The Skolkovo Fund announces the start of applications filing for Technostart

There has been opened filing of applications in the largest contest for innovation projects and accelerator in the sphere of technologies for mechanical engineering, aimed at effective dialogue of selected and prepared startups with corporations – strategic investors and industrial customers. The contest has been organized by the Group OMZ, the Ural Federal University, Uralmashzavod OJSC, RVC and the Fund “Skolkovo”. It is possible to file an application till February 23, 2014 at the site www.tstart.ru.

The selection of the project applications is being conducted by two nominations – “New production technologies for mechanical engineering” and “New products in mechanical engineering”. Applications filing is opened till February 23, 2014, and in March, 5 will be defined 25 finalists of the contest program. All of them will manage to conduct the week mentor program and take part in the ending event in March 21, 2014 in Yekaterinburg. According to results will be selected 6 winners, who will receive prizes from the Group OMZ and partners of the contest and, of course, the most important – attention from the side of industry.

This year the Contest will significantly be widened. Playing as a strategic partner of the contest, the “Skolkovo” Fund in the name of nuclear technologies cluster and energy effective technologies organizes a special acceleration program of the Contest – “YECHNOSTART-SKOLKOVO”. All finalists and semi-finalists will manage till the end of May, 2014 collaborate their project together with industrial partners of the Contest, and will also get consultations from experts on business organization and promotion of a product or a technology of a project on alternative markets.

The best projects of the program “Technostart-Skolkovo” are defined at the “Startup Village in June 2-3, 2014, when innovation projects will be presented to a wide range of experts and investors, which will open winners the way to getting a status of a participant of “Skolkovo” and financial support. Winners after the end of a formal stage will get a grant from “Skolkovo” for amount of up to 5M RUB without obvious requirements on co-financing.

“The good business is made together. Joint work of a mechanical engineering leader –Group OMZ, the Governmental development institutions – RVC and Skolkovo, and also leading Universities under creation of innovation ecosystem of Russian mechanical engineering is conducted here, in Ural, where traditions of domestic mechanical engineering are very strong. By joint efforts we create the basis of innovativeness and competitiveness of the Russian manufacture in 21st century”, - says Sergey Arkhipov, deputy director general of the “OMZ” OJSC on innovations.

“Our aim is creation of attractive innovation ecosystem, aimed at interaction of all its elements: participants, industrial partners, investors and centers of scientific developments. Thanks to the contest we count on attraction of new strong startups, which with the help of the Fund demonstrate high growth rates”, - noted executive director of the nuclear technologies cluster of the “Skolkovo” Fund Igor Karavaev.