Alissa Ban’kovskaya, Founder & CEO of SYNCHRO SPACE the incubator of innovative solutions for cities, Leader of STARTUP-IN-RESIDENCE acceleration program by TechUkraine, Co-founder of Ukrainian Smart City Digital Expo 2020
“Elevator pitch” – ID (short resume – who, what, where)
SYNCHRO SPACE – is an incubator of innovative urban solutions.
It is a unique platform for the synchronization of activities of different specialists (IT, architects, designers, engineers, environmentalists) with the aim of joint development and implementation of technological and urban projects.
Our mission is to create the conditions and support for the development of modern cities in Ukraine and the world with innovative solutions
“Bootstrapping” – When did you start “tech&innovation life” and why? What was the challenge of the sphere?
I’m an architect-designer since 2012 I founded my studio “Alissa Ban’kovskaya Architecture & Design”, in which we create and implement projects on interior design and landscaping.
I have always been passionate in urbanism, studied how and why cities in the world are developing. And I dream to create our cities of the future.
I believe in the techno-ecological development of cities. With the help of technologies, we can provide comfort and safety in cities, consume resources wisely, live in harmony with nature, and following the development of society.
Today, architects, designers and urbanists can no longer create projects for an urban environment by themselves. In all such projects there should be a technological component. All new solutions that meet the requirements of our time, lifestyle and needs of citizens – are solutions at the intersection of the competencies of people of different specialties. We need to learn how to synchronize.
For example, when developing projects for the VDNG and UNIT.city territories, I was faced with the need to involve IT teams at the start, with whom we jointly designed “smart solutions.”
So the idea came up to create the conditions and environment for such synchronization, and in 2018 we held the first urban hackathon in Ukraine, which became the start of the SYNCHRO SPACE activity.
“Ninja/Rockstar” – How do you change the ecosystem?
During 2018-2019, we organized three urban hackathons. 26 innovative solutions were developed with the participation of 24 teams and 50 experienced mentors and experts. The customers of the projects were 7 Ukrainian cities: Bila Tserkva, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kramatorsk, Kyiv, Rivne, Ternopil, as well as 3 locations in Kyiv: UNIT.city, VDNG, Urban Space 500.
The SYNCHRO SPACE team strives to be a driving force for the growth of professionals and startups, and their collaboration with cities and companies. Where the result is a comfortable, ecological, and smart urban environment, quality services for cities, and Ukraine’s strong innovative business.
“Moat/Value proposition” – The most prominent projects, achievements you are proud of.
In April 2019, we held the event “SMART CITY: redesign & innovations”, which included a lectorium with prominent speakers and a second urban hackathon. One of the hackathon teams – SoftUUp startup – with the support of outstanding mentors, developed a project to solve a specific challenge from the city of Bila Tserkva and was selected as the winner.
The project has been finalized and implemented within 5 months. SoftUUp received an order from the city. As well as funding from the city budget and curatorial group BOORYAK, interested in the implementation of the project.
As a result, Bila Tserkva received an innovative solution, which became its business card and positively influenced its image. And the winning team of the urban hackathon received as a customer – the city, as well as extensive information support and PR.
The Living Sculpture Project implemented in Bila Tserkva has already become a magnet for tourists. And this contributes to the development of local businesses and, accordingly, the flow of funds into the local budget. And the startup got the opportunity to scale the project in collaboration with other cities.
This is a prime example of the impact of SYNCHRO SPACE.
We help professionals and startups form teams, create projects, and scale business:
- we carry out urban hackathons and incubation programs, provide training and mentoring, help with attracting clients and investments, support information.
- For cities, developers, and the business we offer development of innovative projects for specific challenges and problems. We provide support for the implementation of these projects and their testing.
We are proud of our participants and experts – together we create our cities of the future.
‘Tech for good” – The next big thing you predict in the next decade for Ukraine
Today, SYNCHRO SPACE is a hub of innovations for cities. We started working in a hybrid format – offline + online. It makes it easier to work with different cities, involve participants from all over Ukraine and other countries, and influence their development.
I see huge potential: the interest in cooperation not only from companies but also from the city authorities – makes it possible to influence the changes in cities for the better on a larger scale. And each successful case motivates others.
I believe that in the next decade, Ukrainian cities will be on the lists of the best cities for life.
Our goal is to become a global trendsetter in creating cities of the future and a source of innovative solutions of Ukrainian startups; to build the city of SYNCHRO SPACE, realizing the idea of synchronization at all levels and relying on the successful cases and experience of our incubator.)
