All-Ukrainian Innovation Ecosystem "Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine" (SCU) is an open innovation ecosystem that unites the country's institutions interested in the development of the Ukrainian innovation economy: universities, research institutions, state authorities, local authorities, business companies, foundations, and NGOs.

The organizer of the interaction of these participating institutions is the Innovative Ecosystem "Sikorsky Challenge" of Igor Sikorsky KPI (hereinafter – Sikorsky Challenge KPI), which is formally established by signing Memoranda / Agreements between SCU member institutions and legal entities of Sikorsky Challenge KPI: NTUU "Igor Sikorsky KPI" and/or Innovation Holding "Sikorsky Challenge" LLC and/or Science Park "Kyivska Polytechnika" Corporation.

Vision: the Innovation Ecosystem "Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine" is a model and driver of high-tech innovative development of Ukraine's economy.

Mission: to develop and maintain an environment where new ideas and innovative technologies are born, startup companies and small high-tech enterprises are created that bring new high-tech products and services to local, national, and global markets.

        Conceptual principles of SCU 

The primary and always relevant task of SCU is to teach, teach and once again teach students, graduate students, scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs, and even school students of innovative entrepreneurship and the practice of launching startups, taking into account world trends and circumstances in Ukraine regarding the mentality of the scientific and engineering community, the legislative field and the level of investor confidence in Ukraine.

Before February 24, 2022, the areas of innovative development of the country, namely, defense and security, industrial high-tech and space, biological engineering, information technology and cybersecurity, energy and ecology, agricultural engineering were equally important for the SCU. Now the priorities have changed and the main sphere of innovative development is defense and security, from which other high-tech areas are branching off.

SCU's approaches to the ways of introducing innovations in production and bringing high-tech products to the Ukrainian and global markets are also changing. The history of innovation in Ukraine will be unique and successful if we can combine the following three approaches:

• introducing foreign innovations into the Ukrainian economy: technology transfer; opening of representative offices of foreign high-tech enterprises; creation of joint ventures on the territory of Ukraine;
• solving scientific and technological problems and fulfillment of orders for innovative products from state institutions and business structures (Armed Forces, state and regional governments, Ukrainian and foreign companies, their associations, funds);
• developing a "factory" of ideas and innovations, growing startup projects, creating micro and small high-tech enterprises, bringing their innovative products to market, interaction with international venture funds.

Undoubtedly, our country will not be able to achieve such an ambitious goal as transforming Ukraine into one of the regional leaders in innovation on its own. This will be possible only with the strong support and assistance of innovative countries.

Features of innovative projects that SCU takes care of

The paradigm of the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine should be based on the rapid and effective implementation of innovative technologies and developments in all areas of the country's security, defense and economy, so today SCU's interests are mainly focused on "hardware" innovation projects in the following areas:

• Defense and security: defense-industrial complex
• Information technology, cybersecurity
• Industrial high-tech, aviation and space
• Civil and military infrastructure
• Environmental and energy security
• Biomedical engineering and human health
• Agricultural engineering and food security
• Transport and logistics

You can learn more about the open innovative ecosystem "Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine" at the link >>>

The main challenge and urgent need of the war and post-war times is the transformation of the economy, defense capability and security of Ukraine. Achieving positive results of such a transformation is possible only by turning Ukraine into one of the global international innovation centers.

In order to unite the efforts and capabilities of all domestic and foreign institutions interested in the innovative transformation of Ukraine, it is proposed to create a single platform called the “Platform of Innovative Transformation of Ukraine” on the basis of the All-Ukrainian innovation ecosystem “Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine”.