Start Cup Toscana: Friday, Sept. 15, is the deadline to apply for the competition that rewards entrepreneurial ideas generated by academic research. The finals, with the announcement of the winners, scheduled for Monday, Oct. 16, at the Sant'Anna School
The competition is funded and sponsored by the Tuscany Region and is part of Giovanisì, the youth autonomy project. All Tuscan universities are involved in the organization
These are the last days to apply to the call for Start Cup Toscana: the deadline to apply for the competition that rewards the best high-tech entrepreneurial initiatives from the academic research expires at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15. Teams who have developed business ideas based on research activities and knowledge acquired during their studies or research and who aspire to establish a company can also participate in the 2023 edition.
Start Cup Toscana is funded and sponsored by the Tuscany Region and is part of Giovanisì, the regional project for the autonomy of young people. It is curated by the Regional Technology Transfer Office of the Tuscany Region in collaboration with the Sant'Anna School, which coordinates the organization and hosts the finals. The Start Cup Toscana constitutes the regional phase of the National Prize for Innovation. All of Tuscany's Universities are involved in the organization: University of Florence, University of Pisa, University of Siena, University for Foreigners of Siena, Sant'Anna School, Scuola IMT Alti Studi Lucca, Scuola Normale Superiore.
The best business plans are then invited to participate in the final event, scheduled for Monday, Oct. 16 from 9 a.m. at the Sant'Anna School in Pisa. On that occasion, the jury will announce the winners of the competition, integrating the evaluation of the business plan with the evaluation of the pitch of the finalist projects.
The top three winners receive a prize in cash and services and participate by right in the finals of the "Premio Nazionale per l'Innovazione - Pni," scheduled to be held in Milan in November-December. The Start Cup Toscana 2023 jury has the right to award an Honorable Mention to the fourth place winner, thanks to which it can enter the final stage of the National Prize for Innovation.
For the 2023 edition there are two additional services and cash prizes offered by sponsors Pont-tech and Studio Rubino. The 2023 edition also includes the "Green and Blue" Special Mention (with support from Gedi Group, PNI's media partner) for the best climate change impact business project that integrates innovation, technology, protection and enhancement of natural resources to generate economic growth and protect the environment.
The technological or market fields of the participating projects are: Life Science - Med Tech (innovative products and/or services to improve people's health); ICT (innovative products and/or services in the area of information technology and new media); Cleantech & Energy (innovative products and/or services geared toward improving environmental sustainability, agricultural production, environmental protection, energy management); Industrial (innovative products and/or services for industrial production that are innovative from a technology or market perspective).
Information on the application process and documentation is available HERE.
Email to: startcuptoscana@regione.toscana.it.
