The external environment is very changeable, and the one who can quicklier adapt to it will win, – says Nazarii Podolchak, Director of Tech StartUp School. The war made adjustments to the work of the unit he heads, but planned projects and infrastructure development have not been stopped.
Nazarii Podolchak says that it is very important for an innovative unit to be able to quickly react to changes, notice trends and work on what is relevant right now. For example, during the pandemic of coronavirus disease, Tech StartUp School was one of the first to start making masks and in total made more than 6,000 of them. Active work continues today as well, but it is primarily focused on current challenges.
«We adapt very dynamically to the environment, set new goals and work on them. As for the creation of regional branches, which is mentioned in the Development Strategy of our University, this process stopped somewhat with the beginning of the war, but we continue our work within the framework of various grants. For example, we now have a large DISCO grant. It involves the involvement of partners and the creation of our mini-representative offices in different cities. At the moment, we do not know for sure who will work with us next year, but we have such an idea and will implement it. There is obviously a demand for our branches. This is also confirmed by the Creative Spark: Renovate Ukraine forum, which has been recently held at Lviv Polytechnic. During the event, we were approached by people who are ready to buy our franchise, that is, not just to open branches, but to pay money for us to transfer our experience to them. In particular, the Vice-Rector of the Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design is ready to cooperate with us within the framework of the franchise. But the creation of branches and, in general, the development of all our projects directly depends on the situation in the country and on when we will win the war», said Nazarii Podolchak.
Mr. Podolchak also talked about the creation of an Innovation Park, which must be financed by one of the state programs.
«Unfortunately, the project to open an Innovation Park was stopped for half a year. But now we have reached an agreement with the Lviv Regional Military Administration and will continue our work. Therefore, I hope that next year we will be able to see the first powerful Innovation Park in Ukraine, which will feature various creative industries and startups and which will be open for different generations: from preschoolers to the elderly», added Nazarii Podolchak.