Two teams win the SPbU Start-up contest

The St Petersburg University students developed an application "Lingvera". It is designed to help foreigners easily order translation services for business negotiations, meetings, or guided tours. You can also find specialists for written translation and sign language translation. The authors of the project strive to create an easy-to-use interface to enable users to order the services in a few minutes without having to fill in questionnaires or wait for long hours. The team was assisted by a supervisor who will receive 100,000 roubles.

The creators of another project that also won the first place are working on the release of a modular platform. It will use a tiltrotor as a carrier to move user’s modules through the air in difficult terrain. As the platform has carefully thought-out aerodynamics, it will carry a load of five kilograms. A flexible autopilot will have a wide range of built-in modes for common tasks.

We would like to thank you for your presentations. All of you are completely different. Each project has both strong and weak sides. Yet what you all have in common is that you are ready to defend your developments, answer questions from members of the expert council, and promote your ideas for their further development and commercialisation.

Elena Mishutina, Chairperson of the Organising Committee of the SPbU Start-up 2022 contest, Executive Director of the Endowment Fund at St Petersburg University

The second place was taken by the RoboKorr team. It is building a stress corrosion test facility. The results of the tests enabled them to accurately calculate the safety factor. It is important for designing durable metal structures, which will help to avoid unnecessary material costs associated with the purchase of metal. The student team will receive a prize of 250,000 roubles.

‘My congratulations on reaching the finals. You all have made a colossal work. It is important that it was a team work. Each team member made a contribution. The SPbU Start-up contest is primarily a project that creates an opportunity to unite our efforts. Once again, we have demonstrated that the team spirit at the University is strong. You are doing very important project work and it is a significant part of your professional development. As students, you are already gaining some experience in innovative design and research. What is even more important is that many of you, I hope, will continue to develop what you started during the contest’, said Marina Lavrikova, Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities at St Petersburg University.

This year, the semi-finalists of the contest are 16 teams that proposed the most original and science-intensive ideas. Eight student groups reached the final round. For three months the participants received a scholarship from the St Petersburg University Endowment Fund (10,000 roubles each) to improve their projects.

Starting from 2022, students of the Academic Gymnasium named after D.K. Faddeev at St Petersburg University also can take part in the contest. Three teams of pupils at the Gymnasium applied for participation. Although they did not manage to reach the final round, the expert council appreciated the project ‘Modernisation of ID cards’. The jury members noted the high level of preparation of the presentation, the competent use of terminology and the social significance of the development. As an encouragement to the team members during the award ceremony of the contest winners, diplomas of the participants were awarded to the teams of pupils from the Academic Gymnasium.

The Start-up contest is among the flagship projects at the University. We will do our best to ensure that it flourishes year after year enlarging the community.

Vladimir Savinov, Vice-Rector for Educational Activity at St Petersburg University

‘Today, project activities, youth entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinarity are in the top 3 of the agenda of the state youth policy and research. What we are doing is in line with the agenda. This agenda will be in effect for many years to come. I wish good luck to all the contestants and ask you to participate in the coming years by reformatting your teams and attracting your group students and students from other fields of study’, said Vladimir Savinov, Vice-Rector for Educational Activity at St Petersburg University.

During the awards ceremony, Aleksandr Averianov, head of the winning team of the SPbU Start-up — 2021 contest, addressed the contestants and advised them: ‘Don’t be afraid to share information about your start-up project. Very often, people who are engaged in start-up projects become reserved and do not talk about their ideas because they think that someone will steal them. It might be. I took part in such events where there were very successful projects. Their project members talk about their ideas and share secrets with each other. There is nothing wrong with that. Finally, everyone gains success.’

The SPbU Start-up contest is held with the support of the St Petersburg University Endowment Fund for the seventh time.

‘Dear finalists, I sincerely congratulate all of you on the victory that you have achieved today. To take part in the contest is already a significant achievement. May I ask you a favour? When you receive a state award for your invention, please say in your speech that you achieved your first success within the walls of the University’, said Igor Diu, Chairman of the Expert Council, founder of the Galaktika group. ‘I would like to note that we would not have this wonderful holiday if it were not for the people who organised everything at a very high professional level. I have taken part in many events, but the organisation of this contest deserves the highest appreciation’.

The University is one of the first universities in the country to organise its own contest for innovative student projects and recognise their results as graduation projects.