An intensive online series of webinars, virtual classrooms and 1-1 mentoring sessions on the thematic area “Transport & Logistics Digitalisation”, which will take place from October 2021, and will be open to university students and alumni from Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria & Croatia. It will be organised and delivered by entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley, mentors from the Greek and Balkan area, together with Mindspace and its Balkan partners. This program consists of 2 Parts, the Educational Part (Part A), and the Entrepreneurial Part (Part B). For more information about the Mindspace University - Balkan Ties Program’s structure, you may check here.

Mindspace organises peer-group, educational trips with entrepreneurial framework and business context for Greek young adults with different scope, schedule, destination and outcome depending on the participants’ expectations, aspirations and their entrepreneurial stage.

Mindspace founders designed, built, and run every year entrepreneurial, educational tours specifically for aspiring students entrepreneurs, early stage teams and student startups, so as to show them the USA’s business ecosystem and innovation, strengthen their connection to the USA, inspire entrepreneurial thinking and provide them with unparalleled expertise and knowledge overall.

As a participant, you will get the chance to be a part of a talented peer group, build your network, get feedback from successful entrepreneurs, connect with other aspiring student entrepreneurs, get inspired by the exceptional academia and innovative ecosystem there, as well as expand their entrepreneurial learning in San Francisco, Boston and New York.

It’s simple!

Step 1: Find your ideal Mindspace Trip based on your entrepreneurial expectations, desired travel period, interests, program’s schedule and more.

Step 2: Fill out the online application. Let us know about yourself and your entrepreneurial interests, answer questions that determine your eligibility, and claim your seat in the next Mindspace Trip.

Step 3: We will review your application and you’ll wait to hear from us within 15 days of completing your application. In case you get accepted we will contact you to finalize your application and let you know about the next steps.

Mindspace University is not just an educational online program about topics related to entrepreneurship. It is a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to empower university students without prior entrepreneurial experience, venture or start-up ideas to cultivate entrepreneurial skills and get introduced to the business ecosystem, focusing on the challenges and opportunities that different industries face, and not just mere theoretical knowledge. In other words, it is designed to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry needs, as well as limit the absence of entrepreneurial lessons in university studies. Therefore, the program’s structure and its different stages are adjusted perfectly to each student’s background, needs and interests regarding the entrepreneurial world. Moreover, it creates teams from students with different backgrounds and complementary skills and knowledge, not only inside the borders of Greece, but also in other Balkan countries, as it facilitates peer networking for aspiring student entrepreneurs to meet their co-founders.

Applications are now open. Save your spot now to get ahead in line. Visit the relevant websites to learn more about Mindspace Trip for Adventurers and Mindspace Trip for Entrepreneurs and hit the “Apply Now” button.

No, you don’t need to have an idea or a startup to participate in the program, as this is not a prerequisite for applying and getting accepted in the program. In fact, we empower you with the right tools and sessions to generate an idea from scratch, focusing on different sectors of the Transport & Logistics industry, as well as find a team with which you can start your entrepreneurial journey. However, if you do have an idea, we do encourage you to apply as well, so as to test it and improve it during the individualised mentoring sessions - or maybe generate a new one!

You can apply in the program with your Team or as an Individual. This means that you are welcome to apply to the program as an Individual and we will help you find a Team or match you with other talented peers depending on your skills, interests and future goals to support you in succeeding to this new entrepreneurial endeavour. This is implemented via a series of online team meeting sessions and group networking events during Part A. In case that you already have a team, you can apply with your team as well, including in your application your team’s name and members!

Mindspace Trips will resume as soon as it is safe to travel, hopefully in late summer 2021 and mid Fall 2021. We are continuously monitoring the situation and are in close contact with Greek Consulate General in Boston and in San Francisco. When trips resume, we plan to take all necessary measures to ensure a safe, fun and educational entrepreneurial experience.

Save your spot* now on a first-come, first-serve basis, application form is open and commitment free. Show your interest by applying online and update your preferred time (late August or mid October) of travel with confidence, and we will review your application and make sure to contact you about its outcome within 15 days of submission.

In case you become accepted, you pay a deposit that is fully refundable. Then sit tight, we will make sure to let you know when trips resume. *Spots are limited.

If you wish to travel in summer 2021 or fall 2021, we highly recommend that you complete your application to get a head start on the process as soon as possible. We anticipate high demand once trips resume.

Mindspace University welcomes applications from all university students (including undergraduates, postgraduates, PhD students or recent alumni with less than two years of graduation) regardless of their institution, working or entrepreneurial experience. We accept applications from all over Greece, as well as from selected Balkan countries meaning North Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Albania and Bulgaria. Due to the fact that this program’s focus is on Transport & Logistics, the participants should ideally have relevant studies in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, Physics, Informatics, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Environment and Natural Sciences, yet this is not a hard requirement, in case that the students have additional, solid background to be able to understand the session’s topics. Moreover, students with marketing or business development skills can also be a great match to the program and therefore highly urged to apply as well.

The Mindspace Trip to the USA is open to all Greek young adults, ages 18 to 32 who have not participated in a Mindspace Trip before and are eager to build their network, get feedback from successful entrepreneurs, connect with other aspiring student entrepreneurs, get inspired by the exceptional academia and innovative ecosystem there, as well as expand their entrepreneurial learning in San Francisco, Boston and New York.

Applicants for Mindspace Trip for Adventurers don’t need to have a business idea, a team or an early stage company to participate in the Mindspace Trip

Applicants for Mindspace Trip for Entrepreneurs need to have a business idea and can also be a part of an early stage team/startup, which they will submit at the time of their application.

Applicants can apply in Mindspace Trips with their Team or as Individuals.

The best teams that come out of the Mindspace University Final Pitching Event, get the chance to claim free tickets or discounts for the Mindspace Trip to the USA, grant prizes and direct access to the major incubation centers of the Balkan region, such as ACEin and ZICER. Moreover, they come in contact with investors and funds that are interested in early stage teams, so as to pursue and continue successfully their business ideas, after the program’s completion.

Prizes’ aside, all participants enjoy multiple educational and networking opportunities, as they:

Find out about entrepreneurial opportunities in the Transport & Logistics sector

Utilise effectively their skills & knowledge to generate market driven business ideas

Get introduced to entrepreneurial methodologies and mindset

Share their thoughts with business owners who had the same background with them

Get advice and mentoring from successful Greek entrepreneurs in US, Europe and Balkans

Expand their network, meet talented peers and create new partnerships

Get direct feedback by international investors and discuss with startup founders in their field

Mindspace works with Trip Organizers, Greek American stakeholders, influencers and entrepreneurs as well as public organisations to provide the Mindspace Trip in the USA with an exceptional educational, entrepreneurial schedule at the lowest cost possible. Mindspace together with its partners coordinates all air travel, sets high educational and quality standards, procedural guidelines, security policies for all sub-programs and performs extensive quality control reviews of every trip.

It is not mandatory to attend all sessions during the Educational Part (Part A). However, it is highly recommended that you do watch all of the sessions, as the curriculum is structured in such a way, so as to give you the information and tools that you need to create a successful idea in the Transport and Logistics theme, and in this way claim your seat to the program’s Part B, meaning the 1-1 Mentoring sessions for the best teams that will participate in the Mindspace University Final Pitching event in January.

Absolutely. Mindspace is a supervised program where you travel together as a group. All trips are accompanied by two Mindspace staff members and by a tour educator in most visits. When needed, additional security or staff will be provided.

The 10 best teams that are selected from an independent judging committee at the end of the Educational Part (Part A) will have the unique opportunity of the 1-1 interaction with the program’s top mentors and stellar entrepreneurs from this industry - Entrepreneurial Part (Part B). Together, they will work on the details of their business idea and experiment with several entrepreneurial tools, in order to finalize their business model & prepare their pitch for the Mindspace University Final Pitching event. Each team will be engaged with two mentors for three mentoring sessions and a public speaking and presentation workshop to prepare their pitch for the Mindspace University Final Pitching event. Moreover, the platform that will be used in the program would allow for the mentors and the teams to interact throughout the process, so that instant feedback and suggestions could be provided as well. More details about the exceptional mentors and entrepreneurs who will participate in the Mindspace University program can be found here.

Yes, all of the program’s sessions and workshops will be presented in English and there will be participants from six different Balkan countries. Therefore a good knowledge of English is a prerequisite.

In case that the applicant gets accepted to participate in the Mindspace Trip, he/she will get notified by the Mindspace team about the next steps. Each participant must pay a deposit to confirm his/her attendance and book his/her seat, which can be fully refunded in case that the Trip gets cancelled due to Covid or other unexpected circumstances.

The deposit is US$500, and serves a few purposes; it lets us know that you are serious about participating in the Mindspace Trip and serves as a guarantee that you will not cancel at the last minute, which would prevent another person from benefiting from the opportunity to go to the USA. Moreover, the deposit helps cover any fees and penalties that may be incurred by the airlines if you cancel your trip late. In case that the participant cancels his participation in the Mindspace Trip within the last 60 days before the departure day, the deposit may be confiscated.

We are working closely with Greece’s Ministry of Health, Greek Consulate General in Boston and Greek Consulate General in San Francisco and will maintain the highest level of precautions once trips resume and adjust whenever necessary.

Whether you apply with your team or as an individual (and you acquire your team during the program’s Educational Part A), each team will consist of up to 3 members in total.

As it always has been for the last 3 years of operation, the safety and well-being of our participants and staff is our highest priority and foremost concern.

In case that the COVID measures are up and running at that time of the year, there will be more Mindspace Trips to the USA this year, your group will have fewer participants, you will spend more time outdoors, visit sites that abide by the high standards of Ministry of Health, have small group meetings and companies visits, wear a facemask in public and keep the appropriate distance from others outside your group when possible. Other than that, we can assure you that we will take all necessary measures to ensure a safe, fun and educational entrepreneurial experience.

No, participating in Mindspace University is completely free for the applicants who will be selected to get a full scholarship to attend the entire program. There are currently 150 available seats for the top applicants from Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria and Croatia to get full access to the program’s sessions with a full scholarship and no fee required on their end. The applicants who won’t be selected to join the program with a full scholarship will still be able to attend the program with the very low price of 70 euros/ per person for access to the full program’s sessions in Education Part A*. There will also be Certificates, given to all program’s participants, after its completion.

*For the Entrepreneurial Part B, the best 10 teams that will be selected from the Educational Part A will attend the Mentoring phase and participate in the Mindspace University Final Pitching event at no cost.

Once we receive your application, we will review it and come back with an email to notify you directly of your application status with feedback and detailed next steps in case that you get accepted. This typically takes up to 15 days at most from your application submission. Kindly keep in mind that there are limited seats available, as we focus on the qualitative results of the program and want to ensure that the participants will get a one life time entrepreneurial educational experience.

You will be part of a group of up to 15 participants, two Mindspace staff members, who fly with the group to the USA (San Francisco or Boston), and one tour educator. The bus driver is part of the team, too!

The Judging Committees are carefully selected individuals from the Balkan business ecosystem with strong experience and solid expertise in the Transport and Logistics sector, including venture capitalists, angel investors, entrepreneurs, business executives, academics and other successful and knowledgeable business leaders. More details about the Judges' bios will be available soon on Mindspace University general webpage. Judges will be looking at a range of criteria including strength of technology usage, proof of concept (working prototype or service), level of innovation, knowledge of the market, market fit, team’s background, know-how and abilities and company’s growth potentials in the global market. Each judge’s score is weighed equally. The overall selection is based on the viability and likely success of the business. Moreover, the community of participants will also be able to vote and the community’s vote as a whole will be weighed equally as one mentor’s vote.

No. The Mindspace Trip and its unique experience begins when you meet your group at the airport prior to your departure. You must travel to the USA with your group, and you may not leave prior to your group’s departure date and meet your group in the USA. You may, however, extend your stay after your trip is over. In that case, it is necessary to inform the Mindspace team. Especially for the Mindspace Trip for Adventurers, participants have the opportunity to continue their travel alone to New York after the program’s completion - we set up the travel arrangements and might be able to connect you with stakeholders there as well.

Yes! You can’t travel to the USA without a valid passport and without Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA).

(ESTA) is a web-based system used to determine the right of visitors to travel to the United States and allows citizens from Greece to visit the US for up to 90 days without a visa. The ESTA is valid for up to two years (If you receive a new passport during the two-year entry period, you must reapply for ESTA approval). If you do not already have a passport, you should begin the process to obtain a passport as soon as possible. You will be required to provide the Mindspace Team with your passport number and a photocopy of your passport prior to Mindspace issuing your flight ticket. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from your last day in the USA.

Please read thoroughly the “Rules and Terms of Participation” before applying. When you submit your deliverables towards the end of the Educational Part (Part A), as well as during the Entrepreneurial Part (Part B), when the best 10 teams prepare for the Mindspace University Online Pitching event, all people involved (Judges, Mentors, Mindspace staff) who review the relevant materials do not sign non-disclosure agreements. Therefore, you should assume that any information submitted to the competition is not protected, and plan accordingly. This is the same situation as when giving an initial pitch to a VC. VC’s almost never sign NDA’s for the initial pitch. Therefore, you need to craft your materials to present what you can without revealing any information that would compromise your IP protection strategy. Judges and Mentors are experienced entrepreneurs and VCs who understand the confidential nature of the information presented to them.

Yes, you can continue to apply for each new round of Mindspace Trips. You may keep in mind that applications do not carry over from season to season, meaning that if you would like to apply for a future Trip, please make sure to submit a new application when the call for applications for that round opens.

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Also if you have any further inquiries please contact us at info@mindspace.gr

If you still have questions that we haven't answered, or any of the above isn't clear, feel free to just email us at info@mindspace.gr, and we’ll be glad to help.