Наталя Хандусенко Hot News 5 June 2025, 13:52

Over 40 projects and $6 million in investments. How the SID City Science Park of Lviv Polytechnic, which turns 5 today, works

Today, the largest Science Park in Ukraine turns 5 years old. It was on June 5, 2020 that the SID City Science Park of the Lviv Polytechnic National University was registered. During this time, more than 40 international and regional projects have been implemented, and the cooperation network includes more than 100 companies, organizations, institutions, universities, and government agencies from various fields and countries. SID City projects save lives, enter international markets, and work in various communities in Ukraine.

SID City Science Park

The SID City Science Park of the Lviv Polytechnic National University was registered on June 5, 2020 with an authorized capital of UAH 3.12 million.

The founders include: the Ukrainian IT company SoftServe, Gal-Kat LLC, which is a leader in the production of cable products in Ukraine, Royal Standard Asset Management Company LLC, as well as the public organization Tech Startup School, which is the university’s startup school.

» Over 5 years, we have implemented over 40 projects (international and regional). Each of the projects is important to us and has given its own
results. These are partnerships, investments, networking, startup development, and
the most important thing for us is experience, reputation and community. Projects we will support — Pay4Victory, Aquior, im2be, DOFamine, ZernoBio (joint
«(a project to study the facial skin biome), Yeedee, more than a dozen dual-purpose devices, and others,» dev.ua was told at the Science Park.

In addition to the founders, SID City collaborates with companies in various industries: Prana Platinum, a manufacturer of energy-efficient ventilation systems, Hydroxy Power, which develops and manufactures modern equipment for generating hydrogen-containing gas, and the international fund Greenfield Investment, Fruton LLC, Omega Strike, and many others.

«First of all, we help and establish cooperation with scientists who are ready to join teams and start working on the implementation of science-intensive projects. We also become partners and jointly implement international projects. Sometimes this is mentoring support for our startups, validation of the idea,» SID City noted.

Areas of work and projects

At the beginning of the launch of the Science Park, the priority was new and renewable energy sources, mechanical and instrument engineering, resource-saving technologies, microelectronics, telecommunications, improvement of chemical technologies, etc. Over time, some areas changed, especially after the full-scale invasion.

«We started work in 2020, before our challenges there was still COVID-19, and together with the Tech StartUp School team, we produced in the laboratory -
protective screens that were handed over to doctors. Some of the initial projects remained, but since the polytechnic has many directions, they began
work with architects and develop creative industries, we also help and support startups in fintech, legaltech and
other directions.»

With the start of full-scale, SID City supports the development of dual-use and medical projects, transfers drones and other means. For example, with the support of patrons and partners, more than 4,000 Aquior hydrogel bandages were transferred for the treatment of military personnel at the Lviv Military Medical Clinical Center of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

Aquior hydrogel dressings as an example of commercialization of scientific developments and technology transfer from science to society

This tool was developed and manufactured by scientists at Lviv Polytechnic University under the leadership of Professor Volodymyr Samaryk.

The Aquior dressing provides a progressive method of wound healing and facilitates the treatment process, reducing it by up to 2 times depending on the clinical case.

Made from natural materials, it does not cause allergic reactions or skin irritation and is completely biodegradable, which significantly simplifies the disposal procedure after use.

The advantage of such dressings is that they can be left on the wound for up to 5 days, do not adhere to the wound or dry out, which makes the dressing process comfortable and painless for the patient and less laborious for medical personnel.

«We are currently actively working with teams and partners to develop projects and startups in the fields of AI, IT, IoT, instrument making, biotechnology, energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, laser technologies,
robotics and agrospheres. Artificial intelligence is used in particular in our IM2BE and Pay4Victory projects.

AI-based IM2BE and Pay4Victory projects

Pay4Victory is a platform for paying taxes and utilities for territorial communities, as well as a chatbot on Telegram. It is also a platform and chatbot for paying for tuition and dormitory accommodation.

The platform is already operating in over 40 communities. For example, in Sheptytska TG, in less than a quarter since the platform began operating, over 25% of the debt was paid (UAH 2 million out of UAH 7.5 million).

Im2be is an innovative app created by a team of students to strengthen family bonds, develop positive habits, and improve family understanding. It helps families set common goals, celebrate achievements together, and share important life moments.

The student team that developed the application Im2be

The Science Park is also part of 4 consortia and implements projects within the Horizon Europe program:

INPACE (2024-2027) — support for the implementation of the Digital Partnership between
The European Union and Japan, South Korea, Singapore, as well as India. The consortium consists of 21 partners from 14 countries;

Heat2Heat (2023-2028) — creating a complete value chain for heating commercial buildings using green hydrogen (H2). The consortium has 11 partners;

LASER-PRO (2025-2028) — development of new laser technologies. The consortium consists of 16 partners;

Excel4Pro (2025-2028) — supporting innovation in the agri-food sector, focusing on new food products based on plant proteins. The consortium has 17 partners.

«Students and teachers are actively involved in SID City projects, and this is our advantage in creating an innovative environment. Students
and scientists are working on creating prototypes, MVPs, new technologies in
laboratories,» SID City notes about students’ involvement in projects. «Frankly, the most involved students are AI and IoT.»

In the business innovation center Tech Startup School, there are pre-acceleration and acceleration programs that are implemented with international partners and within the framework of international projects that teach the basics of entrepreneurship and help develop ideas.

One such example of student projects is DOFamine — these are moving simulators for education, training, rehabilitation and entertainment. The platform has two, three or six degrees of freedom. The startup is headed by graduate student Dmitry Dubachev. The team has already raised over 50,000 euros through grant programs.

Investments

Among the investors is the Polish company Intelligent Technologies SA, cooperation with which has already grown into a strategic partnership.

Intelligent Technologies SA became an investor in the im2be application team, which attracted $130,000 in direct investment and entered the Ukrainian and EU (Poland) markets. It is also preparing to enter the US and Scandinavian markets.

The Science Park also signed an agreement with the international fund Greenfield Investment — the total investment amount exceeded $1 million.

In addition, a number of investments were made through international donors — over the entire time, this is over $5 million.

Laboratories

In addition to companies, SID City also collaborates with other universities.

«Our teams jointly carry out scientific projects, there is cooperation of efforts, transfer of knowledge and technologies, establishment of joint
production,» they say in SID City.

The park also contributed to the creation of several laboratories at the university and at the Tech StartUp School, which are used for developing and testing prototypes, conducting specialized research and experiments by students, faculty, employees, and partners of the University.

Before the creation of a Science Park based on Tech StartUp School
2 laboratories operated — Tech LabInnno (technical space for creating prototypes) and BioTechHub (biotechnological research and
startups). Last year, with the support of USAID partners, 4 new research and practical laboratories were opened for training and conducting research in metal analysis, metalworking, robotics, and inclusive space. The cost of the latter is $512,000.

We also created training and prototyping laboratories with the participation of donors in the cities of Stryi (UNICEF), Sambir (UNICEF), and Sheptytskyi (GIZ).

In addition, a number of renovations were carried out in the buildings of Lviv Polytechnic to create coworking spaces, meeting rooms, and laboratories, in particular in buildings 23, 20, and 40.

Science.City

Ukraine is currently preparing to launch a new legal regime for Science.City. Universities, together with businesses, will be able to create a science park as a private company that can become a resident of Diya.City.

Three pilot parks are already operating in Ukraine, including SID City.

«In my opinion, the adoption of the Science.City regime is an important step for the development of science parks. It is a change in the model of work, functioning and cooperation within innovation ecosystems, coordination of work between innovation infrastructures and key actors. It is important that this model is based on a special legal, financial and spatial regime. This will contribute to the formation of new R&D centers, laboratories, improving the investment environment, scaling existing results,» said Nazar Podolchak, director of the SID City Science Park.

About plans

«By the end of the year, we will double in size compared to the previous year. We are currently the largest science park in the country by the end of 2024, and therefore we want to maintain this leadership. In the long term, we want to become one of the largest innovation and technology ecosystems in Europe. Many foreign guests are already coming to us and studying, but we have room to grow and develop,» SID City said about its plans.

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