7.4.5 – Does your university as a body provide assistance for start-ups that foster and support a low-carbon economy/technology?

University Assistance for Low-Carbon Technology Start-ups

The University of El Oued provides high-level, specialized assistance for start-ups that develop and commercialize advanced technologies, including those with significant low-carbon and environmental applications. This critical support is delivered through the University Interfaces Center and the Business Incubator by actively establishing international partnerships and facilitating access to specialized research expertise to validate and scale up innovative projects.

Mechanism: Facilitating International Technical Collaboration

The university demonstrates its commitment to fostering high-tech, low-carbon ventures by integrating them into its international cooperation programs. On March 14, 2024, the university hosted an official delegation from the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, composed of research professors in Chemistry and representatives from the Erasmus+ program. This visit was framed within the context of scientific mobility and research collaboration. The university ensured that the University Interfaces Center, which houses the Business Incubator and the Technology Support Center, was a key destination for the foreign researchers.

This institutional planning ensured that the start-ups received direct exposure to external expertise. During the tour, the delegation was shown various prototypes, including a student-developed model for Cold Plasma production. While Cold Plasma technology has wide-ranging applications, its use in sterilization, material science, and enhancing energy efficiency makes it a valuable innovation for the low-carbon economy.

High-Value Assistance for Technology Development

The assistance provided was immediate and high-value. The head of the Slovakian delegation expressed strong admiration for the Cold Plasma prototype, which had already secured an Intellectual Property patent registration. Crucially, the professor committed to future cooperation in working to expand the project’s applications and developing the model. This promise, brokered and facilitated by the University’s foreign relations office and the Business Incubator staff, represents a direct and essential form of assistance. It provides the student with access to advanced international research expertise and potential avenues for further technical validation, which is indispensable for commercializing complex scientific innovations that contribute to a low-carbon economy.