Mentoring from experts, financial support of up to CZK 400,000 (approx. 16,400 euro) and practical experience are just some of the benefits students can get by participating in the second year of Masaryk University’s Start Your Business competition. Applicants do not need to submit a bulletproof business plan or make preparations for running a real business: the competition aims to help students find out whether entrepreneurship is a suitable career path for them. It also provides opportunities to refine their ideas and the aforementioned business plan to become competitive.
Applications to join the competition opened on 10 January. Individuals or teams of up to four people can apply. Approximately ten competitors will advance to the first round and will receive an initial financial award of CZK 10,000 to develop their projects. In the next round, they will present to an expert jury how they spent the money. The way in which their ideas were developed will be watched and judged by business experts from the South Moravian Innovation Centre (JIC), the MU Technology Transfer Office and the MU Faculty of Economics and Administration. Based on the students’ presentations, a commission will then distribute the second part of the prize. Its amount may vary from project to project.
One of the last year’s awardees is Lucie Novotná from the Faculty of Education, who decided to develop her baking hobby into the project named Papačky od Lůcy (Lucy’s Delicacies). The Carebot project developed by Daniel Kvak’s team received a great deal of media attention after receiving support in the 1st year of the competition.
To successfully apply for this year’s competition, you need to submit your application with the necessary attachments by 28 February. The competition is organised by the MU Technology Transfer Office in cooperation with the South Moravian Innovation Centre (JIC).