FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: How many hours per week will I be expected to dedicate to the program?

A: The preparatory courses & workshop (delivered in the beginning of February) will require a total of 9 hours over a 2-week period (average of 4.5hours/week). The Entrepreneurial Residency Programme will be executed over 8-12 weeks, depending on the specific requirements of each project. The average time requirement dedicated to meetings between the partners will be 3 hours per week (2 meetings of 1.5hours each). Then, the number of hours/week dedicated to working on developing the project will be at the discretion of each participant. Meeting slots and times will be flexible and agreed between each industry-academia pair at the start of the collaboration.

Q: What if my R&D partner is in another country? Will there be any travel involved?

A: The entire program will happen online: Matchmaking events, preparatory courses, meetings between each academic-business ‘venturing pair’, collaborations and pitching will all happen digitally. The most promising ventures will get the opportunity to travel to Slovenia in June 2023 to participate in an in-person pitching event.

Q: Do I need to pay a fee to participate?

A: The programme does not require any financial investment on the side of the participants. 

Q: Will Venture Alliances invest financially in the projects resulting from the programme?

While Venture Alliances will not directly invest funds in the projects or ventures created through the programme, guidance and support will be provided to the venturing pairs with regards to funding acquisition from public, private and hybrid sources. 

Q: I am interested in joining the program but I am concerned about sharing my novel ideas with the world, as the IP is not yet protected.

A: Support will be provided for the writing and signing of NDAs between the academic-industry partners, and between VA and each participant, prior to the sharing of any confidential or sensitive information.

Q: I would like to partner with an academic or industry to develop an R&D project. However, I am not sure how things will go when it comes to IP ownership. 

A: Contractual agreements regarding the ownership of existing IP and the sharing of newly created IP will be put in place through mutual agreement between the parties and with support from Venture Alliances. The ENVISIONAlliances project or the Venture Alliances consortium will not be requesting any IP ownership from the programme participants.