StartUp Day 2026 Awards 13 Student Entrepreneurial Teams
The twelfth edition of the initiative, promoted by the universities of Emilia-Romagna, confirms the strength of the region’s innovation ecosystem
Thirteen awards presented, 35 business projects selected, and an ecosystem increasingly focused on international growth. The twelfth edition of StartUp Day – Talents, Projects, Startups, the initiative promoted by the universities of Emilia-Romagna together with ART-ER to showcase the best entrepreneurial ideas developed in research laboratories and university classrooms, concluded with strong participation.
The 2026 edition confirmed StartUp Day’s role as one of the region’s leading events for bringing together research, business, finance and innovation. This role was further strengthened by the decision to host the initiative within the framework of WMF – We Make Future, the international fair dedicated to AI, technology and digital innovation, which provided university startups with valuable networking opportunities with companies, investors, mentors and national and international stakeholders.
At the heart of the event were the high-tech projects developed by students and researchers from the partner universities – the University of Bologna, the University of Ferrara, the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and the University of Parma – with the aim of transforming academic knowledge into practical solutions for industry, healthcare, sustainability, agrifood, digital technologies and social impact. The 35 selected business projects presented their ideas to an audience of professionals, mentors, companies, investors and venture capitalists.
The Almacube Award was presented to Cropsense for its innovation in the agricultural sector. The Collective Horizon Award went to Oncomed, operating in the health and life sciences sector, while the Sharing Sustainability Award was presented to Unna, a project focused on environmental sustainability. LESA received two awards: the Think for Food Award and the Bugnion AI PR Award, recognising its potential within agrifood supply chains and its application of emerging technologies.
The ART-ER StartUp Day International Mindset Award was presented to Révitréa and Arioflex, each of which will receive a €2,000 contribution to support participation in trade fairs, growth programmes and international experiences.
Phaged-it received the Emilbanca Best Entrepreneurial Project Award, while Kiber AI was awarded the Una Europa International Award, dedicated to deep-tech projects with a strong international outlook. The Cesena Lab Award for Best Entrepreneurial Project went to Tessa, Surplayers and Révitréa, with Révitréa taking home its second award of the day. Finally, NEPT Manager received the Startup Geeks Growth Award for its growth and scalability potential.
“StartUp Day continues to establish itself as a well-structured event: the decision to host it within the WMF framework is part of our effort to strengthen its international dimension,” said Claudio Melchiorri, Rector’s Delegate for relations with businesses and industrial research at the University of Bologna. “It marks the culmination of a year-long programme designed to highlight students’ contribution to technologically sustainable and globally minded entrepreneurship.”
The 13 winning teams also had the opportunity to meet Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, during her visit to Italy for WMF – We Make Future. The meeting further highlighted StartUp Day’s role in promoting innovation and strengthening the region’s international profile.