YEP Accelerator officially announces the second wave of its specialized “Beyond the Thesis” program. This initiative is designed to be the bridge for Ukrainian scientific teams, helping them transition from pure technology to commercially viable products.
Designed to close the critical gap between scientific development and market readiness, the program targets teams with a TRL5+ level (Technology Readiness Level), preparing them to present their products to global investors and partners with confidence.
The Ecosystem & Timeline
The program kicks off with a 2-month intensive in February–March 2026, followed by an optional 3-month mentoring stage for select teams. This phase focuses entirely on structuring and business development for science-intensive projects.
To ensure global relevance, the project is backed by a powerful roster of ecosystem partners:
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Aalto University (Finland)
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Technical University of Denmark (Denmark)
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Gateway Excellence Start-up Center at the University of Cologne (Germany)
The Vision
The core mission of Beyond the Thesis is to align the expectations of the market with the reality of scientist-entrepreneurs.
“Working with scientists who strive to create their own successful product is one of the key priorities for the development of the Ukrainian startup ecosystem”, says Maria Tintul, Head of the Beyond the Thesis program at YEP Accelerator.
“World experience proves that it is science-intensive projects that have enormous potential, because they are able not only to enter the market, but only to create new categories or transform existing ones. The task of our program is to synchronize the expectations of the market and scientist-entrepreneurs. We do this by immersing teams in a real business context and helping them turn scientific developments into viable business plans”.
What Participants Will Achieve
Selected teams will move beyond theory to practical execution:
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Strategy: Deeply work out the business component and commercialization strategy.
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Assets: Create professional investor materials (pitch decks, business plans).
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Testing: Test their pitch with mentor investors during a final online chamber event.
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Global Opportunity: Receive support from YEP and the Imagine Next Challenge teams, with a potential opportunity to participate in the Imagine Next Summit in California for planetary-first solutions.
Who Should Apply
Participation is free, but competitive—only 5 teams will be selected. Priority is given to projects with a clear scientific core (Hardware, Software, Materials).
Criteria for entry:
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Deeptech development with readiness level TRL5+.
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Ownership of IP rights and independence from university structures.
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Unique scientific or engineering competencies.
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High motivation to commercialize technology.
Deadline: January 16, 2026.
