Within the frames of Erasmus+ LISS24 (Learn-Innovate-Sell-Succeed) project “Innovative Business Ideas Generation” courses, ended by internal competitions student competition, were organized in the National Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA). Course classes with full participation of 23 NPUA students started on March 30, 2026, and ended on April 10. Based on the experience of the previous year, the 2026 training classes phase was organized within a shorter period and in a more intensive format compared to the previous year. The main training phase was conducted over a two-week period, in the format of three meetings per week, with each meeting lasting 1.5 to 2 hours.
Within the classes, the participants were involved in thematic lectures, lively discussions, group work and practical assignments. The course was focused on three key areas: creative thinking, comprehensive business impact assessment and business modelling. These components provided the theoretical base for generating competitive, market-oriented business ideas.
The practical learning process included the application of ideas-generation and innovation modern tools, including brainstorming, design thinking, mind mapping, market research and customer needs analysis, business model development, pitch preparation and presentation practice. Students also had the opportunity to meet business professionals and learn from practical experience related to the commercialization of ideas. Interactive and game-based learning methods were used to make the sessions more practice-oriented and to help participants critically test the strengths and limitations of their ideas. The emphasis was placed on the understanding that an innovative idea is valuable only when it addresses a real problem, creates value for a specific target group and can find its place in the market.
The course concluding inter-university “Innovative Business Ideas Generation” competition was held on April 17, at NPUA, served as the final practical stage of the training course, during which students presented the innovative business ideas developed throughout the training process.
A total of 5 student teams, composed of 12 students, participated in the competition. The evaluation of presented innovative idea-projects was carried out by the Evaluation Committee composed of the representatives from the Armenian business sector and Project partner universities. The submitted ideas were assessed according to the preliminary developed and spread among participants evaluation criteria, including innovation originality, market analysis and feasibility, quality of business model development and its presentation, communication and team interaction skills, as well as the ability to deliver a convincing presentation.
As a result of Competition, the following student teams were nominated as the winners:
✓“Perseus” team was awarded 1st place – an electronic device intended for programmers and engineers to test development, and verification of various ideas.
✓“Air Purification Station” team, 2nd place - an air purification station operating on the principle of ionization and providing significantly lower construction and operating costs,
✓“Collage” team, 3rd place - a platform that, through an AI toolkit, helps students in their ideas’ design, advertising, and marketing making the ideas more attractive.
All three team members, as well as the other competition and training participants receieved certificates of winners and participants correspondingly. Also, as it was annonced preliminary, the first 2 winner teams gained the right and represent NPUA in the similar Eastern Partnership Games held in Tbilisi on May 19, 2026, again within the frames of LISS24 project. This successful pioting on international stage should be considered as a quite tangible result of LISS24 in a whole and of this two-year campaign of trainings and internal competitions aimed at the further promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and international cooperation of students, in particular.