising innovative projects and developing skills for new start-ups looking to implement high-tech ideas. The central theme of this year's competition is 'Digital Challenges Facing the Russian Economy'. The 'Open Innovations Start-up Tour' is aimed at popularising technological entrepreneurship, and supporting regional innovation teams and projects. It also aims to develop the skills of service providers such as operators, investors, patent attorneys and business incubators.