School of Economics and Business Administration at sTARTUp Day 2026

Once again, sTARTUp Day brought thousands of entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators to Tartu. The University of Tartu School of Economics and Business Administration was actively represented at the event.

UniTartu DeltaX Pitch Match: Laisk Püks Wins the Grand Prize

The UniTartu DeltaX pitching competition took place at sTARTUp Day, with a €500 grand prize sponsored by Swedbank. The competition was won by the team Laisk Püks, which is developing handcrafted adaptive underwear with side fastenings and adjustable sizing. The solution is designed to make dressing and maintaining hygiene easier in special circumstances, addressing the needs of people with physical disabilities as well as users with an active lifestyle.

Neuromarketing Lab at sTARTUp Day

The Neuromarketing Lab helps companies understand consumer behaviour and decision-making at a deeper level than traditional market research. Instead of asking people what they think or feel, neuromarketing measures actual responses, such as attention, emotions, and subconscious decision-making patterns.

At sTARTUp Day, the Neuromarketing Lab demonstrated how companies can better understand their target audiences by using science-based methods to measure consumer attention, emotions, and subconscious reactions. It was shown how artificial intelligence is used to analyse complex data and identify patterns that conventional market research fails to reveal. Through practical examples, the lab demonstrated how these insights can be applied to test and optimise marketing messages, visuals, and platforms, enabling faster, more accurate, and more effective marketing decisions.

Our student Kyrylo Martyniuk as sTARTUp Day speaker

Kyrylo Martyniuk took to the main stage at sTARTUp Day. He is the co-founder and CEO of the Estonia-based defence technology startup OptilinEx. In his presentation, “From Crimea to Tartu: Building a Defence Tech Company at 18 Years Old”, he spoke about how his experience of war has shaped his understanding of responsibility, leadership, and the role of technology in society.

Martyniuk shared how solutions proven on the battlefield in Ukraine are now making their way into European manufacturing environments, and why innovation in defence technology does not mean “flashy ideas” but rather speed, resilience, and constant adaptation. His talk clearly emphasised that developing technology is not a value in itself—the decisive factor is the real-world impact it creates. Read the full article here.

In addition, many students from the School of Economics and Business Administration contributed to the event's success as volunteers. Faculty representatives also actively used sTARTUp Day for networking, creating new collaboration opportunities, and participating in meaningful discussions and presentations.