On 5 December 2025, the Chernihiv Polytechnic National University hosted the final of the Startup – Way to Success – 2025 Startup Competition, a large-scale innovative event that brought together higher education seekers, innovators and developers, scientists, business representatives, government officials and international partners. The event was the culmination of the work of the startup school, the implementation of a mentoring programme for startups, and a platform for presenting the eight most promising startup projects.

The expert jury included representatives of state authorities (in particular, the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection), the Chernihiv City Council, leaders of the business sector of Chernihiv and the Chernihiv region, the IT sector, and public organisations. The general partners of the event, who contributed to the formation of the competition prize fund, were: Chernihiv.IT; ХМЕ.Digital; Altep.COM LLC;  PET-Technologies.

Based on the results of the expert jury’s evaluation of the start-up teams’ presentations, the winners of the Startup-Way to Success-2025 competition were:

1st place: “Plastic Fantastic” – a startup that produces sheet materials from recycled plastic, creating an environmentally friendly alternative to plywood and chipboard for furniture and design.

2nd place: ‘”Life Without Limits” – a socially significant startup aimed at developing an AI assistant that helps find barrier-free routes and locations in the city in real time.

3rd place: “Sopilka Project” – a start-up that combines digital technologies and traditional craftsmanship to quickly produce high-quality flutes.

The final of the competition demonstrated that Chernihiv Polytechnic National University is forming a powerful community of innovators in Chernihiv and the Chernihiv region. Ideas that can change the city and the region are emerging here, and teams of innovators are boldly creating the future, relying on the support of the University and its partners.