These companies receive STUD-ENT funding this year

'Our goal is for Norway to create more businesses based on research and knowledge from universities. We have world-leading expertise in several fields and the potential to turn even more of it into innovative and, importantly, profitable businesses. It is wonderful to see the strong focus on entrepreneurship and business creation at universities and university colleges,' says Haugli.

Half of the 22 projects receiving funding – 11 in total – are from NTNU in Trondheim. Three are from the University of Oslo, three from NMBU in Ås, two from the University of Tromsø, one from the University of Stavanger, one from OsloMet and one from Kristiania University College.

'Although many of the companies come from the major university cities, the scheme is helping to create more promising start-ups across the country. Many of the students are now setting up their companies in their home counties. However, we would like to see even more applications from across Norway and will continue working with universities and university colleges to make that happen,' says Frode Braadland.

This is the second time we have assessed the applications and awarded the funding, and the selection criteria are rigorous. 'We are impressed by the quality of many of the applications. It is truly inspiring to work with so many ambitious and talented young entrepreneurs,' says Frode Braadland, who is responsible for the scheme.

• Knitrr AS, Oslo Met
• Fett AS, NTNU
• Leikanger Innovations, UiT
• Grammastistes AS, UiO
• Dibs AS/Muttu, NTNU
• Nen Holding AS, NTNU
• Usersights AS, UiT
• Eriksen Enterprises/CADEA, NMBU
• Tunheim Consult, NMBU
• Mepo Psychology Services AS, NTNU
• Jona.ai AS, UiS
• Evvent AS, UiO
• Jonathan Eide, NTNU
• Leasi AS, NTNU
• Tendro AS, NTNU
• Heidi Grande AS/Hera Solutions, NTNU
• Quarry Scan AS, NMBU
• Kelpinor AS, NTNU
• Mindin AS, Kristiania University College
• Naya Development AS, NTNU
• Mats Bjørnstadjordet, NTNU
• Moreshrooms AS, UiO

STUD-ENT aims to encourage entrepreneurship among students, helping them establish their own business based on the knowledge they have gained through their studies. Students must be nearing completion of a master's degree or have recently graduated, and they must have established a limited company. The company's core team must consist of students or recent graduates who own at least 80 per cent of the company. The grant can cover up to NOK 1 million in internal and external costs for developing and commercialising their solutions.

You can become our customer even if your company was not selected in this round of the competition. For example, you can apply for grants through the scale-up and startup centre to assess the market and develop your idea further. Our advisers can then consider the students' applications alongside other funding schemes and support the projects and companies as they develop.

Hera Solutions from NTNU is among the recipients of STUD-ENT funding. The company is developing a system for managing consignment notes. By digitising the manual processing of consignment notes alone, the software could save Norway’s road transport market up to NOK 214 million. ‘STUD-ENT will give us the momentum we need to achieve our goal of launching Hera Road by Q2 2024. Timing is crucial for us. The expertise we can bring in and the hours we can invest in the company are our most important resources, which is why funding through STUD-ENT is vital to our development over the next year,’ says CEO Inger-Lovise Fjellgaard.

CADEA AS from NMBU is making the design and documentation of water and wastewater systems more efficient and digital. 'Water and wastewater systems are critical infrastructure for society, and there is a major need to upgrade and safeguard these systems worldwide,' says Aleksander Eriksen of CADEA. The company aims to offer a simpler and more efficient way to design water utility chambers, reducing costs and saving time. 'The STUD-ENT grant means a great deal to us at CADEA. It enables us to develop our solution faster and more efficiently, while also raising its profile,' Eriksen explains.