Following the success of the 2015 summer academies for budding digital start-ups, Startify7 is making plans for summer 2016.
Startify7, a programme of lean, themed summer academies for ICT start-ups hosted its first 3 academies in Germany, the UK and Italy on the themes of the Internet of Things, digital health and cyber security.
With 500 applications representing 26 different countries the academies attracted both under and post graduates with an interest in lean business methods, the academy theme and ICT. The successful candidates spent 10 days building teams and using lean business methods to prototype a minimum viable product and pitch it to a jury. In October, the three winning teams from each academy attended an intensive boot-camp in Brussels facilitated by e-unlimited and coached by a range of experts on how to become investor ready.
The boot-camp judging panel was impressed by the range and standard of the business ideas presented and awarded 1st place to the digital health team Breathar. Breathar is developing a sensor-equipped, connected inhaler to track, manage and predict asthma. Their impressive idea and pitch earned them the opportunity to present their idea at the European Venture Summit in December in Dusseldorf.
Professor Tim Vorley, Chair in Entrepreneurship at Sheffield University Management School, is leading the project which was funded by a European Commission Horizon 2020 grant. He said: “It’s so inspiring to see budding entrepreneurs explore the complex but burgeoning world of digital innovation. The international nature of the project ensures that we’re considering cultural and budgeting factors and all attendees are benefitting from a global exchange of ideas”.
The call will be open in the New Year for the 2016 academies listed below. Anyone interested should take a look at www.startify7.eu to learn more about the venues, themes and what they can expect from the Startify7 experience.
2016 STARTIFY7 Summer Academies
- Industrial Simulations – Almeria, Spain: 4th July – 15th July
- Digital Transportation – Thessaloniki, Greece: 4th July – 15th July
- Next Generation Enterprise IS – Katowice, Poland: 4th July – 15th July
- Social and Enterprise Networks – Enschede, Netherlands:15th August – 25th August
