1) The event’s name prominently features “MSCA,” which in other contexts refers to Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (EU research mobility & training). How did you choose this acronym, is any possible confusion purely coincidental?
The acronym MSCA stands for Melville Sikorsky Challenge Accelerator.
The name reflects the strategic partnership between Melville Innovation LP (United Kingdom) and the Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine innovation ecosystem, which together are developing an international platform for accelerating and scaling deep-tech startups.
The original concept was initially proposed under the name International Accelerator Sikorsky Challenge, but during discussions with the British partners it was decided to include Melville in the title to clearly reflect the role of the UK investment partner and the joint venture structure behind the initiative.
As a result, the name Melville Sikorsky Challenge Accelerator was adopted, with the natural acronym MSCA.
“To be completely transparent, the name was derived from the identities of the founding partners rather than from any attempt to replicate existing international abbreviations,” says Inna Maliukova, co-organiser of the Accelerator and Head of the Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine Innovation Ecosystem.
“We are aware that MSCA is widely associated with the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions within EU research programmes. However, our missions are fundamentally different.”
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions focus on research mobility and academic training, while the Melville Sikorsky Challenge Accelerator focuses on technology commercialization, startup acceleration and venture investment.
“In our communications we consistently use the full name — Melville Sikorsky Challenge Accelerator — to ensure clarity,” Maliukova adds. “The acronym is simply a practical shorthand.”
Importantly, the Accelerator operates not as a single event but as a continuous series of competitions and acceleration activities designed to identify and accumulate promising technologies.
Each competition serves as a mechanism to discover, evaluate and build a pipeline of investment-ready startups.
For the competitions organized by the Accelerator, a clear naming convention is used:
MSCA + host city + year
—for example MSCA Lviv 2026.
Future competitions are already planned across different technological areas, ensuring a continuous process of technology discovery and investment preparation.
As Maliukova concludes,
“the acronym ultimately reflects the partnership at the heart of the initiative — Melville and Sikorsky Challenge working together to connect Ukrainian innovation with global investors and markets.”
2) Can you explain the criteria and evaluation framework that the expert panel uses in the selection process?
The selection process is structured as a two-stage evaluation designed to identify technologies with both scientific depth and strong commercial potential.
During the first stage, all submitted applications undergo an expert screening. The expert pool includes:
- researchers with relevant scientific degrees,
- technical specialists in the competition sectors,
- and industry and business representatives with commercialization experience.
This stage focuses on filtering projects based on several core criteria:
- completeness and clarity of the application,
- technological feasibility of the solution,
- credibility of the development roadmap,
- and overall innovation potential.
A key factor is the Technology Readiness Level (TRL). While the competition does not impose formal TRL restrictions — allowing both early-stage innovations and mature technologies to participate — projects with higher technological maturity and clearer commercialization pathways typically have a stronger chance of advancing.
Following this screening, up to 15 finalist projects are selected in each sector.
The second stage takes place during the Demo Day, where finalists pitch their technologies live to an international jury and the investment committee.
At this stage, the evaluation shifts toward investment and scaling potential. Projects are assessed across several dimensions:
- strength and originality of the idea,
- technological sophistication and defensibility,
- global market and export potential,
- scalability of the business model,
- investment attractiveness.
“The goal of our evaluation framework is not simply to reward promising ideas, but to identify technologies that can realistically become scalable companies,” said Serhii Serhiienko, Deputy Director of the Innovation Holding Sikorsky Challenge and co-organiser of the Accelerator competition.
“In other words, we look at projects through both a scientific and a venture lens — assessing not only technological novelty, but also whether the solution can attract investment and compete in global markets.”
3) Beyond the three prize categories – defence & security, biomedical engineering & healthcare, renewable energy & energy security) – do you have a strategy for handling interdisciplinary projects that don’t fit neatly into a single category?
“Absolutely. In fact, interdisciplinary innovation is not the exception for us — it is the norm,” explains Volodymyr Reznik, co-organiser of the Accelerator from the UK side.
Modern deep-tech solutions rarely fit neatly into rigid sectoral boxes. Technologies such as AI-enabled diagnostics, autonomous dual-use systems, energy storage for defence mobility, or digital resilience platforms simultaneously combine elements of defence, healthcare, energy and digital infrastructure.
“For this reason, while each competition publicly highlights several prize categories for clarity, the Accelerator itself operates within a much broader technological framework,” Reznik says.
Because the Accelerator runs a continuous series of thematic competitions, different sectors can be addressed at different stages of the programme.
For example, after the April competition in Lviv, additional competitions are planned in September in areas such as cybersecurity, environmental technologies, humanitarian demining and water resource management.
“This structure allows us to evaluate hybrid technologies without forcing them into artificial categories,” he adds.
In practice, interdisciplinary projects are assessed using a dual-track classification model. Each project is considered according to a primary application domain — for example energy security — and one or more enabling technology layers, such as artificial intelligence, advanced materials or cyber resilience. This approach allows the project to be reviewed by multiple domain experts and positioned more accurately for potential investors.
The evaluation process itself is also designed to accommodate convergence technologies. Instead of assigning a project to a single judging stream, the Accelerator can convene cross-sector expert panels when necessary. For example, a medical technology built with defence-grade materials may be reviewed jointly by biomedical and defence specialists, while an advanced battery platform could involve both energy and defence experts.
“This approach helps us avoid bias and ensures that no breakthrough technology is disadvantaged simply because it sits at the intersection of multiple sectors,” Reznik explains.
From an investment perspective, interdisciplinary technologies are often among the most attractive opportunities. “They tend to be more resilient, scalable and commercially versatile,” he notes. As a result, the evaluation framework focuses less on sector labels and more on core venture criteria such as the strength of intellectual property, scalability potential, the credibility of the commercialization pathway and the overall strategic relevance of the technology.
Another advantage of the Accelerator model is the ecosystem behind it. Because the initiative connects UK investment infrastructure, Ukrainian scientific institutions and an international partner network, projects can be directed toward the part of the ecosystem where they generate the greatest impact — whether that is defence procurement, healthcare innovation or energy infrastructure deployment.
“As a result, our evaluation framework focuses less on sector labels and more on whether a technology can realistically become part of a strong investment portfolio of scalable companies.”
4) In view of Sikorsky Challenge’s connection to the Kyiv Polytechnic, what role do local universities and research institutions in the event?
“Universities — and particularly Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI) — play a foundational role in the Sikorsky Challenge innovation ecosystem,” says Oleksii Strutsynskyi, Director of the Innovation Holding Sikorsky Challenge.
KPI has long served as one of Ukraine’s flagship institutions in engineering and applied science, with a strong tradition of integrating scientific research with technological development. Within the Accelerator framework, the university acts as the scientific backbone and strategic advisor, helping coordinate — on equal partnership principles — a wider network of universities and research institutions that form part of the Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine ecosystem.
“This network allows us to connect academic research directly with global innovation markets,” Strutsynskyi explains.
For partner universities and research organisations, participation in the Accelerator provides an opportunity to present their scientific developments, technologies and research projects directly to international partners and the investment committee at a very early stage. This creates a rare opportunity for academic teams to showcase their innovations to global investors and industry representatives.
At the same time, the process is not only about visibility. It also enables universities and research teams to gain practical experience in the commercialization of scientific research, including interaction with venture investors, technology transfer practices and global market positioning.
“In other words, universities do not only contribute knowledge and technologies — they also gain critical competencies in turning research into scalable businesses,” Strutsynskyi notes.
According to him, this cooperation model plays an important strategic role for Ukraine’s future.
“It gives research institutions a unique opportunity not only to promote their innovations internationally, but also to acquire the commercialization expertise that will significantly accelerate Ukraine’s technological transformation during the wartime recovery and the post-war development period,” he concludes.
6) Conversely, what partnerships with European or global research funding networks connect participants to broader ecosystems beyond MSCA? Are there mechanisms to ensure that international investors are actively engaged rather than passively observing?
“MSCA is not designed as a standalone competition — it is an entry point into a much broader international innovation and investment ecosystem,” says Stewart Ford, co-organiser of the Accelerator from the UK side.
The Accelerator builds on the long-established Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine innovation ecosystem, which has developed an international network of partnerships and representative links across the United Kingdom, European Union countries, the United States, Israel, Japan and many others. Through this network, participating startups gain access to international collaboration channels, including research partnerships, technology pilots and global market opportunities.
At the same time, the UK side of the initiative adds a strong investment dimension. Through the partnership with Melville Innovation LP, the Accelerator is connected to the British and European Venture capital environment and to a wider circle of international investors.
“In practical terms, this means that startups are not only pitching ideas — they are entering a structured investment pipeline,” Ford explains.
A key component of this pipeline is a network of British and European private and institutional investors associated with the Melville group. These investors are actively looking for opportunities in sectors such as defence technologies, renewable energy, advanced engineering and healthcare innovation.
To ensure that investors are meaningfully engaged rather than simply observing, the Accelerator integrates them directly into the process. Investors participate in evaluation sessions, the investment committee, and post-event negotiations, while startups undergo structured preparation for investor discussions, including refinement of their business models and commercialization strategies. In cases where investment is agreed, it is structured through an equity-based participation model, ensuring alignment between investors and startup teams.
Ford also emphasizes that participation in the competition is fully international.
“The competition is open to innovators and startups from anywhere in the world,” he says. “However, we do place particular emphasis on technologies that can contribute to Ukraine’s recovery and long-term development.”
In practice, this means that foreign projects capable of supporting post-war reconstruction, infrastructure modernization, energy resilience, defence technologies or healthcare solutions may receive particular attention within the evaluation process.
“Our goal is to create a global platform where international innovation can work together with Ukrainian talent to address some of the most urgent technological challenges of the coming decade,” Ford concludes. “MSCA is the gateway — but the real value lies in the global network of investors, research partners and commercialization platforms behind it.”
7) Your website mentions training, mentorship and investor introductions after the event. Can you elaborate on the specific post-event support structures (e.g., incubation, follow-up funding, equity terms) that the described winners can expect over the next 12–24 months?
“Importantly, we do not treat the competition as a one-day event where winners simply receive a prize and the process ends,” explains Maria Reznik, co-organiser of the Accelerator competition from the UK side. “For us, each competition is part of a broader long-term process of identifying, preparing and scaling startups for investment.”
According to Reznik, the post-event support system is designed differently depending on the maturity stage of the startup. Broadly, the Accelerator works with two categories: emerging startups that are still developing their technology, and companies that already operate as established businesses.
For early-stage teams, which may still be refining their product or may not yet have a registered company, the focus is on preparing the technology and the team for investment. These startups enter a tailored acceleration programme that includes technology validation, intellectual property and patent review, market positioning, refinement of the business model and preparation for negotiations with investors.
“In many cases, the investment process involves the creation of a new company structure — often in the UK or another mutually agreed jurisdiction,” Reznik says. “Within that structure, investors may receive a minority equity participation of up to around five percent in the newly formed company.”
She describes this stage as a process of “investor-driven refinement”, where promising technologies are strategically prepared to match the expectations of specific investors who have already shown interest in the project.
For startups that already exist as operating companies, the support focuses on growth and international expansion. These teams may receive follow-on funding, access to international markets, strategic partnerships and support in scaling their production or technology deployment.
“In those cases, investment is typically provided in exchange for an equity stake,” Reznik explains. “The exact percentage is negotiated individually with each startup and usually reflects the scale of the investment. In practice, we often see discussions in the range of roughly one to five percent equity.”
The general principle, she adds, is straightforward: the larger the investment, the larger the potential equity participation under negotiation.
Over the 12–24 months following the competition, selected startups may continue working with the Accelerator through structured mentoring and advisory support, participation in additional investment sessions, introductions to international investors and assistance with forming joint ventures or international business structures when appropriate.
“The key point,” Reznik concludes, “is that the Accelerator is designed as a long-term commercialization platform. Our goal is not simply to showcase innovative ideas, but to help transform them into investable, scalable companies operating in global markets.”
8) How will the Accelerator measure its success metrics beyond prize distribution — e.g. startups funded, follow-on investment secured, partnerships formed, or jobs created in the ecosystem?
“For us, success is not measured by the number of prizes awarded,” says Inna Maliukova, co-organiser of the Accelerator, Head of the Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine Innovation Ecosystem. “The real measure of impact is how many technologies move from ideas to scalable companies and how much international capital and expertise we manage to bring into that process.”
According to Maliukova, the Accelerator operates as a continuous platform rather than a single competition, where multiple thematic contests help identify promising technologies across different sectors. Each competition feeds into a broader investment pipeline, allowing the Accelerator to systematically accumulate a portfolio of promising startups.
At the investment level, the team tracks how many startups are selected and successfully integrated into the acceleration pipeline each year, the amount of capital deployed into promising technologies, and the level of follow-on investment attracted from international partners. Another important indicator is the growth of the accelerator’s technology portfolio and the long-term value created through equity participation in successful ventures.
Equally important are commercialization and scaling indicators. The Accelerator monitors how many projects progress from early-stage research into market-ready technologies, how many joint ventures or international business structures are created, and how successfully startups expand into global markets. The ability of portfolio companies to generate revenue and scale production is considered a key sign that the innovation pipeline is functioning effectively.
Another key indicator is the growth of the accelerator’s technology portfolio and the long-term value created through equity participation.
At the ecosystem level, the team also evaluates how the initiative strengthens cooperation between universities, research institutions, industry partners and investors. This includes tracking new R&D partnerships, international innovation agreements and the creation of high-skilled jobs in sectors such as engineering, advanced manufacturing and digital technologies.
Because the Accelerator operates within a UK–Ukraine partnership structure and works closely with international investors, another important dimension is global integration. This includes measuring the participation of foreign investors, the attraction of international startups to collaborate with Ukrainian innovators, and the diversification of the technology portfolio across strategic sectors such as defence technologies, energy resilience, healthcare innovation and others.
“In the long term, our benchmark is quite simple,” Maliukova says. “We want to see more Ukrainian technologies entering global markets, more international venture capital working with Ukrainian innovators, and more deep-tech companies being built around research coming from our partners company, universities and engineering teams.”
“In other words,” she concludes, “success for us is measured in ventures built, capital mobilized and innovation capacity strengthened — not in trophies awarded.”