INRTU Graduates' Startups: Healthy Drinks, Travel Agency on Olkhon, and Ore Search Device
On May 15-17, INRTU hosted pre-defenses of projects under the “Startup as a Diploma” program. Students present developments in digitalization, geological exploration, and a business selling healthy drinks.
The “Startup as a Diploma” program has been implemented at INRTU since 2020. It brings together graduate students who have ideas for project commercialization and plan to defend them in the form of a final thesis. 41 people participate in the program this year. The pre-defenses of “diplomas” were evaluated by employees of Irkutsk universities and enterprises.
Timofey Kuznetsov, a future mechanical engineer, reported on the progress of the Magnetic water project. Student has developed sugar-free non-carbonated drinks enriched with minerals. The products are already supplied to universities in Irkutsk, chain stores, and oil and gas fields in Siberia and the Far East.
Having launched the business 1.5 years ago, Timofey quickly reached break-even production. His next steps are to expand the assortment and improve the design of the packaging.
“Magnetic water is promoted as a healthy food product. In the process of marketing, it turned out that brightly colored labels repel adherents of healthy lifestyle and pensioners – one of the target audiences. I will have to work on this nuance and make a more attractive design,” said the student.
The project aroused great interest on the part of experts – they advised Timofey to think over an advertising campaign and start cooperating with agents who would help him “enter” large supermarkets.
Artyom Imikhelov and Timofey Khomyakov are creating a travel agency focused on Olkhon. It is an online aggregator for booking excursions around the island. Students plan to attract Olkhon drivers and tour guides to cooperate with them. The business model will be based on partner commissions – similar schemes exist in Maxim Taxi and Yandex Go. According to the authors' calculations, they will need just over 700,000 rubles to launch the project.
Ilya Trofimov, an employee of SSG at INRTU, is developing equipment capable of fast and inexpensive probing of soil to search for ore deposits. The projected equipment is distinguished by its advantages over its market analogs. Firstly, many sensors can be connected to the devices, which will ensure detailed research. Secondly, low-frequency communication is provided, which will increase the depth of probing and allow the equipment to work in rugged and forested terrain.
According to Ilya Trofimov, he intends to assemble a prototype of the equipment in the fall of 2024:
“I have been working in the exploration industry for four years and have supervised production projects twice. I am also involved in the interpretation and processing of electrical exploration data. I believe that my experience will make it possible to successfully implement the idea”.
Some students chose to develop Telegram bots as startups. The programs are designed to optimize business processes, replace recruiting search engines and dating sites.
Some authors focused on creating digital products in the media sphere (web service for videographers, VK-community for communication between media professionals and employers).
