This wrap-up has been compiled by the Programme
PROGRAMME 2021-2027
Priority   1 Innovative societies
Objective  1.1 Resilient economies and communities
BSR DeepTech Launch
Wrap-up of project achievements
Many talented STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students and young researchers have breakthrough ideas but lack the entrepreneurial skills, networks and transnational perspective to turn them into successful businesses. To address this, the Interreg project BSR DeepTech Launch brought together partners from Poland, Germany and Lithuania to and developed a practical Toolbox for students, young researchers and intermediaries, supporting technology entrepreneurship and empowering talented innovators to create the next generation of deep-tech start-ups.
Highlights
BSR DeepTech Launch
Highlights
BSR Deep Tech Launch
The project BSR DeepTech Launch supported deep-tech entrepreneurship among students and young researchers in pursuing their innovative business ideas by developing:
• Toolbox for fostering DeepTech entrepreneurship
Resources to use:
Project Details
Project type
Small project
Project duration
August 2023 – July 2025
Contribution to the EUSBSR
PA Innovation
Budget in million EURO
0.5 total // 0.4 ERDF // 0.0 Norway
Involved Countries
Lead Partner: Poland
Project Partners: Poland // Germany // Lithuania
Toolbox for fostering DeepTech entrepreneurship
Toolbox for fostering DeepTech entrepreneurship
A DeepTech Entrepreneurship Toolbox comprises methods, tools, workshop scenarios and guidelines to support business innovation at the pre-incubation stage. The Toolbox can be used by business support organisations, career centres, technology transfer offices, higher education institutions and sectoral agencies to mentor, train and support students and young researchers interested in running businesses in the deep-tech sector. Students and young researchers can also make use of the Toolbox to strengthen their entrepreneurial competencies.
The Toolbox provides a structured framework to guide students and young researchers from the earliest stages of idea generation to the first steps of business validation. As many of them have limited entrepreneurial experience and often approach opportunities from research rather than a commercial perspective, the Toolbox helps bridge this gap by introducing essential business knowledge, skills and practical experience. Its content is organised into five maturity stages, ranging from users with no start-up idea or entrepreneurial experience to those already operating a company.
Each maturity stage is divided into three learning components (Think, Learn and Act), ensuring users follow a step-by-step process and apply new knowledge directly to their own ideas. This structure makes the solution easy to replicate and scale, supporting the creation of research-based start-ups and strengthening regional deep-tech ecosystems. One of the practical tools in the Toolbox is the AI-powered Pitch Training App , which lets users upload their business pitch and receive comprehensive, context-aware feedback tailored to their technology domain and target audience.
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Testing the Toolbox
Testing the Toolbox
The Toolbox was developed in line with needs and expectations identified through regional surveys. Additionally, a series of exploratory workshops organised in Warsaw, Vilnius and Berlin served as a piloting and evaluation ground for the Toolbox. Representatives of business support organisations, sectoral agencies, universities and research institutions from Poland, Lithuania and Germany, together with students and young researchers as end users, tested the Toolbox through hands-on exercises, interactive sessions and simulations.
By applying theoretical knowledge in practical contexts, participants strengthened their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, while increasing their awareness of entrepreneurship. Their feedback helped assess the Toolbox’s usability, relevance and practical value for supporting early-stage deep-tech entrepreneurship.
Interreg pays off
Toolbox in use
Interreg pays off: Toolbox in use
Thanks to the Interreg funding and transnational cooperation, the project DeepTech Launch helped close a technology talent gap in the deep-tech sector in the Baltic Sea region. Talented students and young researchers with deep-tech business ideas are now better prepared to turn them into sustainable business ventures.Â
The transnational approach applied in the Toolbox development was a key strength of the project, helping equip future innovators with the mindset and tools needed to begin their entrepreneurial journey. This practical value is already recognised beyond the partnership, including by the Warsaw University of Technology, which has started using the Toolbox in its work with students and researchers.
In numbers
8 organisations cooperating across borders
8 organisations directly benefitting
In focus
Small stories, big gains
In focus: Small stories, big gains
Can your idea beat the clock?
Five minutes can make or break a brilliant idea
Five minutes. That’s all the time you have to convince a room full of strangers that your idea deserves a chance. For many students and young researchers, the hardest part isn’t necessarily inventing something new. It’s explaining why anyone should care. A brilliant idea can disappear in five minutes if the pitch falls flat. But what if those five minutes could be practised before they really matter?
That’s where the Interreg Baltic Sea Region project BSR DeepTech Launch comes in. Partners from Poland, Germany and Lithuania created a pitching app that gives young STEM (mathematics, science, technology and engineering) innovators a chance to rehearse their presentations, receive instant feedback and refine their pitch until the message is clear, memorable and convincing to investors and partners.Because sometimes the difference between an idea staying in a notebook and becoming a business isn’t the idea itself. It’s knowing how to tell its story.
Project
Details
Project type
Small project
Project duration
August 2023 – July 2025
Contribution to the EUSBSR
PA Innovation
Budget in million
EURO
Involved
Countries
Lead partner
Project partners
