Instead of a diploma – a startup. Students bring their developments to markets
In April 2021, declared the Year of Science and Technology in Russia, the Government of the Russian Federation approved the inclusion of the Startup as a Diploma program in the Science and Universities national project.
Its goal is to popularize youth entrepreneurship, as well as commercialize domestic developments. The final qualifying work in this case is a business project created by one student or team. In order to defend a project, it is necessary to demonstrate your level of preparation for independent entrepreneurial activity. For several years of its existence, the program has proven its effectiveness on the basis of more than 40 universities – student startups across the country are gaining momentum.
SkaleozAR, a new surgical navigation system based on augmented reality and machine vision, is preparing to enter the Russian and international markets. It was created by ITMO student Roman Shiplyakov and in June 2020 he defended his project as a final qualifying work (WQ) under the Startup as a Diploma program. Almost a year later, the platform is just picking up steam, as are many other student startups across the country.
The navigation system allows using augmented reality both for minimally invasive medical procedures and in serious orthopedic, maxillofacial and neurosurgical operations. This technology helps surgeons better understand the position of organs and anatomically significant formations during operations, which reduces the risk of complications and makes it easier for the doctor to work.
A feature of Roman's development is individual modeling based on the results of instrumental diagnostics. For each patient, computed tomography is performed, on the basis of which a virtual model of the location of organs is formed. It is she who is used by the doctor during the operation. Compared to the existing methods of surgical navigation, SkaleozAR has a number of advantages: high accuracy, minimal trauma, no radiation exposure, and affordability.
Roman defended his startup as a final qualifying work (WQ) in June 2020. A year after graduating from ITMO, the young entrepreneur continues to improve the SkaleozAR platform together with the operating surgeons of the Pediatric Medical University and the Albrecht Center for Rehabilitation of the Disabled. It is planned to bring the product to the Russian and world markets by 2024, and today Roman is already negotiating the financing of the project by private investors and companies supplying surgical equipment.
One of the pioneers in the development of the program was the Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU). University students had the opportunity to defend their projects back in 2017, and the student of the Industrial Design direction Regina Kraynaya then became one of the pioneers. Regina has developed designer shoes for children. After an internship and work in Japan, the girl launched the production of modular shoes and took second place in the Russian stage of the Lexus Design Award 2021.
Shoes, which a child can assemble for himself, involves children in designing useful things. And he does it in an understandable, playful way. The main goal of the project is to captivate the younger generation and instill in them the basics of meaningful consumption. For the manufacture of shoes, available materials with various tactile properties are used: food grade silicone and EVA. According to the author of the development, they are often used in the production of children's toys and shoes, and also allow you to get complex shapes in bright colors. However, in the future, Regina plans to make the designer more environmentally friendly and make it from recycled materials and bio-based materials.
Today TPU has a cross-cutting course “Entrepreneurship” for all students. In 2020, 48 university students defended their FQPs in the format of startups. As business projects, an incubator for newborns, an online cash register, a vending machine with essential goods, the production of healthy lifestyle algae, a filter glass for drinking water purification, a feed pusher robot, a support chair for patient rehabilitation, a robot bartender were presented. …
An important role in supporting young entrepreneurs is played not only by the Startup as a Diploma program, but also by the development of accelerators – institutions for support of startups based on universities. So, in the RCTU them. DI Mendeleev, the Mendeleev accelerator was created for students, thanks to which research teams find investors and the possibility of scaling their developments, and innovative domestic products, such as non-combustible polymer composite materials and modifiers from Polyofit, are introduced to the mass market. This is a start-up of students of the Russian Chemical Technical University named after V.I. DI Mendeleev, who create modern materials for use in aviation, transport and any products in contact with humans.
Non-combustible composite materials existing today do not always have good mechanical properties or are too expensive to manufacture. To solve this problem, the creators of the Polyofit project have developed 2 families of components: phosphazene-containing resins and compositions based on them – benzoxazines. When in contact with a flame, such materials do not emit toxic substances and smoke. Polyofit is the only manufacturer of non-combustible polymer composite materials and modifiers in Russia. Today, the startup is negotiating with partners to enter the European market.
