3 + 1 RESEARCH CASES
Three research cases on day one. A new fourth case for the three finalist teams.
SPINOUT
FROM THE LAB · LABRASTAJYVÄSKYLÄ · FINLAND
THE LAB ISN'T
THE FINISH LINE.
COMMERCIALISING
IT IS.
Think you could sell a lab invention to investors? Prove it. Your team works on one of three real research cases and pitches a business concept. The top three teams tackle a new fourth case in the final.
27 STUDENT PLACES · NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE NEEDED
RESEARCH→REAL TEAMS→9–10 DEC 2026→MARKET
APPLICATIONS OPEN / SPINOUT 2026
FOUR CASES. ONE WINNING DEEPTECH PITCH.
A deeptech pitching competition and research commercialisation programme for students and alumni, organised by Jyväskylä Entrepreneurship Society (JES), in collaboration with the University of Jyväskylä (JYU).
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
APPLY FOR SPINOUT 2026 ↗27 places. 9 teams of 3. Applications opened on 30 September 2026. Apply individually through Google Forms and read the full details before submitting.
3+1REAL RESEARCH CASES
27TOTAL CAPACITY
09TEAMS
03PEOPLE PER TEAM
WHAT YOU GET
PITCH & NETWORKING
Build your pitch, meet investors and make new connections.
CASH PRIZE
€2,500 for the overall winning team, plus a €1,000 study travel grant.
STUDY CREDITS
4–5 credits for participating students at JYU or JAMK, regardless of winning.
REAL EXPERIENCE
Turn unfamiliar research into a business idea and a pitch you can show.
NO PREREQUISITES
No previous experience needed. Bring curiosity and a willingness to learn.
Spotted us around Jyväskylä? Look for the Spinout posters on JYU campuses, at JAMK, in the library and other spaces around the city.
SPINOUT 2026 / JYVÄSKYLÄ
We’re waiting for you!
See you on 9 December 2026 at the University of Jyväskylä.
Countdown to the date in Finland. Exact event timings will be shared with participants.—Days
—Hours
—Minutes
—Seconds
9 December 2026
Onsite at the University of Jyväskylä. A full day of teamwork with researchers, mentors and experts, ending in presentations to a judging panel. Selected participants will receive exact timings closer to the event.
Final: 10 December — The top three teams must also attend onsite on 10 December. All finalists receive the same new, fourth research case and develop a new concept for the final pitch.
Students & alumni
Open to JYU and JAMK students and alumni, across disciplines. You do not need to be a scientist, entrepreneur or business student. Bring curiosity, creativity and a willingness to learn with others.
Apply alone or as a team of three.
We form multidisciplinary teams of three based on backgrounds, skills, interests and experience. Already have a team? All three members must apply individually and list their teammates in the final “If you want to mention anything else feel free to add” field.
€2,500+ €1,000
The overall winning team receives a €2,500 team prize and a €1,000 study travel grant to visit a startup/deep-tech ecosystem and bring new knowledge back to Jyväskylä.
4–5 study credits — All participating students receive credits towards their studies at JAMK or JYU, regardless of winning.
Before you apply
Teams explore real JYU research from different faculties: what problems a technology solves, who could use and pay for it, potential applications and markets, and how it could become a business with real-world impact. Researchers introduce the cases and explain the technology.
- Teams must sign an NDA/confidentiality agreement before receiving confidential research, inventions or results.
- Event photos and videos may be used in Spinout/JES communications, social media, websites and promotional materials.
- Active students will be contacted via their JYU or JAMK email. Alumni and non-active students will be contacted via the personal email provided in the application.
- No AI assistance. You will work on the research cases without AI assistance. Use your own thinking and teamwork, with support from mentors.
SPINOUT 2026 / MEET OUR GUESTS
INVESTORS. BUILDERS. IN THE ROOM.
Meet Veera, Monika, Pauli and Matti. Our guests bring perspectives from Cloudberry VC, entrepreneurship, VTT and Kiilto Ventures on turning research into business.
Veera
Pietikäinen
Founding Partner / Cloudberry VC
Nearly a decade working with early-stage and deeptech companies, spanning investments, portfolio support, finance and fund management. Veera brings a research-based deeptech investor’s perspective to the teams developing new business concepts at Spinout.
Meet Veera on LinkedIn ↗Cloudberry VC
Helsinki- and London-based Cloudberry VC is behind Europe’s first venture fund dedicated to semiconductors, photonics and advanced materials, investing in pre-seed and seed-stage startups across Europe.
SemiconductorsPhotonicsAdvanced materials
Read the guest announcementPDF ↗
GUEST #2 / ENTREPRENEUR PERSPECTIVEMonika
Monika
Liikamaa
Executive Chair, Lignum Medical · Co-founder, Enfuce
From fintech to research-based medtech.
Monika helped build payments company Enfuce from the ground up. Today she is Executive Chair of Lignum Medical, which develops medical devices made from birch nanocellulose, and Executive in Residence at Aalto University School of Business.
She knows what it takes to turn an idea into a company. That is the journey Spinout participants begin: exploring how real research from the University of Jyväskylä could become a business.
FintechMedtechVenture building
Read Monika’s guest announcementPDF ↗
GUEST #3 / RESEARCH TO BUSINESSPauli
Pauli
Laitinen
Manager, In-kind Investments / VTT
Turning research into companies.
Pauli evaluates and executes IP investments at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and supports VTT LaunchPad teams as they turn VTT technology into new spin-off companies. VTT LaunchPad, VTT’s startup incubator, is behind companies such as Onego Bio, Steady Energy and SemiQon.
Turning research into companies is exactly what Spinout is about. Students work with real research from the University of Jyväskylä and explore how it could become a business. Pauli brings first-hand insight into how that journey works in practice.
IP investmentsVTT LaunchPadSpin-offs
Read Pauli’s guest announcementPDF ↗
GUEST #4 / SPECIALISED VENTURE CAPITALMatti
Matti
Rönkkö
Managing Director / Kiilto Ventures
Industry know-how. Startup pace.
Matti is the Managing Director of Kiilto Ventures, the venture arm of Kiilto, a Finnish family-owned company with more than 100 years of history. Founded in 2019, Kiilto Ventures builds and invests in early-stage startups with a focus on a more sustainable built world.
Early-stage specialised venture capital is one of the routes research-based ideas can take to market. Matti brings an investor’s perspective that combines industry know-how with startup pace, exactly what our teams need as they explore how real research from the University of Jyväskylä could become a business.
Early-stage startupsVenture capitalSustainable built world
Read Matti’s guest announcementPDF ↗27 student places9 December + final on 10 December 2026 · University of Jyväskylä
Apply for Spinout 2026 ↗01WHY
SPIN OUT?
SPIN OUT?
Universities produce
KNOWLEDGE.
INVENTIONS.
POSSIBILITY.
Markets need
PRODUCTS.
CUSTOMERS.
MOMENTUM.
THE SPACE BETWEEN?THAT'S WHERE
WE WORK.SPIN OUT
WE WORK.SPIN OUT
02 / HOW SPINOUT WORKSTHREE CASES.
THREE CASES.
ONE NEW FINAL.
A two-day deeptech commercialisation challenge. Real university research, new business concepts and pitches to experts and investors.
3 + 1
RESEARCH CASES
Three cases on day one. The three finalist teams all receive the same, completely new fourth case on day two.
9 TEAMS · 3 STUDENTS PER TEAM · 27 PLACESBuild it. Pitch it.
3 cases. 9 teams.
Three teams work on each of the three JYU research cases. Each team has three students.
Work + mentoring
Each team has its own meeting room and mentor support during ideation. Explore markets and applications and build a business concept.
Lunch included
Lunch is served between the working session and the day’s pitch session.
Pitch at C4
All nine teams pitch at C4 on the University of Jyväskylä Main Campus. The top three teams advance to the final.
New case. One winner.
A completely new case
The three finalist teams receive the same new, fourth research case for the final.
New solution + mentors
Finalists work in their own meeting rooms with mentor support, build a new concept and prepare their final pitch.
Lunch included
Lunch is served between the working session and the final pitch.
Final at Historica
In Historica’s large lecture hall, the finalists pitch to a high-level expert and investor jury. One team wins Spinout 2026.
Your thinking. Your team. No AI.
Research cases are worked on without AI assistance. Mentors are available to help you explore, challenge and develop your ideas.
No team? No problem.
Apply alone and we will build a mixed-background team of three for you. Already have a team of three? Every member applies individually and names their teammates in the form’s final comments field. No previous startup, research or business experience is required.
Exact timings will be shared with selected participants closer to the event. Finalist teams must attend both days onsite.
WHAT IS SPIN OUT?REAL RESEARCH.
REAL RESEARCH.
REAL TEAMS.
9–10 DEC 2026
TO TAKE IT
TO MARKET.
Real JYU research. Multidisciplinary teams of three. Onsite in Jyväskylä on 9 December, with the final for winning teams on 10 December 2026.
03 / THE PEOPLE BEHIND EVERY SPIN OUTNOT AN ORG CHART.
A WORKING SYSTEM.
Select a name. Find the person who can move your idea forward.
MEET THE TEAMGOOD COMPANY.
GOOD COMPANY.
SHARED AMBITION.
The people behind SPIN OUT, spending time together beyond the work.
SPIN OUT / LINKEDIN
Follow our LinkedIn
Stay connected with the team, guest announcements and the latest from Spinout.
Visit LinkedIn ↗
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERTWO LANGUAGES.
TWO LANGUAGES.
ONE ROUTE OUT.
Researchers bring discoveries, papers and data. Companies need products, prices and customers. Meet the people who translate between the two — and explore how research finds its way into the world.
Explore technology transfer ↗Read the PDF ↗DISCOVERY · PAPERS · DATA↓
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
↓PRODUCT · PRICE · CUSTOMER
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
↓PRODUCT · PRICE · CUSTOMER
PATENTS & PUBLISHINGFILE FIRST.
FILE FIRST.
PUBLISH NEXT.
Sharing research and protecting an invention can work together. Explore why timing matters, how European and US rules differ, and why intellectual property can be a core asset in deep tech.
Explore patents & publishing ↗Read the PDF ↗ASK YOUR INNOVATION TEAM EARLYASSESS → FILE → PUBLISHTHE ORDER MATTERS
ECOSYSTEM / COLLABORATION
NEW CONNECTIONS.
MORE POSSIBILITIES.
Exploring future collaboration with the JAMK Talent Boost team.
We met with JAMK University of Applied Sciences to discuss future collaboration opportunities for Spinout. A big thank you to the JAMK Talent Boost team for meeting with us, sharing ideas and exploring what we could build together.
Exciting things ahead. We look forward to continuing the conversation.
Meet JAMK on LinkedIn ↗04 / FIND YOUR PERSONWHAT BRINGS
WHAT BRINGS
YOU HERE?
No generic contact maze. Start with your reason, and we'll point you towards the right person.
@spin_out_jes
FOLLOW THE PEOPLE. CATCH THE MOMENT.
Guest announcements, team stories and moments behind the scenes. Follow Spinout on Instagram and get to know the people bringing research into the real world.
Follow us on Instagram ↗
BRING US
THE RESEARCH.
We'll bring the questions, the people and the route forward.