Bootcamp on Lean Startup Methodology has Commenced for Students as part of a Project Funded by the CIF Grant Competition.

Caucasus University hosts the five-day Bootcamp – “Introduction to Lean Startup Methodology”. The Bootcamp involves developing the product/service and rapidly discovering the business model’s viability. The event is held within the framework of the Samtskhe-Javakheti State University and the Caucasus University LLC consortium project – Entrepreneurship Education – Pathway for Innovation, Inclusion & Quality (EEPIIQ). The EEPIIQ received funding through the I2Q Project Competitive Innovation Fund (CIF) grant competition. The representatives of the I2Q project attended the opening session.

Over 50 students from Caucasus University and Samtskhe-Javakheti State University are participating in the Bootcamp. Mr. Bob Smith, the Interim Associate Vice Provost for Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship at George Washington University, leads the Bootcamp.

Participants will learn about all the main stages of launching a startup, including methodologies, startup idea generation and validation, market research, customer relations, the core values of their products or services, establishing a business model, branding, fundraising methods, and pitching techniques. The final day will be dedicated to presentations of the startup ideas developed by the participating teams.

Within the framework of the project, representatives of GWU’s “Innovations and Entrepreneurship” office retrained the Samtskhe-Javakheti State University staff, leading to the creation of an “Innovations and Entrepreneurship Center/Laboratory” at the university.  The laboratory aims to prepare/retrain students and academic staff to identify the entrepreneurial market requirements and innovative entrepreneurship resources.

In addition, to enhance the students with appropriate learning skills, in collaboration with George Washington University, universities have updated the academic programs curricula (3 curricula at Samtskhe-Javakheti State University and 5 – at Caucasus University). Within the framework of the project, the Samtskhe-Javakheti State University staff and students have also been trained to implement the third mission of universities. As a result, the university developed a strategy for implementing a third mission that leverages the latest knowledge and practices from the USA. This strategy aims to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology to industry and society, promoting social, economic, and cultural development in the region.