UNIRSM News The project that will represent the Titan at the POPRI International Youth Business Model Competition was selected from 13 business plans

The project that will represent the Titan at the POPRI International Youth Business Model Competition was selected from 13 business plans

For the first time the idea was chosen through a competition reserved for students of the University of San Marino

“Cap”, a system developed with the aim of reproducing human thought in images through a chip implanted in the skull and a neural reading device, aimed at those with physical or health problems but not only, will represent the Titan during POPRI International Youth Business Model Competition, an international contest for business ideas scheduled for 15 and 16 May in Šibenik, Croatia, organized within the framework of the European Union's macro-regional strategy "EUSAIR". It was created by four students from the Design degree course at the University of the Republic of San Marino: Cristina Bacchini, Linda Ciandrini, Riccardo Malavasi and Alessandro Pederzani.

The project, presented as part of a competition organized by the University and reserved for those registered in collaboration with San Marino Innovation and its partner Evolution Forum, was selected by a jury involving representatives of the three entities together with the Department of Foreign Affairs. The main criteria underlying the evaluation: originality and innovativeness of the idea, solidity and coherence of the project, potential for growth and development in the medium and long term.

The verdict was reached this morning, Friday 19 April, in the university headquarters of the Engineering degree courses, in Dogana, where the authors spoke in 15-minute sessions each to present their ideas and answer the commission's questions. Five innovative finalist projects were selected in a previous phase in which 34 students divided into thirteen groups participated, proposing as many startups. At the basis of each application is a business plan with budget, indication of potential customers, market analysis, organizational charts, strategies, economic and promotional plans and more.

In addition to the winner, the second and third place winners, linked to the degree courses in Management Engineering and Design, have been announced. “Student Space” involves the creation of a structure inspired by US campuses to offer non-residents of the University of Bologna a flexible solution with accommodation available even for a few weeks and in which to find canteens, leisure areas and laundries. At the center of the “Seaclean” project, however,

a system to extract plastic from the oceans and recycle it by intervening at the mouths of the most polluted rivers on the planet.

“With this initiative we offer the San Marino innovation ecosystem new lifeblood to generate future startups or new areas of research”, underlines professor Karen Venturini from the University of San Marino. “The University – she adds – also fulfills the objectives of its 'third mission' for the dissemination of the results of academic activity in the economic and social context in which it operates”.

“The objective of the competition, the first dedicated to the development of entrepreneurial ideas of university students in the San Marino area, is to promote the culture of innovation by encouraging the birth of new businesses thanks to a virtuous circuit between young people, institutions and businesses”, he also comments Giovanni Righi of San Marino Innovation. “The result fills us with satisfaction. The number of participants and the level of interest in their projects went far beyond our expectations. Now the goal is to highlight the selected idea by making it shine on the international stage of POPRI. This year there is a very good chance of competing for the victory.”

Also competing are representatives of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.