University of Tartu Startup Lab Stops Its Activities
Startup Lab, endise nimega Ideelabor, alustas tegevust aastal 2013 eesmärgiga arendada ülikooliga seotud ettevõtlust, võimaldada üliõpilastel õppekavaväliselt testida oma ideid ja luua prototüüpe. 2023 detsembris lõpetab Startup Lab tegevuse.
Idea Lab was formed to promote entrepreneurship at university and to provide extracurricular opportunities for students to test their ideas and create prototypes. The formation of the Idea Lab was supported by Erik Puura, who was at that time the Vice-Rector for Development at the University of Tartu. Kalev Kaarna became the Manager of Idea Lab. Quite soon the Vega fund for awarding best science-based ideas was set up by the Idea Lab. The best projects got up to 10 000 euros for further development of their idea. One of the scholarship receivers at that time was Christal Space which is today producing cameras for the moon for NASA.
In 2015 Idea Lab moved from the main building to the School of Economics and Business Administration and Maret Ahonen took over the management baton.At that time also the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation was formed and as a result of collaboration with the Pallas University of Applied Sciences initiated by prof Andres Kuusik the Idea Lab rooms for joyfully painted walls and interior decor.
The mission of the activities still stayed with hands-on entrepreneurship education. Two programs Tramm11 and Tramm were run and workshops took place also at weekends. 2015 was also the start of the international programme NGAL(Network Globally, Act Locally).It brought together entrepreneurial students from the University of Tartu and two universities in the USA Later Taltech also joined the programme. It was a unique programme that provided knowledge and experience exchange not only for students but also for many people supporting entrepreneurship education. NGAL ran for five years and it was funded by the Harry Huge Foundation. Harry Huge was also the patron for the project. Under the guidance of mentors from the USA and Estonia, participants could develop their business models and pitch them to judges. NGAL experience was eye-opening for Estonian students in terms of understanding the meaning of global market potential. Students from the USA were amazed about our startup ecosystem and digital solutions. NGAL encouraged the birth of an international community of entrepreneurial students and the experience and contacts received are valuable up to the present day.
Powerful boost for Idea Lab activities gave the launch of the pre-incubation programme Starter, developed by 8 universities and several institutions and mentors active in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Starter was a part of the all-Estonian entrepreneurship programme Edu ja Tegu funded by the EU Social Fund. Its implementation was led by the University of Tartu. The Startertartu programme has inspired and supported the business ideas development of Tartu students since 2016. Additionally, Startup Lab has coordinated Starter activities in Uni Tartu Pärnu and Narva colleges. Altogether, 337 teams have graduated from Startertartu, Starterpärnu and Starternarva programmes. One of the distinctive features of Starter has been its connectedness with the startup community. All mentors and workshop supervisors were field experts and practitioners who shared their knowledge, best practices and network contacts.
The legendary event besides Idea Storms and Idea Hackathons was the twice-a-year business ideas competition Kaleidoskoop. When the business festival Startup Day started in 2016 student teams got a chance to pitch on the Pitching stage in the presence of the international startup community. This in its turn created an opportunity for new contacts and networks. Many Starter teams have participated in all Estonian business ideas competition Ajujaht and won the top places. Some graduates have moved on to other incubators and/or have started their careers in startup ventures.
Another remarkable feature of Starter was its openness to all students, regardless of their school or educational level. Starter favoured the birth of interdisciplinary and multi-talented teams. Not less important was also the fact that workshops were run in English. The latter made the programme truly international.
The starter programm has certainly played its role in creating a mentors network that supports student teams. For example, Startertallinn programme event Startup Speed Dating Night brought twice a year together about 50 mentors and 100 teams. Similar event in Tartu, Starter Mentor Feedback Carousell welcomed about 40 mentors who helped the teams to focus on moving towards set goals.
Pitching trainer and long-time mentor Gleb Maltsev finds that: “This programme has helped hundreds of students in understanding what entrepreneurship entails. Even if they haven't fully established their companies post-programme, they can integrate the skill set acquired into corporate and government contexts. This enhances students' problem-solving abilities, contributing to their eventual success as individuals”.
Starter workshops have reached all corners of Estonia from Kuressaare to Narva. In addition to a 4-month main programme in Tartu, Tallinn, Narva, Pärnu and Haapsalu, Starter thematic workshops were held in various schools all across Estonia. More than a thousand teams have received useful knowledge and mentor support in schools of general and vocational education.
“I can assure that the Starter programme supported the implementation of project-based and interdisciplinary education in schools. We provided an enivronment for students interested in entrepreneurship so that they could validate their ideas, learn teamwork and get support from the startup community via mentors and contacts. It is capital that grows in value in case one wants to use it in the future”, told Piret Arusaar, Edu ja Tegu, Starter programme manager.
In addition to Startertartu programme Startup Lab has been partnering with many organisations and implemented several international startup development projects in collaboration with them. For example, EstLat Accelerate fosters Estonian and Latvian startup teams and learn from each other, Smartup Lab and e-Boat to support startups focusing on solutions in healthcare and GreenHExahon, an online pre-incubation programme for sustainable and green ideas development.
The longest history (since 2016) of cooperation has been with the NGO “Platform of Innovative Partnership” also known as YEP in Ukraine. YEP offers entrepreneurship education to universities across Ukraine. In collaboration with YEP, the Starter programme to meet the needs of Ukrainian students was designed and implemented. The programme has found a place in the Ukrainian educational system and is implemented till the present day. Also, Startup Lab contributed to the design of entrepreneurship modules implemented in nearly 50 universities across Ukraine. During the period 2019-2021 the programme for Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses was run, focusing also on the support of female founders. Despite the outbreak of war Startup Lab continued to implement the third project aiming to increase the entrepreneurship teaching methods of universities’ academic staff and sharing best practices for creating networks with industry. University of Tartu Lifelong Learning Centre has issued certificates to 100 university teachers in Ukraine and the best 3 min thesis or science ideas pitchers have been invited to Tartu, for the business festival Startup Day.
According to Startup Lab Manager Maret Ahonen Startup Lab has been the first contact point of hands-on entrepreneurship for hundreds of students. It was a place where students could test the viability of their craziest ideas and do it under the guidance of a field mentor. Mentors’ demonstrated a serious attitude to every idea and student and today many students have become mentors themselves. “During the last eight years, I have had the chance to create an inspiring learning environment for thousands of entrepreneurial students, including the ones who had serious doubts about their capabilities and skills. Startup Lab has undoubtedly created the community and has had an impact on many students' personal and professional development. I was always inspired by students too”, added Maret Ahonen.
Every ending is a new beginning!
Good-by Idea Lab/Startup Lab 2013-2023
