The competition for the best start-up is addressed to students and PhD students of the Poznan University of Technology who have an active student status in the academic year 2022/2023.

The EUNICE Start Cup competition is a unique opportunity for students to present their idea for a start-up, gain practical knowledge in the field of writing a business plan or raising funds for business activity (mentoring, workshops), as well as a chance to win many prizes:

• cash prizes for the winners of the first 3 places in the local stage funded by Aquanet (1st place PLN 5,000, 2nd place PLN 3,000, 3rd place PLN 2,000),
• participation in the international final of the competition in Catania, Sicily (July 17-21, 2023),
• special in the form of an internship/cooperation with partner companies (Aquanet, Enea Operator, Intel, VW Poznań),
• and the main prize in the international stage: a 7-week internship in one of the countries of EUNICE partner universities, fully paid for by EUNICE.

The subject of the competition is to develop an idea for a start-up in at least one area:

• Smart City,
• use of renewable energy sources,
• overall improvement of people's lives and the condition of the natural environment.

Teams of up to 5 students can apply. There are only 3 steps to submit your idea:

1. Developing your own idea for a start-up or developing one of the topics proposed by our partners (available at: https://startcup.put.poznan.pl/page7.html).

2. Individual or team preparation of the competition application (template available at: https://startcup.put.poznan.pl/index.html)

3. Between March 25 and March 31, sending the application in the "Application" tab on the competition website (https://startcup.put.poznan.pl/page3.html).

Details, as well as regulations and required attachments (e.g. application template), can be found at: https://startcup.put.poznan.pl/

If you have any questions, write to startcup@put.poznan.pl, we will answer them and dispel your doubts.

The local competition is divided into two phases:

Phase 1 – March 25-31, 2023 - submitting applications according to the rules presented above.

Phase 2 – April-May 2023 - a maximum of 6 ideas best evaluated by the competition committee will advance to the Phase 2. The teams selected for the Phase 2 will develop business plans under the supervision of mentors and trainers conducting workshops (finance in the business plan, pitching in front of investors, business modeling, marketing, SWOT analysis), and then present them to the competition committee (end of May 2023).

The winners of the Phase 2 will meet the winners of local competitions from other EUNICE partner universities and will take part in the international final of the competition (EUNICE Imagine Innovation Final Cup) at the University of Catania in July 2023.

The co-organizers of the competition are well-known and recognizable enterprises and start-ups:

• Aquanet S.A. - founder of the cash prize in the EUNICE Start Cup

• Enea Operator

• Blix Group

• Intel

• MAB Robotics

• Mucha

• Solaris Bus & Coach

• Volkswagen Poznań

The competition is held under the honorary patronage of the Mayor of the City of Poznań.