Investe São Paulo hosts investment fair with innovative solutions developed by students
Event organized by Instituto TIM took place brought together approximately 70 university students who participated in the Academic Working Capital program in 2017
Investe São PauloIn its third edition, the Investment Fair promoted by the Academic Working Capital (AWC) program – an initiative of Instituto TIM that supports the development of new technology-based businesses created by university students – took place yesterday (12/13) at the Technological Park of the state of São Paulo with the support from Investe São Paulo.
The agency’s director, Sérgio Costa, participated in the opening of the event and spoke about the importance of providing support to entrepreneurs. “Information and networking are essential for the development of the companies and this is what Investe São Paulo wants to bring to the students. Startups are already born with a very large international profile and the agency is in charge of helping them in this process,” he said.
AWC is an entrepreneurial education program that supports students who want to transform their Final Undergraduate Projects into a technology-based company. Professor Marcos Barretto is responsible for the Academic Coordination of the initiative. He is member of the Department of Mechatronics and Mechanical Systems Engineering of the Escola Politécnica of the University of São Paulo, and Diogo Dutra is responsible for the Content Coordination, he is partner and executive director of the innovation and design consulting firm, CAOS Focado.
“There are still many taboos when it comes to entrepreneurship, especially at the university. We still face obstacles, but education for entrepreneurship has been evolving over the last decades, both in terms of format and content. And programs such as the AWC are essential in this scenario. It contributes to the development of attitudes and entrepreneurial skills, using a real technology that can be used as a first business as soon as the student graduates,” said Professor Marcos Barretto.
The products of the teams were exhibited in booths and the six best evaluated groups were RodieBot, DearGrand, RoadLabs, RT Air Qual, Detec and Self Up, and they introduced their businesses in pitch-deck format to a judging panel, with the participation of Marco Poli, from Anjos do Brasil, and André Leme Fleury, a PhD Professor at the University of São Paulo and Luis Minoru Shibata, Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at TIM Brasil, as well as a member of the board of directors of Instituto TIM. In addition, there will be a panel on “Entrepreneurship at the University”, with the presence of Renato Freitas, of 99 Taxis, and Maurício Villar, of Compartibike.