Iryna Korotka and Liubov Shevchenko, lecturers from the Department of Agricultural Technologies and Forestry at Chernihiv Polytechnic National University, acted as mentors for start-ups in the agricultural sector as part of the Lab2Market AgroTech programme.

Mentoring support for the start-ups was provided over a two-month period, with the final pitch taking place on 27 April 2026. A total of 24 teams from across Ukraine took part in the programme. Only the 10 strongest teams underwent intensive training and reached the final pitch in front of an international jury and investors.

Thanks to the expert guidance and support from scientists at Chernihiv Polytechnic National University, the team’s mentees demonstrated impressive results:

1. The MIR SR project (CEO Tetiana Kulahina, mentor Liubov Shevchenko) was the overall winner of the competition. The development involves the creation of a plant growth immunoregulator, which reduces the use of chemicals by 20–40% whilst simultaneously increasing crop yields.
2. The AgroAssistant AI project (CEO Kirill Horobets, mentor Iryna Korotka) was named one of the top five start-ups. This is an innovative AI application that analyses soil conditions and climatic factors to provide personalised advice to farmers

“The participation of our lecturers in such projects is not only a recognition of their expertise but also an important contribution by the university to the development of food security and technological sovereignty in Ukraine,” notes the Department of Agricultural Technologies and Forestry at Chernihiv Polytechnic National University.

Both start-ups mentored by our lecturers will take part in the next practical stage – MVP2Pilot. This will give the teams the opportunity to refine their products and test them at major agricultural corporations. In addition, the winners will receive strategic support from an international partner – the French company Iskra.

We would like to thank Iryna Hryhorivna and Liubov Anatoliivna for their active participation in the programme and their support for the Ukrainian start-up movement!

The collaboration between lecturers in agricultural technologies and forestry within the Lab2Market AgroTech initiative was made possible thanks to the “European Digital Innovation Hub WIN2EDIH” project.