Idea Days in Odesa dedicated to future strategies for business

The Days of Ideas, an event organized in Odesa by The Aspen Institute Kyiv and Impact Hub Odesa, took place on July 27 with the participation of entrepreneurs and university representatives.

As Yulia Tychkivska, Executive Director of The Aspen Institute Kyiv, told Intenta, this year's main topics of the Idea Days were investments in long-term development.

"Today there is a strong sense that despite living in an existential threat, we need to think about tomorrow, and this is important for the military as well. We need to create a picture of the future for which our defenders are fighting. That's why we chose the topic of investing for the long haul. We are talking about human capital not as a human resource, but in the sense of a person as the main value. How can we support people, make them competitive, and the second block is culture. Culture is about meanings, about the future, about the formation of a generation of new Ukrainians," she explained.

According to Yulia Tychkivska, Odesa is the birthplace of the Days of Ideas, and every year, even with the change of other cities for the festival, Odesa remains the base city where the festival is held.

In June, Odesa also hosted the Brain Fest youth festival: " Summer of Ideas, organized as part of the R&D Hub South project.

The winners of Brain Fest were three teams from Odesa educational institutions:

• The first place was taken by the team of the Odesa Pedagogical Specialized College "Honest and Open". They have developed an online support platform for teenagers and young people with the possibility of anonymous communication, sharing stories about difficult topics: bullying, domestic violence, psychological difficulties, loneliness.
• The second place was taken by the FeedPaws team from the Mechanical and Technology College of Odesa National Technological University. Their idea is an engineering and social project of a smart feeder for stray cats with face recognition, dosed feed and water supply, video surveillance, and personalized animal accounting.
• The third place went to the Falcon's Nest team from the Odesa Professional Lyceum of the Service Sector of the K.D. Ushynsky National Pedagogical University. They have developed the Falcon's Nest eco-bag for FPV drones, which allows them to safely deliver water, medicine, and other essentials to the military in the combat zone.

In 2023, the Day of Ideas, organized by The Aspen Institute Kyiv and Impact Hub Odesa, took place in Odesa on July 22 as part of the Festival of Ideas.

Photo: Intent/Natalia Dovbysh

Кирило Бойко