Noosphere Ventures representatives organized an exhibition at the hall of LPNU main building about the latest projects developed by the Noosphere Engineering School. Noosphere follows the highest standards of corporate social responsibility and actively invests in the innovative potential of Ukrainian youth. With the motto “We don’t teach. We show how to bring ideas to life!”, the Noosphere Engineering School was started by Max Polyakov and includes a set of technical laboratories at Dnipro National University for students and engineering enthusiast.
LPNU Vice Rector for Scientific Research, Prof. Nataliya Chukhray, opened the exhibition with an inspiring speech. The Vice Rector related the 200-year history of LPNU and highlighted the crucial importance of high tech education in the scientific and technical progress of humanity. Paintings by Jan Matejko at LPNU main hall confirmed his message. Prof Chukhray also called on students to be proactive in innovation and taking advantage of the opportunities the business institutions provide.
During the the exhibition, Michael Ryabokon, Noosphere CIO, said that the company boasted more than 50 brands in its portfolio. Founded by Max Polyakov, Noosphere Ventures is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, US and has regional branches in 19 different countries.
According to Michael Ryabokon, the company’s key focus areas include space technologies, alternative energies, agro-industrial equipment, medical equipment, robotics, new materials in metallurgy and electronics, smart geological and environmental management systems, gaming platforms, software for financial and engineering services management, data processing and transmission systems, military equipment, and transport management systems.
For instance, satellite data analyzed by the сalifornia-based company EOS is largely used by farmers on a global scale to make watering and agriculture management process much more effective. At the same time, there are a number of projects implemented in Ukraine as well. The My Police app was developed to support public safety by helping citizens contact the police more quickly, as every single second makes a difference in emergencies. Another project, “ArtOS”, a ballistic firing control system, was highly praised by Ukrainian Army and is now in use in the field.
Michael Ryabokon also invited LPNU students to become more active in the technology laboratories, take part in the FAI student hackathon, and submit a project to the annual hardware startup competition, Vernadsky Challenge 2017, organized by Noosphere. The challenge is the brainchild of Noosphere Venture founder Max Polyakov and Google Ukraine Director Dmitry Sholomko. The challenge allows teams with the most promising ideas to receive investment funding, professional expertise and access to innovative scientific and technological solutions developed by Noosphere Ventures equivalent to 2 million hryvnias. To further inspire the participants, Mr. Ryabokon shared the success stories of students in the United States who developed innovative projects and started their own businesses.
The head of the LPNU Administrative and Financial Management Department, Prof. Nazariy Podolchak, who recently became director of the Lviv Tech StartUp School, also attended the exhibition. Prof. Nazariy experested his hopes for close cooperation between Noosphere and LPNU, as well as a quick launch of a Noosphere Engineering School laboratory at LPNU. Prof. Nazariy also shared news about the recent LPNU in-house achievements.
The Lviv Tech StartUp School also began working with the Lviv City council to develop a universal student ID card that can also be used to make purchases at public facilities.
