Challenger Science as a pathway to commercialization of research

What was the intent and focus of the Challenger science program?

Challenger Science is an experimential educational program to that supports the development of talented
scientists in Slovakia. The program focuses on the development of entrepreneurship and related soft skills andenables participants from various scientific disciplines to recognize opportunities to transfer scientific
knowledge into practice. The key ambition of the program is to change the way of thinking in the scientific
community, to support the commercialization of Slovak scientists, and to make visible the contribution of
Slovak science to on society . The key ambition is to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset within the scientific community, support the commercialization efforts of Slovak scientists, and enhance the visibility of Slovak science’s societal contributions.

What tasks did CIVITTA perform within this project?

Civitta is the main organizer of the Challenger Science program and covers all its key aspects, from
the very design of the program concept through the selection of participants, mediation of experts and
mentors, and is responsible for the overall implementation and successful course of the program. from initial concept design and participant selection to expert and mentor coordination, ensuring the program’s comprehensive implementation and successful execution. Civitta, as an innovative consulting company with extensive experience in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship support, has been organizing educational programs for students, startups, and scientists in Slovakia and Europe for several years, such as Challenger Accelerator, HealthCare Lab, and Ajujaht,
and innovative events such as Climathon and Startup Awards. Hundreds of students and scientists and
over 500 startups have gone through these programs. Successful graduates alumni of our accelerator programs include companies such as MultiplexDX, Glycanostics, Sensoneo (Startup Awards), and Bolt (Ajujaht). In this way, we try to transfer know-how, contacts, and experience from successful scientific entrepreneursback to those who are at the beginning of the journey and often just need to show direction and motivation.

What platforms, institutions, and organizations have been involved in the project and in what way?

The main partner of the program is the ESET Foundation, which has long been supporting the popularization of science and research through various projects, such as the ESET Science Award initiative. The joint vision of the ESET Foundation and Civitta aimed at increasing the practical impact of science on society by supporting the commercialization of research, makes the ESET Foundation an ideal partner for this program.
The program is supported by the European Institute of Health Innovation and Technology (EIT Health)
with the goal to support innovators in the health sector and thereby improve the provision of healthcare
in Europe. It is also thanks to EIT Health that we organized a complementary program for the wider
scientific community within the Challenger Science program with activities aimed at raising awareness
of the possibilities of commercializing innovations in the field of health. The Faculty of Medicine of the
Comenius University in Bratislava is also a key partner of these activities that . The Faculty of Medicine’s focus is initiating a new wave of innovation support at academic institutions in Slovakia and thereby increase the qualificationsof the next generation of researchers in the field of health. The Faculty of Medicine of the Comenius in Bratislava participated in the implementation of the supplementary complementary program through content provision ofactivities, provision of Slovak and international experts, organization of activities, and establishing contacts between innovators, the academic community, MedTech companies, and investors. The public seminars were focused on inspirational stories in healthcare, clinical trials and validation of scientific research,  
as well as patent processes and strategies. The culmination of the additional complementary program was a conference called Health Innovation Day, where participants had the opportunity to talk with successful, experienced, and budding researchers, entrepreneurs, educators, and students. culminated in Health Innovation Day, a conference connecting participants with successful, experienced, and emerging researchers, entrepreneurs, educators, and students.
Important Slovak institutions participated in the recruitment of participants to the program, including
the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Comenius University in
Bratislava, Alexander Dubček University of Trenčín in Trenčín, Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra, Žilina
University in Žilina, Technical University in Košice, Technical University in Zvolen, Matej Bel University in
Banská Bystrica and Pavel Jozef Šafárik University in Košice.

Please define the project from the point of view of technology transfer and the necessary cooperation
between science and practice.

Using a systematic approach, Challenger Science contributes to solving two key barriers that prevent
effective technology transfer in Slovakia. These are the low awareness of scientists about the potential
of translating their research into practice and the insufficient universal skills of scientists in the field of
commercialization of their discoveries.
The first key phase is the recruitment of Slovak scientists into the program. Based on relationships with
universities and research institutions Through our network of universities and research institutions, we have identified active researchers and research teams that have the interest, motivation, and potential to commercialize their scientific research.
Subsequently, the selected participants had the opportunity to work on their specific scientific ideas
through regular professional expert-led workshops led by experts. The workshops were divided into four key basic phases: change of thinking mindset and inspiration, identification of opportunities for commercialization, building and validation of the business model, and presentation of the final projects. We design the program in cooperation with foreign experts, adapt it to the needs and skills of researchers, and thus create space for scientists to develop new scientific startups and spinoffs.

What else does the program focus on?

The program also focuses on an individual approach to solving problems associated with the
commercialization of research, financing, and establishing contacts through individual coaching. 

The participants had 6 experienced coaches from the field of startup environment and technology transfer at their disposal, who helped them with the use and implementation of the information acquired at the workshops in their scientific projects.  After three months of intensive education, the participants appeared infront of the jury from the appeared before an expert jury composed of business, startup, and investor environments, serving as a unique opportunity for participants to present their scientific projects and the knowledge acquired in the program to a wider public.

Recognizing the individual challenges of scientists in research commercialization, financing, and establishing networks, the program provides a personalized approach to solving these challenges through individual coaching sessions. Participants benefited from the guidance of six experienced coaches from the startup and technology transfer sectors, enabling them to effectively utilize and implement workshop insights into their scientific projects. Following three months of intensive education in Bratislava, the participants presented their projects to an expert jury from the business, startup, and investor sectors. This public final offered a unique opportunity to showcase their scientific projects and acquired knowledge to a wider Bratislava audience.

What were the results of the project, and how will they be implemented in the process of university
technology transfer and cooperation between science and the private sector?

In the first year of Challenger Science 2024, a total of 42 applications (75 applicants) were received from 14 important Slovak educational and research institutions, from which 35 doctoral students and senior
researchers were selected for the program. At the end of the program, feedback was collected to assess
the overall satisfaction of the participants with the course and organization of the program, and the results showed that almost every participant would recommend this program to their scientific colleagues. The participants repeatedly emphasized several key benefits of the program: awareness of one‘s strengths and weaknesses, identification of potential business opportunities, acquisition of new business tools and skills, acquisition of new professional contacts, and, above all, change of mindset.

What facts have the scientists mastered that they will be able to implement in practice? 

In total, the participants completed 12 professional workshops, during which they acquired skills that can be used in various aspects of their careers, as well as in the popularization of science. Professional workshops focused on topics such as entrepreneurial thinking, design thinking in science, building relationships with partners and customers, identifying suitable opportunities for commercialization, building a business model, protecting intellectual property, and obtaining financing, but also preparing presentations for partners and investors.
As part of the program, we also prepared the so-called founder stories, which were attended delivered by successful Slovak and foreign entrepreneurs: Pavol Čekan (CEO, MultiplexDX), Ján Tkáč (COO, Glycanostics), Michal Pohludka (CEO, GeneSpector) and Martin Herman (CEO, PowerfulMedical), who told the participants about their experiences in commercializing their scientific research and lessons learned. 

During the program, the participants adopted the perspective of innovators and entrepreneurs, drew gained inspiration from Slovak and foreign experts, recognized opportunities to transfer scientific knowledge into practice, and acquired skills for career development and the popularization of science.

Do you already see the impact of the program in existing success stories?

Yes. We have received information just Information about them came two months after the end of the program. Some participants have begun to actively address the commercialization of their research, and one research team has succeeded in founding a company, and we perceive that at least two more are in the process of being established. have actively started the process of commercializing their research, and notably, one research team has successfully established a company, with at least two more in progress. These participants actively collaborate with representatives of technology transfer centers at their institutions to explore the possibilities of commercializing their research. These individuals are proactively engaging with technology transfer representatives at their institutions to explore opportunities for commercializing their research.

Actors from the academic environment were actively involved in the very process of creating, recruiting,
and implementing the program. Our ambition is to support universities to be able to implement such
programs independently. We are trying to provide them with a pilot model and show best practices on
how to support entrepreneurship and the commercialization of research in Slovakia. Therefore, we can
also consider the positive impact of the program on the interest of Slovak institutions in supporting the
commercialization of research, which was evident from the feedback of the participants, who mentioned
a few examples of how their institution facilitated and helped them on the way to commercialization
thanks to the Challenger Science program. Last but not least, the program successfully enhanced the visibility of Slovak science’s contributions to society and increased the emphasis on the commercialization of research and innovation activities at scientific and research institutions across Slovakia.  The success of the program was to make the contribution of Slovak science to society more visible and to increase the emphasis on the commercialization of research and innovation activities at Slovak scientific and research institutions. We managed to get the topic of commercialization and technology transfer to thousands of students and researchers through social networks, press releases, and publications on university websites.

Are you planning similar projects or specific activities in the future?

Due to the demand from universities, scientific institutions, and scientists themselves, and also thanks
to the enthusiasm of the ESET Foundation and other partners from the results of the first year, we plan
to continue supporting the scientific community on the way to entrepreneurship and thus contribute to
entrepreneurial science in Slovakia. Already this year, we plan to start the second year of the Challenger Science program with the ambition to create as many successful stories as possible, which will inspire
other people to change and to actively participate in the commercialization of Slovak science.

Driven by the demand from universities, scientific institutions, and scientists themselves, coupled with the positive response and continued support from the ESET Foundation and other partners after the first year’s results, motivates us to continue empowering the scientific community towards entrepreneurship and contribute to the growth of entrepreneurial science in Slovakia. We are already planning the second year of the Challenger Science program with the ambition to generate even more success stories that will inspire others to embrace change and actively participate in the commercialization of Slovak science.

MARTIN VESELÝ

Martin Veselý graduated from the University of Oxford, where he studied Biochemistry and found his passion for innovation and technology transfer. Martin currently works as a Project Manager at Civitta Slovakia, leading innovation consultancy and innovation ecosystem building in Slovakia, where he leads projects focused on creating and accelerating innovative businesses. Martin worked as the Project Lead at HealthCare Lab, an international acceleration program for digital healthcare ventures, where he was in charge of the selection committee choosing the top 9 HealthTech startups from over 200 applications ranging from CEE and Turkey. His responsibilities in the program also included composing and running the acceleration program to accelerate startups and increase the investability of selected HealthTech startups.

CIVITTA

Civitta is an international consulting company in the field of strategy, innovation, financing and digital transformation in Central and Eastern Europe. Our mission is to be the catalyst of the new knowledge-based economy in Slovakia. One of our long-term goals is to support commercialization and tech transfer in countries with a lower index of entrepreneurship and commercialization of research, which includes Slovakia. One example is the Startup Awards Slovakia, also known as the Oscars for Slovak startups, whose goal is to improve our country by supporting young and active people. One of the main competition categories is Science, where we look for commercial solutions based on scientific research and thus provide support and connections with investors for startup researchers.

Another example is HealthCare Lab, an international acceleration program for start-up digital health projects in Europe. Our mission is to connect, develop, and support an international community of innovators, researchers, and healthcare providers to bring disruptive healthcare innovations to market faster. Last but not least, Civitta provides strategic support to the Slovak academic institutions themselves, including, for example, through the development program for scientific workers of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, for which we prepared a series of 15 workshops for the development of soft skills. More than 300 participants took part in the training, including doctoral students, senior researchers, and directors of individual institutes.

Absolvent politických vied na Trnavskej univerzite v Trnave. Už 15 rokov pôsobí v mediálnej sfére. Pracoval ako zástupca šéfredaktorky a šéfredaktor v týždenníku spoločnosti Petitpress. Viac ako tri roky bol zástupcom šéfredaktora v lifestylovom magazíne BREAK, kde mal okrem iného na starosti aj sekciu vedy a techniky. Okrem toho je autorom a spoluautorom mnohých odborných monografií a článkov s historickou, zahraničnopolitickou či vedecko-technickou tematikou. Momentálne pracuje ako šéfredaktor a odborný pracovník oddelenia transferu technológií v Centre vedecko-technických informácií SR.