YUFE Ideas Lab

25 students from UC3M, UCY, UNIRI, UM  and UEF have successfully accomplished the first YUFE Ideas Lab edition: 60% bachelors and 40% PhDs.

YUFE Ideas Lab is the main activity of YUFE incubation program. It is a semester hybrid program for developing innovative ideas divided in online training and onsite entrepreneurship experience which culminates in the demoday, pitching in front of the jury. This year the onsite week took part at UC3M (Madrid).

YUFE ideas lab offers an international environment, giving value to participants and projects through collaborative and international mentoring and feedback. It provides a learning by doing approach, using Lean and Design thinking methodologies and including immersive experiences with startups, social impact iniciatives and innovation summits. Thus, YUFE Ideas lab is a cut edge innovative incubation program in Europe.

BENEFITS FOR THE PARTICIPANTS

• Develop their ideas and projects in an international environment, getting valuable feedback and insights from other students and entrepreneurs, in a multidisciplinary and multicultural approach.
• Establish a clear roadmap for their projects, with the help of experienced mentors
• Multicultural networking and experience
• Be able to pitch at the demoday, at Madrid, which is an empowering experience itself, and an opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs, investors, stakeholders, etc.
• Develop social and communication skills
• Leadership training
• Create links, better understanding of different perspective and stronger European and YUFE sense of belonging.

This first edition program consisted of 10 training and mentoring sessions. Several academic and non-academic colleagues from different Universities members of the alliance took active part on the activities:

ONLINE

1. Creativity – Design Thinking > University Carlos III de Madrid (David Hernandez)
2. Business Model Definition > University of Essex (Andy Mew)
3. Pitch > Uuniversity of Eastern Finland (Tomi Tuovinen)
4. Prototype MVP > Maastricht University (Roy Broersma)
5. Financials >  University of Antwerp (Nathalie De Schepper)

Mentoring: University of Cyprus (Pantelitsa Eteokleous, Pantelitsa Schiza, Anastasia Constantinou) and University of Rijeka (Lea Perinic)

ONSITE

1. Open Innovation, Networking and Feedback > Startups (Unigow, AI Methods, Leapwave, EB2, Aeon-T, 60nd) and UC3M (María José Herrero)
2. Leadership > Mónica Casanova
3. IP Protection >  Isabel Cortés
4. Pitch deck review > Carmen Blanc, Nacho Sánchez