Skolkovo and Oxford announce contest for Oxford students and alumni

Russia’s Skolkovo Foundation announced last week that in collaboration with Oxford Entrepreneurs, University of Oxford’s students and alumni community, it has launched a contest for students and graduates of the prestigious British university.

The new joint competition of innovation projects is expected to attract talented and advanced international teams into the ecosystem of Skolkovo, the state-sponsored innovation hub outside Moscow, and further help promote the Skolkovo brand globally.

The business contest will consist of two stages. Participants have to first submit their business plans for perusal by an Oxford Entrepreneurs panel of experts and then, in the second stage, arrive in person for the final in late April in Oxford’s Said Business School for project pitches in front of a number of successful entrepreneurs, VC investors, and Skolkovo representatives.

A team to be pronounced the winner will receive a monetary award and the opportunity to visit the Skolkovo innovation hub and meet its managers, investors, and partners. The winning team will also be eligible for seeking Skolkovo residency status.

Projects willing to participate in the competition are expected to meet the following criteria:

• A project must have a focus on one of the areas prioritized by Skolkovo’s clusters;
  
• A project must only pursue the development of innovation technologies unparalleled elsewhere in the world;
  
• A project must have clear investment horizons and commercial viability;
  
• A project must be technologically realizable within reach of modern science.

Developing cooperation programs with the world’s leading universities is one of the Skolkovo Foundation’s key objectives. For example, Skolkovo has been working together for three years now with INSEAD, one of the most prominent international business schools, and the two hold twice a year their own innovation project competitions.