This was the focus of today’s event – the Round Table “Innovation as a Driver of Growth: Opportunities and Prospects for EU-Ukraine Cooperation” 🇪🇺🇺🇦, which took place at the Department of Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Business Administration of Sumy State University 🎓.
🔹 The event brought together almost 150 participants from different regions of Ukraine 🏙️, including representatives from business 💼, education 📚, science 🔬, government, and civil society 🏛️.
Each speaker’s presentation was highly informative and valuable. Key points:
🎯 Universities play a crucial role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. They serve as centers for generating new solutions and as hubs where young people acquire essential soft skills and foundational knowledge about entrepreneurship. At Sumy State University, we actively implement these principles, including through the startup center led by Andrii Piven.
🎯 A wide range of programs exists to support business, innovation, and entrepreneurship at the state, regional, and local levels. Sumy region has demonstrated success in implementing such initiatives, as highlighted by regional and local government representatives Leonid Troyan and Kateryna Bozhenko.
🎯 Examples of successful projects and leadership in innovation-driven rural development, presented by Yurii Palichev, Director of LLC “Investment Agency for the Development of Rural Areas,” serve as inspiration and a catalyst for further action—particularly in intellectual property registration, benefiting both businesses and communities. Green energy is a promising trend with vast opportunities for implementation in local communities, emphasized Anatolii Butenko, Manager of the NGO “Perspectives 2020.”
🎯 Horizon programs are not only about research but also provide extensive opportunities to support innovative businesses and startups. Information on these opportunities is available through a network of national contact points, including the one in Sumy, headed by Mykola Nazarov.
🎯 The European Enterprise Network (EEN) offers support and guidance, connecting Ukrainian businesses with European counterparts. It also provides complementary energy efficiency support programs and access to events in Europe. These opportunities were presented in detail by Olena Fesenko, General Manager of EEN-Ukraine.
🎯 “Extraordinary ordinary” – this phrase best describes consumer demand trends in the EU market for Ukrainian food and products. Organic, nutritious, and functional foods and beverages—such as those made from cranberries, nuts, and seeds—are in high demand in European markets, emphasized Bohdan Shapoval, Head of the Ukrainian Food Association.
🎯 How to scale from a startup idea to a sustainable business – the YEP accelerator provides answers, offering support, mentorship, consultations, and various opportunities. These aspects were detailed in the presentation by Marharyta Chernyshova, Head of Communications and Partnerships at YEP Accelerator.
🎯 Business-to-business connections, joint actions, and partnerships are crucial for entrepreneurial success. Bohdan Mosunov, Head of the 4Business business association, shared insights into key steps and directions in this area.
💡 The event concluded with a presentation of startup ideas by Vyacheslav Melnyk, a participant in the course “Innovative Entrepreneurship and Startups in the EU.” The discussion also covered the importance of building infrastructures that support entrepreneurship in virtual spaces.
The event was organized within the framework of the Jean Monnet Chair project “Strengthening EU Leadership and Capacity in Science and Innovation” (101175767—EU_STRENGTHS—ERASMUS-JMO-2024-HEI-TCH-RSCH) for 2024-2027.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (E ACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
